[theDarkSide]

Of course there are several mead makers here and maybe a few beekeepers as well, but does anyone have an opinion on this Indiegogo campaign for the Flow Hive?

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/flow-hive-honey-on-tap-directly-from-your-beehive

I'm all for easy stuff...especially collecting honey, but I see a lot of conflicting opinions regarding the effects on the bees.  I would love something like this to collect honey for mead and general use and to help pollinate my garden and the wife's flowers during the spring/summer.

What do you think?

[1vertical]

Almost looks too good to be true.  I understand sometimes bees do not like the plastic frames
and won't extrude wax.  I do not know how to know how much honey the bees would need
to overwinter and you would want to take care and not "over collect".

You want to be able to manage and rotate the brood frames.  So the "bees remain undisturbed"
Is not absolutely accurate.  I saw no mention of a queen excluder.

Interesting concept and design.  IMO

[pete b]

I would want to see how this does in the real world for a few years before pulling the trigger, and especially in the northern U.S.
As someone who has kept bees in New England for several years and who has a mentor who has been at it for 40 years, extruding honey is the least of my worries. Mites, winter, and dry summers are way, way bigger problems than extracting honey. I have to wonder if people with these hives will be leaving enough food for the bees to over winter.