Bee vac

[Timbeez]

Hi all, can anyone point me in the right direction, for plans/design, to make one for swarm collection, are you better using poly nuc or national brood box, thanks in advance.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I use a 14x12 poly nuc with a solid floor. Works every year.

 

[pargyle]

Hi all, can anyone point me in the right direction, for plans/design, to make one for swarm collection, are you better using poly nuc or national brood box, thanks in advance.

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/what-did-you-do-in-the-workshop-today.21943/page-222 post #4433

 

[Erichalfbee]

I use a 14x12 poly nuc with a solid floor. Works every year.

Crikey apologies....I totally misread the question

 

[Newbeeneil]

Crikey apologies....I totally misread the question

Your answer was not completely off the wall tho Dani.
I made a bee vac out of a Paynes poly nuc by adding a piece of 3” PIR below the OMF with a vacuum pipe size hole to fit the Henry to. Then enlarged the entrance hole to fix a suction pipe to.
It works but needs a few tweaks.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Your answer was not completely off the wall tho Dani.
I made a bee vac out of a Paynes poly nuc by adding a piece of 3” PIR below the OMF with a vacuum pipe size hole to fit the Henry to. Then enlarged the entrance hole to fix a suction pipe to.
It works but needs a few tweaks.

I've found this swarm stuck to my chicken fence corner post today. Propped an empty nuc with a dab of lemongrass as first reaction but I'm currently making up a bee vac out of a paynes polynuc with a plywood blanking plate over the mesh floor. Just now I'm waiting for glue to set on surround to a top cover. Two holes in the top sheet to accommodate a Henry suction hose with gauze and a length of smooth bore hose to suck up the bees. In use the entrance disc will be in the closed position. My idea is get the bees inside then insert frames of foundation and restore the original top. Remove the bottom blank and turn the entrance disc to permit bee movement on completion. I've got everything to hand except the smooth bore hose which is going to be an ebay item. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12607510...dqAivo3SaG&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[Garry R]

I made one with 4-5metres of this hose. I used a 12V car battery with 2 car 12V vacuums wired in parallel to the battery and siliconed into the lid of a honey bucket with a grid inside and managed to get enough suck! Mine is pretty small and useful for tidying up the remnants of stragglers to get the last ones in having hived the main bulk of the swarm. I guess it would do a swarm in a couple of stages if push came to shove. I reckon it's important to have a gentle suck = after all how heavy is a bee.

 

[enrico]

I have one I never use. Pm me if you are interested

 

[Just Steve]

I have made several from wood and gone on to make changes to improve them but the other half said that she would buy me one as we walked around the show in Telford so after a bit of thought and a chat over coffee I decided to say yes. It's been a total revelation. It's just so easy to turn up, vacuum up, and be away home with no messing about as its all self contained. I would definitely recommend and no way I would go back to my older home made ones.

https://www.eezeebeevac.co.uk/

 

[JamezF]

I have made several from wood and gone on to make changes to improve them but the other half said that she would buy me one as we walked around the show in Telford so after a bit of thought and a chat over coffee I decided to say yes. It's been a total revelation. It's just so easy to turn up, vacuum up, and be away home with no messing about as its all self contained. I would definitely recommend and no way I would go back to my older home made ones.

https://www.eezeebeevac.co.uk/

I wonder who that is and if they're a member of Taunton BKA. I don't recall anyone ever mentioning it at the apiary.

James

 

[pargyle]

I have made several from wood and gone on to make changes to improve them but the other half said that she would buy me one as we walked around the show in Telford so after a bit of thought and a chat over coffee I decided to say yes. It's been a total revelation. It's just so easy to turn up, vacuum up, and be away home with no messing about as its all self contained. I would definitely recommend and no way I would go back to my older home made ones.

https://www.eezeebeevac.co.uk/

Neat job ... terrible website !

 

[Just Steve]

I wonder who that is and if they're a member of Taunton BKA. I don't recall anyone ever mentioning it at the apiary.

