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[Peter Chrisbacher <pxbacher@gmail.com>]

BTW, I don't think the frames move, aside from the valve.

-Pete


Pete Chrisbacher
Wilmington DE

On Sun, Mar 1, 2015 at 11:32 AM, Peter Chrisbacher <pxbacher@gmail.com>
wrote:

> Bees need a LOT of comb surface area for the evaporation that is a
> signifiant part of the process that turns nectar into honey.
>
> As a beekeeper managing a honey-producing hive, I provide this needed
> surface area by adding many more empty honey frames to the hive than the
> bees will ultimately fill with finished honey.  The bees bring in nectar,
> place it in these frames, and eventually concentrate it down to fewer
> frames of capped honey which I then harvest.
>
> It would not be practical from a cost perspective to purchase enough of
> these frames to fully outfit all of my hives.
>
> An alternative approach would be to purchase 4 or 8 frames to place at the
> "core" of the honey section of the hive, which the bees would then fill
> with honey, and which I would then drain repeatedly to harvest.  I would
> drain, the bees would refill, I would drain, the bees would refill.  It
> would probably work (the bees prefer honey stored centrally above the brood
> nest) but it sounds very time-consuming to me.
>
> Perhaps the drains could be left open at all times later in the season to
> simplify this process - I don't know if this would work. I would have
> concerns about the bees filling the comb with "not-yet-quite-honey" (high
> moisture content) that would ferment and spoil.  Only experimentation could
> prove out this technique.
>
> I'd like to see the results of a careful study before I go investing in
> the needed equipment.  I already have all the equipment I need for my
> current harvest method.  By the way, I would still open up and inspect my
> hives regularly so I know what's going on inside, as would the bee
> inspector (once or twice per season for the inspector).  The "Flow" frames
> would not change the number of times my (reasonably well but not
> over-managed) hives are opened and/or manipulated.
>
> To reiterate what I said earlier, these look neat for the hobbiest
> beekeeper who is the primary consumer of his/her own honey.  I, however,
> don't fit into that category ;)
>
> HTH
>
> Pete Chrisbacher
> Wilmington DE
>
> On Sun, Mar 1, 2015 at 10:30 AM, Ginda Fisher <list@ginda.us> wrote:
>
>>
>> On Mar 1, 2015, at 7:43 AM, Peter Chrisbacher wrote:
>> ...
>> >
>> > That said, I don't plan to buy one any time soon as they don't really
>> make
>> > sense for a beekeeper running 30 hives ;)
>>
>> Is that just because they cost more, or for some other reason?
>>
>> This thread is the first I've heard of this, and it sounds like a really
>> intriguing idea to me. I do wonder how well the fancy moving frames hold up
>> long-term, though.
>>
>> Ginda Fisher
>>
>> expecting yet more snow.
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>
>