Oxalic Acid Vaporizer

[john1]

I am using ApiVar now.
I will remove it by the mid of this month (mid of October).

I am planning to start an Oxalic Acid Vaporizer treatment in the first week of December.
I hope I need multiple treatments for 21 days.
Can anyone suggest a good vaporizer, please?

Hope I need to buy a 12V battery as well if I need to use one as car will not reach near my hive.

Thanks

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I am planning to start an Oxalic Acid Vaporizer treatment in the first week of December.
I hope I need multiple treatments for 21 days.
Can anyone suggest a good vaporizer, please?

Depends on your budget and how much use you're going to put it to. A varrox is my choice, a bit over £100.00 but made to last, not cheap and nasty
If you are going to vape in December you will probably get away with one dose as hopefully they'll be broodless. But if going for a series of doses, you only need three spaced five days apart as you are covering the mite brood cycle, not the bees', but to be honest I give my bees four doses just to make sure.

 

[pargyle]

Thornes Vapmite is OK as a pan type sublimator - there are cheaper variants on ebay that look very similar ... the other option is the GasVap which is very efficient and you don't need a battery.

 

[mbc]

I am using ApiVar now.
I will remove it by the mid of this month (mid of October).

I am planning to start an Oxalic Acid Vaporizer treatment in the first week of December.
I hope I need multiple treatments for 21 days.
Can anyone suggest a good vaporizer, please?

Hope I need to buy a 12V battery as well if I need to use one as car will not reach near my hive.

Thanks

Apivar is really efficient if there's no amitraz resistance going on and any subsequent treatment would be overkill in my opinion.
December mite wipes make sense if you've gone down the organic slightly less efficient route for an autumn treatment but there shouldn't be much left to kill after apivar.

 

[understanding_bees]

Hope I need to buy a 12V battery as well if I need to use one as car will not reach near my hive.

If you do decide that you need to buy a battery, then please let me suggest that you check or compare the differences between normal automotive batteries which are designed to provide high current for short durations, and deep cycle batteries which can sustain a steady load for long periods. You may already have a battery charger, but if not then I would suggest that a "smart charger" would be a good choice.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I am using ApiVar now.
I will remove it by the mid of this month (mid of October).

I am planning to start an Oxalic Acid Vaporizer treatment in the first week of December.
I hope I need multiple treatments for 21 days.
Can anyone suggest a good vaporizer, please?

Hope I need to buy a 12V battery as well if I need to use one as car will not reach near my hive.

Thanks

If you have only a few hives and are using a hot pan vapouriser then you can get away with a car starter which fits in your pocket. When I used a Varrox mine managed 7 hives.
If you’re going on to a sublimox you need a leisure battery and an inverter or a generator

 

[The Poot]

I reckon Varrox is pretty good. As Jenks says it’s robust and good quality. I have used one for five years now, using the same car battery with no reduction in effectiveness. It’s also safe to use as you can walk well away from the hive and thus any escaping vapour before it escapes.

 

[Ian123]

I am using ApiVar now.
I will remove it by the mid of this month (mid of October).

I am planning to start an Oxalic Acid Vaporizer treatment in the first week of December.
I hope I need multiple treatments for 21 days.
Can anyone suggest a good vaporizer, please?

Hope I need to buy a 12V battery as well if I need to use one as car will not reach near my hive.

Thanks

Why not just leave it till end of Dec/January and do a single treatment. Ian

 

[victor meldrew]

Thornes Vapmite is OK as a pan type sublimator - there are cheaper variants on ebay that look very similar ... the other option is the GasVap which is very efficient and you don't need a battery.

I have used the Vap Gaz for a couple of years.
cheap cheerful and very efficient.

 

[john1]

Thank you so much for the replies.

I am using ApiVar already. So, I am wondering how I can decide whether I need an Oxalic Acid Vaporizer treatment for the hives in the end of December or January. If I do it, will it kill the bees?

I had a look at Varrox Vaporiser. I can see www.thorne.co.uk is selling it for £125, but their "Vapmite - oxalic acid vaporiser" is only £35. I believe the result of both will be the same. I am wondering whether there is any quality difference between both.

Is Gas Vap better than the above treatments?

 

[understanding_bees]

If you’re going on to a sublimox you need a leisure battery and an inverter or a generator

Leisure battery and deep cycle battery are two alternative names for the same thing.

 

[E&MBees]

Thank you so much for the replies.

I am using ApiVar already. So, I am wondering how I can decide whether I need an Oxalic Acid Vaporizer treatment for the hives in the end of December or January. If I do it, will it kill the bees?

I had a look at Varrox Vaporiser. I can see www.thorne.co.uk is selling it for £125, but their "Vapmite - oxalic acid vaporiser" is only £35. I believe the result of both will be the same. I am wondering whether there is any quality difference between both.

Is Gas Vap better than the above treatments?

Vaping the bees doesn’t kill them, unless you accidentally cook one. I vape from under the omf to stop that happening. I recently vaped one colony six times due to high mite levels. With regards to vaping in the winter, more experienced bee keepers recommend vaping during a broodless period which often occurs mid December for some. I have the varrox and it works well for me.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Leisure battery and deep cycle battery are two alternative names for the same thing.

Thank you for that. I bought mine off Amazon where they call it a leisure battery, it’s the type that goes in our camper

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I had a look at Varrox Vaporiser. I can see www.thorne.co.uk is selling it for £125, but their "Vapmite - oxalic acid vaporiser" is only £35. I believe the result of both will be the same. I am wondering whether there is any quality difference between both.

Big difference

Is Gas Vap better than the above treatments?

No

 

[drex]

My cheapie vaporiser costing about £25 off EBay about 8 years ago, has never been a problem and still going strong.

 

[enrico]

I am still running my high power motor cycle battery for my hot tray. Does six hives with no problem and is half the size of a car battery. Bought it for the purpose from Halfords three years ago.

 

[Craftypint]

I discoverd the pan had detached from the rod on my Thorne Vapmite last week. Had used it around 10 times and don't remember knocking it hard on anything. I used a small twig as a shim to wedge the rod back in place and it works fine. Any suggestions on what could be used as a more permanent fix, I was thinking of whacking the pan with a hammer to reduce the hole size so it'll stay in place?

 

[Murox]

I discoverd the pan had detached from the rod on my Thorne Vapmite last week. Had used it around 10 times and don't remember knocking it hard on anything. I used a small twig as a shim to wedge the rod back in place and it works fine. Any suggestions on what could be used as a more permanent fix, I was thinking of whacking the pan with a hammer to reduce the hole size so it'll stay in place?

This sort of stuff should work but there is a whole range of suitable glues and putties available from a number of sources and brands. try and avoid the bash and bend approach

 

[Amari]

I am using ApiVar now.
I will remove it by the mid of this month (mid of October).
I am planning to start an Oxalic Acid Vaporizer treatment in the first week of December.
I hope I need multiple treatments for 21 days.
Can anyone suggest a good vaporizer, please?
Hope I need to buy a 12V battery as well if I need to use one as car will not reach near my hive.
Thanks

Yes, as others have said, no need for OA now, just one treatment in mid-winter.
You have two hives so Varrox or similar OR Gas-Vap are equally suitable, the former with a jump-start battery as per Dani above. For Gas-Vap you should wear a mask with filters for organic acids.
I use both types of vaporiser - both effective and easy to use.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

For Gas-Vap you should wear a mask with filters for organic acids.

as well as strong fire resistant gloves