Hi everyone. I just built my bee vac but did not make a hole for a hose yet. I am hoping some of you may give me a good input on this subject. I have a 6hp 'shop vac' motor attached to it and I would like to attach 4" transparent hose to it with "bear claw" attachment on the end. I have seen number of videos and almost all of them, accept one, show bee vacs with regular vacuum cleaner hose. I guess my worries are about leaving some of the bees behind inside the hose since it is not transparent.
I use the standard 2 1/2" black hose and I've never had a problem. I always turn the vac on and straighten the hose upwards and shake it a little before I turn it off and detach it.
with a 6 hp shop vac that shouldnt be any problem I would use the 2 1/2 inch shop vac hose 20 foot is like 20 bucks from sears
I would not worry about it.
If they are in the hose they are going to stay in the hose till you shake them out. I know I have done it next day pick up the hose and it feels heavier than it should so you just start shaking. But that is a result of honey most of the time or a loss of suction and honey which is the only time I had the problem.
I use a 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 pool hose I got from wal-mart works fine nothing worth worrying about bees are tough.
What I do worry about is getting the queen, eggs, brood, and always the check.