4 ms·

Flow Hive breaks $1M on first day

42 points by andyjsong 12y ago

wallflower 12y ago
Related: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/24/science/now-cleared-for-landing-at-airports-bees.html http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/24/science/now-cleared-for-la...
joshontheweb 12y ago
Makes me want to get a hive myself.
akanet 12y ago
This is such a great feel-good story. Scrappy entrepreneurship generates a win-win for humans AND bees! Not to take away from the larger problems facing the bee ecosystem, but I love that this project is getting attention. The careful, diligent application of technology can solve serious problems. We just have to do the legwork.
rtpg 12y ago
Can anyone here comment on the veracity of this? Seems like a no-brainer based off of the video that even large-scale producers would want to go with this sort of hive.
blazespin 12y ago
This is just a fad trying to promise easy honey from a spigot. A short read by real beekeeper blogs and you discover that 90% of the work of managing a beehive is the inspections you need to do every 2 weeks - not the honey extraction. Without inspecting for mites, diseased bees, missing queens (and understanding how to deal with this), etc, your hive will likely fail and you'll just have source all those bees again. Much cheaper (and humane) to just buy honey at a local farmers market. Note that when doing inspections everyone suggests you'll need smoke + veil + etc as you have to remove the frames and look at them closely. Even the flow website recommends this (noticeably missing in the video, though) So what does this really buy you? A great crowdfunding video.
- schiffern 12y ago
  Ignoring the inflated labor-saving claims for a moment, isn't it still valuable for home-scale (1-3 hives) as an alternative to buying a centrifuge? I could see having a super with Flow for directly jarring honey, and a couple regular supers for comb honey. I agree that the marketing is badly done, but I'm trying to look past that and see real use cases. It would be great if they added a "What do I need to get started in addition to Flow?" shopping list in their FAQ. If the claims of beeswax reuse by the bees are accurate, it might conserve the hive's metabolic budget. It seems plausible, but IANAA.
  - schiffern 12y ago
    Update: Whoof, they're $60/frame. Hard to justify the labor savings, especially with all the unknowns — crystallization, plastic leaching, longevity. An centrifuge can be had for <$300, and there are cheaper low-tech methods too. I think I'll go with (even easier to harvest!) DIY mason jar beekeeping instead. The bees package your comb honey for you! You still need regular supers for winter stores. http://makezine.com/craft/how-to-mason-jar-beehives/ http://makezine.com/craft/how-to-mason-jar-beehives/
- orenjacob 12y ago
  I had been a beekeeper for several years, my daughter manifested an anaphylactic reaction to a sting a year ago, and sadly our bees are now in the Central Valley, but... Yes, the work you mention is significant. But harvesting honey from 4 supers takes several hours even with a heated knife and centrifuge. And the cleanup takes several more. We did it with my family, and enjoyed it, but if things work as they are shown to in the video, that would be a pretty big win. And, given the cost of an uncapping knife, centrifuge, separating screens, and other paraphernalia, seems like a good price point too. And way fewer smushed bees.
confiscate 12y ago
This looks great!

42 points by andyjsong 12y ago

Related: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/24/science/now-cleared-for-landing-at-airports-bees.html http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/24/science/now-cleared-for-la...

joshontheweb 12y ago

Makes me want to get a hive myself.

akanet 12y ago

This is such a great feel-good story. Scrappy entrepreneurship generates a win-win for humans AND bees! Not to take away from the larger problems facing the bee ecosystem, but I love that this project is getting attention. The careful, diligent application of technology can solve serious problems. We just have to do the legwork.

rtpg 12y ago

Can anyone here comment on the veracity of this? Seems like a no-brainer based off of the video that even large-scale producers would want to go with this sort of hive.

blazespin 12y ago

This is just a fad trying to promise easy honey from a spigot. A short read by real beekeeper blogs and you discover that 90% of the work of managing a beehive is the inspections you need to do every 2 weeks - not the honey extraction. Without inspecting for mites, diseased bees, missing queens (and understanding how to deal with this), etc, your hive will likely fail and you'll just have source all those bees again. Much cheaper (and humane) to just buy honey at a local farmers market. Note that when doing inspections everyone suggests you'll need smoke + veil + etc as you have to remove the frames and look at them closely. Even the flow website recommends this (noticeably missing in the video, though) So what does this really buy you? A great crowdfunding video.

schiffern 12y ago
Ignoring the inflated labor-saving claims for a moment, isn't it still valuable for home-scale (1-3 hives) as an alternative to buying a centrifuge? I could see having a super with Flow for directly jarring honey, and a couple regular supers for comb honey. I agree that the marketing is badly done, but I'm trying to look past that and see real use cases. It would be great if they added a "What do I need to get started in addition to Flow?" shopping list in their FAQ. If the claims of beeswax reuse by the bees are accurate, it might conserve the hive's metabolic budget. It seems plausible, but IANAA.
- schiffern 12y ago
  Update: Whoof, they're $60/frame. Hard to justify the labor savings, especially with all the unknowns — crystallization, plastic leaching, longevity. An centrifuge can be had for <$300, and there are cheaper low-tech methods too. I think I'll go with (even easier to harvest!) DIY mason jar beekeeping instead. The bees package your comb honey for you! You still need regular supers for winter stores. http://makezine.com/craft/how-to-mason-jar-beehives/ http://makezine.com/craft/how-to-mason-jar-beehives/
orenjacob 12y ago
I had been a beekeeper for several years, my daughter manifested an anaphylactic reaction to a sting a year ago, and sadly our bees are now in the Central Valley, but... Yes, the work you mention is significant. But harvesting honey from 4 supers takes several hours even with a heated knife and centrifuge. And the cleanup takes several more. We did it with my family, and enjoyed it, but if things work as they are shown to in the video, that would be a pretty big win. And, given the cost of an uncapping knife, centrifuge, separating screens, and other paraphernalia, seems like a good price point too. And way fewer smushed bees.

confiscate 12y ago

This looks great!