My Beevac

[JordanM]

Click the pictures for larger image

Here is the whole setup


Here is the vaccume I used 6.5 HP


Here  is a closeup of the main part


Here is the front of the setup, you can  see the vent hole that i use to regulate the suction with a piece of plexiglass



Here is the whole thing from the front


Here is the bottom box without any boxes on top of it, newspaper or whatever is soft goes in the bottom of this box while sucking to cussion the bees landing


Here is the top flipped upside down, you can see the screen on the bottom


Heres the top on the hive, you can see the frames through the plexiglass


Here is the hole where the vaccume hose goes in, this hole does not need to be covered when your done because it is above the screen
[img=http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/4803/dsc00763em7.th.jpg]http://[img=http://img56.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif]

Heres the top again on the hive befour i take it off


Here is the top box with the top removed, you cant really see it but there is screen over the bottom of this box so that the bees dont get out, but this provides them with much needed ventilation while they go down the road


Here is the hole where the tube usually goes but it is removed for travel and screen is rubber banned over it, for more ventilation down low. This second hole needs to be covered, because this is the hole that the bees get sucked through and they can wander back out of it.
[img=http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/5360/dsc00768ic2.th.jpg]http://[img=http://img56.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif]

Here is the setup ready to go down the road, it is secured together by hive staples



The design of this vac is desighned from robos bee vac, i just modified it a little bit so it was easier to build for me. With this vaccume i can suck bees from over 85 feet high or away,  not that i would ever do that to them. This vac can be used with any standard 10 frame langstroth hives. The tube that i used is smooth, it is not as flexible as corregated but it is workable. The top and bottom where made out of 2 regular langstroth hives cut down to 3 inches each. I put a piece of luan over the top where the plexiglass window is. And i put a piece of 3/4 plywood on the bottom. The number of boxes can be regulated with this setup, you can either add or subtract however many boxes you need. When i get home all i need to do is remove the screen off the second hole and put a top cover on them and they are good for the night. The next day i would put a normal bottom board on and a normal inner and top cover on and this hive is set for a while.

Questions Comments?

[Irwin]

Look's good to me.

[MustbeeNuts]

Have you used it yet? I would like to build one for the spring, cause I got  a removal to do. first ever cut out. LOL

[JordanM]

No i have not used it yet, it will be my first removal in the spring to. Ill let everyone know how it works when i use it though.

[BjornBee]

Test it on a can of peas. If you can pick up the peas (not the can... ;)  ) and put them in the box without smashing them, its a good place to start.

The pictures look great! 

How much did you say you wanted for it....  :-D

[JordanM]

Test it on a can of peas. If you can pick up the peas (not the can... ;)  ) and put them in the box without smashing them, its a good place to start.

The pictures look great! 

How much did you say you wanted for it....  :-D

What kind of peas, frozen?    I picked up corn with it.     How much do you think it is worth?

[BjornBee]

Jordan,
Frozen???  Ok, not the can of peas from the freezer shelf, but a can from the soup and veggie isle.
I guess if you pick the kind you like, you can cook them up afterwards. I prefer the young baby peas. But I'm sure for the testing of the beevac, that any ol' standard type would do.

Worth?....sitting at your place, it's not worth 2 cents to me...  :-D

I have no clue about worth. I'm debating ordering one or making one. If I order one from a bee mag and it's crap, then it would be worthless. I have not really paid attention to others and I wish I had one to test and play with. It's something I need.

[bassman1977]

I like the concept.  Puts the bees right in their home.

[Bee-Bop]

That certainly looks good, you did a neat job, and yes I like the idea of putting them right on the frames and in the hive box !!

Here is a idea you might want to add to it, were your entrance hose connects to the box, add a mouse trap door on the inside.

When you insert the hose it opens up, when you pull the hose out it closes automatically.

Good luck on your upcomeing extraction !!

Bee-Bop

[JordanM]

I have no idea what i would sell it for but one things for sure, i would not sell it unless i used it and made sure that it works fine and doesnt kill many bees, so i guess ill wait till spring.

Thanks to everyone else for your compliments and ideas.

[Robo]

By the way how does my vac look, do you think it will work good?

Jordan,  I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work if you get the suction regulated properly. 

A few comments based on my design and function.

• Put screen over your by-pass port,  otherwise you will suck bees out of the air. I'm not sure if it is the scent from the other bees or the sound/vibration of the vac motor,  but bees tend to be attracted to the bee vac.  If you don't prevent them from being sucked in the by-pass,  you will end up with bees clinging to the top of the cover screen or being sucked into the vac.
• I would suggest securing your top in another manner than 10 screws.  Putting in and taking out 10 screws every time you use it is a lot of unnecessary time and effort, not to mention the holes will end up stripped out over time.  That is why I build mine with the slide in cover.
• Likewise,I would also rethink your plan of securing the whole thing with hive staples.  Over time your vac will look like swiss cheese from all the staple holes as you can't use the same hole more than once.  Anyone that has moved a lot of hives will also tell you hive staples don't keep things very tight and rigid, especially when newly put together (bees have not had a chance to propolize it, which helps).  I find the ratchet straps keep it nice and tight and I have no worries moving it around.  Of course with your lift off cover approach, a ratchet tie would need to be removed to uncover.

