In 2015, a magnificently clever invention by two Australian beekeepers turned into a record-breaking crowdfunding campaign, raising over US$2 million dollars in just its first 24 hours. The genius idea was to design a beehive with a tap system that can siphon honey without opening the lid and disturbing the bees. The duo has now launched the Flow Hive 2, a new and improved design, and unsurprisingly it has again sold in record numbers.
The Flow Hive 2 is not a complete overhaul of the highly functional original design, but father and son beekeeping team Cedar and Stuart Anderson have simply upgraded and improved a bunch of small features, making the new edition a little easier to use.
The fundamentals of the Flow Hive remain the same. Inside are what the design duo call Flow Frames. These are special frames with partly formed honeycomb cells already attached. When the outer tap is turned to drain the honey, the frames slightly split the honeycombs vertically allowing the honey to flow out without disturbing the bees on the comb surface.
Since the original 2015 crowdfunding campaign the team has created a second generation of Flow Frames with a number of new improvements. Both the Flow Hive 2 and the older Flow Hive Classic model come with these new generation Flow Frames.
The Flow Hive 2 adds a number of small design tweaks, such as a harvesting shelf to hold your honey harvesting jars, and a new ventilation control system to help keep your bees comfortable through the seasons.
It’s no surprise the new iteration of this incredibly smart invention has again smashed crowdfunding records. The initial campaign on Indiegogo ended in early March with a mind-blowing total of $14.8 million raised. Due to demand the team has extended its pre-sale campaign for a limited time, so you can grab a Flow Hive 2 for $749 (about 15 percent off the final retail price).
The inspiring ethos of the whole project is to make beekeeping easier, more accessible and more sustainable as the Flow Hive allows people to harvest honey without significantly disrupting the hive.
New Flow Hive 2 makes getting honey on tap even easier [New Atlas]