Bushkill Bee Vac

[Robo]

@Judy,

Gad things are working out well for you.  Thanks for the feedback.  May you have continued success.

robo..............

[caseydennison]

First time to see a bee vacuum. lol looks very interesting none the less. i bet it gets the job done!

[gregted]

Nice job Robo,

Just found your design and love it. It never ceases to amaze me how clever some people are. Look at a problem and find a solution.

Aut Viam Inveniam Aut Faciam ... I will either find a way, or make one.

Good stuff.

Greg

[Intheswamp]

Rob, I have some questions regarding the purpose of the slanted bottom.

I've seen where you've stated that the bee's arrival into the bottom is basically a gentle arrival being as the bee is going from the restricted vacuum of the 2-1/2" hose into the 20x14x? (8-frame mediums for me...maybe two stacked...13"?) cavity of the bottom box where the vacuum (and thus wind/turbulence)  will decrease to a very low pressure that the bees can handle easily.  With that understood I don't see the slanted bottom as being there to give the bees a sloped landing surface rather than a "wall" to slam into.

The questions I have (for now<g>) are:

Is the slanted bottom intended to encourage the bees to move upward?
Is the slanted bottom an engineering design to aide the air-flow?
What would be the consequence of not having a slanted bottom?
Do you hang any frames in the lower bee box (maybe to the sides) to give the bees somewhere to cluster/hang during the cut-out?

I've watched the three videos of yourself detailing the features and use of your vac design and I'm pretty well sold on the idea.  I thought at first the bucket-vac would do me ok (I still like Rick Hall's bucket design), but the functionality of the Bushkill design keeps drawing me in.   Of course, my inapt skills as a woodworker may hinder me in this project...but, if I can move some other projects to the side this winter I'll have a vac by spring.

Sorry to bother you with questions that are probably very evident to most folks.
Ed

[Robo]

The questions I have (for now<g>) are:

Is the slanted bottom intended to encourage the bees to move upward?

I would say it is more there to aid them moving upward and direct them towards the back of the box and away from the inlet.  Bees will naturally move up,  but keeping them from clustering near the inlet reduces clogging.

Is the slanted bottom an engineering design to aide the air-flow?

I don't believe it has any benefit the air flow, especially when there are frames in the box.

What would be the consequence of not having a slanted bottom?

I know some folks have built them with flat bottoms and I have not heard any issues.

Do you hang any frames in the lower bee box (maybe to the sides) to give the bees somewhere to cluster/hang during the cut-out?

If it is a warm day I'll add frames with water before I start.   If you add frames, make sure you put in at least 9.  Otherwise you stand a good chance of having them twist and fall off the frame rests when you move the hive.  If you only want to put comb on the outsides, at least put foundationless frames in the middle to keep things in place.

Rob....

[Rex "Hawk" Smith]

Rob (or anyone else who has made the Bee Vac),

Do you leave the motor filtered when in use as a bee-vac?  I would presume so - if using the vac as a standalone... But what about when installed as an integrated motor on the hive-body?  Just wanted to make sure.  I've got an old extra 4hp small shop-vac that I was toying around with using for the purpose.

Thanks,
Rex S.

[Robo]

No filter when using an integrated vac.  Use it as you would in "leaf blower" mode.

[jredburn]

I built a vac from a set of plans on another web site that was a box inside of a box.  The inner box was open sides with hardware cloth and lined inside with the soft foam they use as lining in silverware drawers.
The vacuum would suck the bees up against the hardware cloth and hold them there.  This cut down the air flow and the vac would stop working.  I ended up working with the bees all over me and the table.
I cant use the bushkill vac system because I use Top Bar hives
Has anyone ever used or seen a cyclone type vacuum?
 I would really like to talk to you if you have.
Regards
Joe

[Intheswamp]

Joe, you might look at this vac.  Simple and neat design and appears to work.  I use Langs and would rather have the Bushkill vac, but with no woodworking equipment set up I'm considering putting together one of these...

https://plus.google.com/111863660513010434468/posts/5C1dNwCPjLQ

Best wishes,
Ed

[G3farms]

Joe...........