James

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/KNSf972adHKGqZpL/

Richard Stainer, I don't know if he visits the forum. I struggled to find anything other than the Web site without success but he has just popped up in my Facebook notifications.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

I've found this swarm stuck to my chicken fence corner post today. Propped an empty nuc with a dab of lemongrass as first reaction but I'm currently making up a bee vac out of a paynes polynuc with a plywood blanking plate over the mesh floor. Just now I'm waiting for glue to set on surround to a top cover. Two holes in the top sheet to accommodate a Henry suction hose with gauze and a length of smooth bore hose to suck up the bees. In use the entrance disc will be in the closed position. My idea is get the bees inside then insert frames of foundation and restore the original top. Remove the bottom blank and turn the entrance disc to permit bee movement on completion. I've got everything to hand except the smooth bore hose which is going to be an ebay item. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12607510...dqAivo3SaG&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

The swarm has decided to take up residence in a different nuc box of its own volition so the situation has solved itself. However I've thought of another mod for the plywood vac lid in that it needs a strainer to prevent bees being sucked into the box then sucked out again and into the Henry. Accordingly I'm fitting a cooks metal sieve over the hole where the Henry hose goes in. My first thought was a tea strainer but a sieves larger area will allow better airflow without accumulating a coating of struggling bees held in place by the draught.

 

[Just Steve]

My first thought was a tea strainer but a sieves larger area will allow better airflow without accumulating a coating of struggling bees held in place by the draught.

I used a piece of varoa mesh which was fine. I never thought that it was restrictive to the flow of air.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

I used a piece of varoa mesh which was fine. I never thought that it was restrictive to the flow of air.

My concern was the mesh becoming covered with bees, not so much the choking of airflow as causing harm to the bees trapped by the vacuum.

 

[Just Steve]

My concern was the mesh becoming covered with bees, not so much the choking of airflow as causing harm to the bees trapped by the vacuum.

I never had any problems with varoa mesh. The main thing is being able to alter the amount of suction to 'just enough '. If the mesh is too small you run the risk of having it partially blocked and adjusting the suction which plays havoc with the balance between not enough, just enough and too much air flow. Good luck with the project. I hope it works for you.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

I never had any problems with varoa mesh. The main thing is being able to alter the amount of suction to 'just enough '. If the mesh is too small you run the risk of having it partially blocked and adjusting the suction which plays havoc with the balance between not enough, just enough and too much air flow. Good luck with the project. I hope it works for you.

Henry tools include a steel handle section with an adjustable air bleed opening. No doubt it'll take considerable trial and error but hopefully there's a setting which bleeds just enough air in to create an appropriate level of vacuum within the nuc box to meet the requirements. Having gone through the preparation and arranged a barrow for a car battery, 12 - 230 v inverter and Henry I'll just bet there won't be any more swarms

 

[Just Steve]

Henry tools include a steel handle section with an adjustable air bleed opening. No doubt it'll take considerable trial and error but hopefully there's a setting which bleeds just enough air in to create an appropriate level of vacuum within the nuc box to meet the requirements. Having gone through the preparation and arranged a barrow for a car battery, 12 - 230 v inverter and Henry I'll just bet there won't be any more swarms

We both know that it's the way of things hahaha.

The pipe on mine is actually from a Henry so it's got the bleed off but in practice I have found that it's still a bit too powerful for the bees. Mine has a speed control for the motor and is so much easier to maintain the right suction. Give it a try though, your results might be better than mine. A lot depends on how much air pressure is allowed to escape from the box between the vac and the pipe. A hole in the roof of the box with a moving cover works as good as you need. Just making a cover for the hole that's larger than the hole itself and fixing it at one point only making it like a hinge works. The cover slides and allows you to vary how much air bleeds off.

 

[Rory Fields]

I've got 2, one is v heavy ply so I bought one from HumbleBee but I seem to have managed to lose suction somehow, probably my own fault but in theory, it should do the job perfectly. I like the look of the big bucket one that guy has been making recently at the various shows

 

[Garry R]

I made one from a honey bucket with two car 12V vacuums in the lid. The hose is long but there is enough suck to pull bees through it. Not used in anger yet but will give it a trial run when I clear a nuc as a test.