Good luck, hope it works as well for you as mine does for me.
[/list]

[JordanM]

By the way how does my vac look, do you think it will work good?

Jordan,  I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work if you get the suction regulated properly. 

A few comments based on my design and function.

• Put screen over your by-pass port,  otherwise you will suck bees out of the air. I'm not sure if it is the scent from the other bees or the sound/vibration of the vac motor,  but bees tend to be attracted to the bee vac.  If you don't prevent them from being sucked in the by-pass,  you will end up with bees clinging to the top of the cover screen or being sucked into the vac.
• I would suggest securing your top in another manner than 10 screws.  Putting in and taking out 10 screws every time you use it is a lot of unnecessary time and effort, not to mention the holes will end up stripped out over time.  That is why I build mine with the slide in cover.
• Likewise,I would also rethink your plan of securing the whole thing with hive staples.  Over time your vac will look like swiss cheese from all the staple holes as you can't use the same hole more than once.  Anyone that has moved a lot of hives will also tell you hive staples don't keep things very tight and rigid, especially when newly put together (bees have not had a chance to propolize it, which helps).  I find the ratchet straps keep it nice and tight and I have no worries moving it around.  Of course with your lift off cover approach, a ratchet tie would need to be removed to uncover.

Good luck, hope it works as well for you as mine does for me.
[/list]

I will definately put screen over the bypass port/hole.

I dont know if i can secure the top and differently now, but i think it will work.

Actually for the securing i was going to use metal bands that i screw into the wood on all 4 corners. They are not really hive staples, but then again the screws might strip out of the wood.

Thank you for the suggestions i will defiantely be modifying it a little more this week.

[genesbees]

I have done a lot of removals (hundreds).  All I can say is that while this will work pretty well for ones that are easily accessible,  I can foresee it being a pretty big pain to use when you are at the top of a 32 ft extension ladder (that long hose seems to have a mind of its own when you are precariously perched).  My vac is much smaller and I still find it kind of bulky and a bit of a pain in certain circumstances.  Of course if you don't plan on accepting any removals unless they are pretty easy to get to, then this should serve your purposes well.  I plan to build a light backpack type version to accommodate those difficult locations.  I also really like the flexibility of a version that has removable screen cages, it gives me the option of dividing up a large colony into nucs during the cutout process instead of having to disturb them later (I especially like to do this when I discover a colony with lots of swarm cells, don't like to waste all those queens).

[JordanM]

I have done a lot of removals (hundreds).  All I can say is that while this will work pretty well for ones that are easily accessible,  I can foresee it being a pretty big pain to use when you are at the top of a 32 ft extension ladder (that long hose seems to have a mind of its own when you are precariously perched).  My vac is much smaller and I still find it kind of bulky and a bit of a pain in certain circumstances.  Of course if you don't plan on accepting any removals unless they are pretty easy to get to, then this should serve your purposes well.  I plan to build a light backpack type version to accommodate those difficult locations.  I also really like the flexibility of a version that has removable screen cages, it gives me the option of dividing up a large colony into nucs during the cutout process instead of having to disturb them later (I especially like to do this when I discover a colony with lots of swarm cells, don't like to waste all those queens).

So when your up that high do you just use a longer hose or do you bring the vac up with you?

[Robo]

So when your up that high do you just use a longer hose or do you bring the vac up with you?

When I work off of scaffolding, I put the bee vac on the scaffolding with me (mine uses polystyrene hives so it is pretty light).  If just working off a ladder,  I use longer hose.  I have a wire hook taped to the hose that hangs on the ladder when not in use.  I've removed swarms with it 25 ft up using a long hose and pole.

[JordanM]

Never thought of poleyestrene hives, do you transfer them over to normal hives when you get them home? 

Does it kill more bees the longer the hose?

[Robo]

Never thought of poleyestrene hives, do you transfer them over to normal hives when you get them home? 

I keep them in the poly hives, they winter much better.

Does it kill more bees the longer the hose?

I have not had any issue with killing bees.  I think accidentally sucking up debris kills more bees than the vac itself.

[JordanM]

Well if it does not matter how long the hose is i think i will leave the bee-vac on the ground with my normal hive bodies made of wood, rather than buying polestrene hives and carrying or pulling them up on to the scaffoling and i will just buy longer hose.

Is that fine?

[Robo]

It all depends on the size of the hose and how fast you go.   I normally use the 2-1/4 hose without issue.   I have a 25ft section of 1-1/2 pool hose that I use for the high up places.  This smaller hose tends to get clogged very easy if you go too fast.   It is also hard not to suck  and clog big clumps of bees when it is a hanging swarm.

[JordanM]

I have an 1 1/4 hose so i guess that will work as long as i go slow and dont suck up to many bees at a time. I guess i just have to experiment with it.