Bushkill Bee Vac

[Robo]

Great, glad to hear it.   Thanks for the feedback


rob....

[PeeVee]

Rob,
I constructed a vac this summer as per your directions. Used it on two removals and thought it was great 

On thing I learned early on, if I needed to shut off the vac for any reason, be sure to have something to plug the end with. I did have some issues with lingering bees in the hose when I was done. A few raps and they went in.

Thanks!

-Paul VanSlyke - Deposit, NY

[jdpro5010]

How do you attach the hose to the box?  Do you glue the connector to the wood or do you just simply plug it in with a tight fit?  Phil

[G3farms]

Mine just plugs in with a snug fit. I used a hole saw and a little sanding t make a good fit.

[jdpro5010]

Thank You

[GWDawg1]

I put one together yesterday.  Going to put the finishing touches on it today.  I had a old Ridgid vac assembly that died on my so I could scavenge parts from it.

[rbinhood]

Just one slight change will much improve your design.  I have been using almost the same setup with the exception of I took the motor of a Shop Vac Hang Up Mini and cut the bottom of the flange off so it would fit down snug on the top cover and put my suction hole in the bottom of a medium super.  Now I don't have to drag around the vac and extra hose, plus I took the frame from an old backpack leaf blower and removed the motor and fan and can mount my vac to this and take it with me up a ladder with no problem at all.

[divemaster1963]

I used my bushkill vac last week on a hive in a crawl space.  same exact designed but I probably killed 1/2.  at first my vac was not enough then i taped the hose joints and it picked up some more suck!  i guess it was too much.  i was using an eight foot corrugated hose on the sucking end, same on the other.  is there a location to buy smooth hose in GA steve?  how's that queen doing?  and what are doing with all those swarms?

Try usingg smooth bore hose. you can get it at lowes or homedepot. or a pool supply house. that is want i use on mine.

[Robo]

I used my bushkill vac last week on a hive in a crawl space.  same exact designed but I probably killed 1/2.  at first my vac was not enough then i taped the hose joints and it picked up some more suck!  i guess it was too much.  i was using an eight foot corrugated hose on the sucking end, same on the other.  is there a location to buy smooth hose in GA steve?  how's that queen doing?  and what are doing with all those swarms?

Try usingg smooth bore hose. you can get it at lowes or homedepot. or a pool supply house. that is want i use on mine.

Changing to smooth bore hose is not going to solve his problem.   I have 100's of people using regular 2-1/2" shop vac type hose with a minimal mortality rate if suction is set correctly,  AND you do not suck up too many bees covered in honey.   A large portion of those killing lots of bees are not being careful when cutting comb and getting the bees covered with honey.   

Shop vac type hose is actually quite smooth on the inside and I find hose diameter is of greater importance that the smoothness of the bore.

[G3farms]

Robo I am with you totally on this one. I find that the larger bore hose is the way to go, I feel like it tumbles the bees less. Negative pressure or suction is also very important, it should be set to where it just overcomes a bees flight, and I don't mean sucking them out of the air from 10 feet away. When suctioning bees off of comb you need to be extra careful since you can pull unripened honey out of the cells which will in turn coat the bees and the inside of the hose. Once the bees are coated in honey they are almost for sure doomed, it takes another bee to clean a honey soaked bee up.

[Jim 134]

This is the new designed for Rodo BeeVac
 
http://robo.bushkillfarms.com/

    BEE HAPPY Jim 134 

[dixiebooks]

where can I find the plans to build the bushkill bee vac? Thx. -james

[G3farms]

http://robo.bushkillfarms.com/beekeeping/bee-vac/

not really plans but with a little imagination you can adapt to it.

[yockey5]

I am interested in having one made. Any chance of this?

[asprince]

I am interested in having one made. Any chance of this?

I see that you are hopelessly lost.......where are you located?


Steve

[AllenF]

Folks are lining up right now with vacs to sell.................

[dixiebooks]

G3farms: "not really plans but with a little imagination you can adapt to it."

I guess my imagination generator is kaput. I can't really make heads or tails out of those pictures which is why I wanted a picture I could use, that is a drawing. The narratives describe things I just am not seeing in the pics. -james

[AllenF]

http://www.youtube.com/user/bushkillfarms   --videos

http://www.beevac.com/   --for the non builders

http://www.beesource.com/build-it-yourself/bee-vac/  --pics for others just to be fair

But there are tons of homemade vacs on this site if you do a search for them.

[yockey5]

I am interested in having one made. Any chance of this?

I see that you are hopelessly lost.......where are you located?


Steve

Hudson, Indiana close to Michigan and Ohio borders.

[Judy in in]

I've used my new Bushkillfarms vacuum 4 times now. I lose very few bees, as I try not to use too much suction. It's so much nicer to do a cut-out without angry bees on your veil. If one of the girls gets mad, she gets a ride in the hose!

Thanks, Robo!