Varrox question

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dclewis

House Bee
Joined
Sep 15, 2010
Messages
262
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1
Location
Normandy/Paris France
Hive Type
Dadant
Number of Hives
9
I'm a recent purchaser of a Varrox sublimator.

This winter I had hives that were nadired. My hives are top bee space, so the bottom of the frames in the nadirs are level with the bottom of the box.

I treated using the Varrox with a heating time of 3'45" to sublimate 2g of OA. (I have dadant hives)

On first inspection this spring over the weekend I also took the nadirs off.

To my horror I noticed quite a lot of heavy scorching to the bottom bars of a couple of frames and the wax had melted in a chinney between the frames that were above where the varrox had been placed.

Has anyone else experienced such damage?

Has a Varrox ever set a hive on fire?

If the temperature is hot enough on the faces of the frames to melt wax surely its too hot for any bees that might be clustered above where the heater is placed?

I was thinking that I may have to chock up the boxes whilst treating to get clearance between the heater and the frames but that won't get round the wax melting problem.

Has anyone else noticed these problems. What suggestions do you have to avoid these problems?

Thanks.
 
I used my own home made sublimator. The length and weight of the handle means it tips down and the heating chamber rises - and hits the bottom frames.

I used a piece of wood on the entrance to balance the handle on to prevent the tipping.
 
Problem would not arise if you sublimate from below the OMF. That is what I have done for at least 8 years with no ill effects on any parts of the hives at all.
 
3'45" is LONG for these purposes.

And is there no depth at all in your floors? Given basic distance of depth of floor less height of varrox (25mm?? - 9mm) the +/- of a beespace should not be critical but it does sound like you might have made some flames and come close to a real fire.

Long time (I would go no more than 2'30" for 2g) and maybe it tipped, to prevent as discussed above.
 
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I'm a recent purchaser of a Varrox sublimator.

This winter I had hives that were nadired. My hives are top bee space, so the bottom of the frames in the nadirs are level with the bottom of the box.

I treated using the Varrox with a heating time of 3'45" to sublimate 2g of OA. (I have dadant hives)

On first inspection this spring over the weekend I also took the nadirs off.

To my horror I noticed quite a lot of heavy scorching to the bottom bars of a couple of frames and the wax had melted in a chinney between the frames that were above where the varrox had been placed.

Has anyone else experienced such damage?

Has a Varrox ever set a hive on fire?

If the temperature is hot enough on the faces of the frames to melt wax surely its too hot for any bees that might be clustered above where the heater is placed?

I was thinking that I may have to chock up the boxes whilst treating to get clearance between the heater and the frames but that won't get round the wax melting problem.

Has anyone else noticed these problems. What suggestions do you have to avoid these problems?

Thanks.

I singed a few sublimating through the entrance so now do it under the OMF.
 
I singed a few sublimating through the entrance so now do it under the OMF.

I think the gold standard is to hook up a PC fan or something to blow the fumes in a bit deeper as well as through the OMF. That approaches the effect of the really expensive one that HM uses; Sublimox I think.

ADD The problem being when you do go through the OMF, as I do with nucs, it doesn't take the little darlings 3'45" to organise a gale in the opposite direction.
 
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Sublimox goes in from the top, yes?
I can't justify the cost for my few hives and judging by the drops it seems to work OK with the OMF in the way.
 
I tested the heating time in the open to see how long it takes to sublimate the
2g. It takes 3'40" with the car battery that I have to get through all of the 2g and hence the 3'45".

I have 2 types of floors, from different suppliers. 1 I have to jack up the front of the hive just to get the varrox under, the other I can just slide the varrox in without jacking up the front of the hive. Both have slide in floors under the mesh with less space between the mesh and the slide in floor than the height of the varrox. So maybe I shall have to modify a slide in floor by cutting a hole in it and mount the varrox below that.

Anyway thanks for your comments.
 
I'm a recent purchaser of a Varrox sublimator.

This winter I had hives that were nadired. My hives are top bee space, so the bottom of the frames in the nadirs are level with the bottom of the box.

I treated using the Varrox with a heating time of 3'45" to sublimate 2g of OA. (I have dadant hives)

On first inspection this spring over the weekend I also took the nadirs off.

To my horror I noticed quite a lot of heavy scorching to the bottom bars of a couple of frames and the wax had melted in a chinney between the frames that were above where the varrox had been placed.

Has anyone else experienced such damage?

Has a Varrox ever set a hive on fire?

If the temperature is hot enough on the faces of the frames to melt wax surely its too hot for any bees that might be clustered above where the heater is placed?

I was thinking that I may have to chock up the boxes whilst treating to get clearance between the heater and the frames but that won't get round the wax melting problem.

Has anyone else noticed these problems. What suggestions do you have to avoid these problems?

Thanks.

LASI university of Sussex method is to do it through the OMF as per Afermo's post, i do it that way with no problems
 
Just to be clear, when you say below the omf, am I correct in assuming that you mean the heater is placed between the mesh floor and the tray below it and not just held below an open mesh floor with nothing but fresh air below it?
 
Just to be clear, when you say below the omf, am I correct in assuming that you mean the heater is placed between the mesh floor and the tray below it and not just held below an open mesh floor with nothing but fresh air below it?

Yes. What I have done isdeepened the floor by screwing an eke on three sides. The tray is the floor and I stuff foam in the back
 
I tested the heating time in the open to see how long it takes to sublimate the
2g. It takes 3'40" with the car battery that I have to get through all of the 2g and hence the 3'45".
.

I think you need a battery with a bit more guts to it. anyway, the varrox will continue to sublimate after the power has been switched off - that's why you leave it for a further couple of minutes before removing it. Try it and watch the smoke continue to billow out way after it's switched off.
 
What height clearance do you have between top of the heater and bottom of frames?

I'll have another play to see how little "power on time" I need to sublimate the 2g. and adjust my process accordingly.

Thanks.
 
Drifting, has anyone vaped ApiBioxal yet? I would expect a messy residue. What actually happens? Now I sell honey reasonably seriously, I think I am going to have to knuckle under.
 

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