Build a couple more of the inside catch boxes, when one gets full you can switch it out for an empty one.

[JP]

Joe, you might look at this vac.  Simple and neat design and appears to work.  I use Langs and would rather have the Bushkill vac, but with no woodworking equipment set up I'm considering putting together one of these...

https://plus.google.com/111863660513010434468/posts/5C1dNwCPjLQ

Best wishes,
Ed

In my experience, a canister type vac is a bad design. Vacs work best when the bees can spread out or upwards. The wider and longer the catch box is the better. Look at the design posted, its plenty deep but the bees wind up stacked atop each other which leads to stress. Some colonies become more stressed than others when they're vacuumed. Add really warm weather & you have a recipe for disaster.


...JP

[Intheswamp]

Thanks for the feedback on that, JP, I respect your knowledge and hands-on experience in this.  Like I said, I'd much rather use Robo's vac but I don't currently have the capability to build it.  I've got a question about the bucket, though...what if it was lain down on it's side with screen wire attached to the inside for the bees to climb on...maybe a couple of combs attached inside the far end away from the vacuum motor?  Better?

Thanks,
Ed

[JP]

Thanks for the feedback on that, JP, I respect your knowledge and hands-on experience in this.  Like I said, I'd much rather use Robo's vac but I don't currently have the capability to build it.  I've got a question about the bucket, though...what if it was lain down on it's side with screen wire attached to the inside for the bees to climb on...maybe a couple of combs attached inside the far end away from the vacuum motor?  Better?

Thanks,
Ed

Better, but with the bucket design just make certain you have adequate ventilation. Plastic can get pretty warm on a hot day. Make certain your inner catch box is rigid so it does not collapse on the bees when turned on its side.


...JP

[ShaneJ]

Ed, did you see the pics of the Robo bee vac I made? I don't have the cutout shim or slide out lid, but I managed to make what I did with simple tools. And I have zero wood working skills.

[JP]

Just so y'all know I now am the proud owner of two Bushkill bee vacs. Schawee and I have used the one he built last season and this season. I used mine for the first time three days ago with Emil. That video has been posted in Honey Bee removal.

Because I do quite a few removals as most of you know by now I definitely needed two. Very impressed with the design. I can tell Rob put a lot of thought in coming up with the final product.


...JP

[AllenF]

So JP, have you replaced you old box style bee vac with the Bushkill vac?   

[JP]

So JP, have you replaced you old box style bee vac with the Bushkill vac?   

I like Rob's design very much!


...JP

[PeeVee]

I've had super good luck with Rob's design. Easy to add on the brood frames after the collection process. Couple days later I rearrange the body and ready for the next removal. Bad thing is, if I was as busy as JP, I would need a couple more of the "base" parts!

[D Semple]

I have two of your Bushkill bee vacs and like them a lot, especially for inside removals.


I've found it very handy to have a couple of extra screen shims to let me reunite bees with boxes of brood several times during very large cutouts.

Geat design,

Don

[divemaster1963]

My box in a box started to fall apart ( particle broad ). so today I was making topbars for 75 frames I needed for three cutouts this week and I was looking around my shop at some popular sticks I had dried out in the drying pile and decide to make one. I had problems cutting the angle for the slant bottom broad so I just used some 1/2 x1/2 stripes to mount the 1/4 sheet of wood I planed down. I looks good. for the screen divider I ripped some 3/4 x 3/4 and split one end and used some no.8 screen. bend the edges to stiffen it up and it works good. made the top and placed the mesh in a groove and added my 3 hp shop vac. to the top I going to use the smaller hose to get good suction. Now to make some extra bottoms or some extra screen dividers so I can change boxes during the cutouts. I'll place the second divider on the bottom so I can put it in when removing the bottom. I think it may work and keep loose bees to a minim. 

john