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Author Topic: My Bee Bucket Vac  (Read 38363 times)

Offline bbbthingmaker

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Re: My Bee Bucket Vac
« Reply #40 on: November 23, 2013, 10:29:02 am »
Another idea.     Instead of lining the bucket with screen or hardware cloth, use a 5 gallon paint strainer.  Would this provide enough ventilation ?  Maybe it would be easy to close the top of the filter and pull it out with the bees contained ?

Offline OldMech

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Re: My Bee Bucket Vac
« Reply #41 on: November 23, 2013, 11:13:40 am »

  I'll get some pics of mine today...   This spring we'll do a competition with them    :-D   I THINK, mine is more like the one Robo built..  I built mine before I read anything about robo's and there are differences, but will have to wait to hear from him when he sees the pics.. Off to build hives, be back later!
39 Hives and growing.  Havent found the end of the comfort zone yet.

Offline Bee-Mover

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Re: My Bee Bucket Vac
« Reply #42 on: November 23, 2013, 12:04:56 pm »
Great Vacuum! Looks like it will be very durable  :th_thumbsupup:

Offline OldMech

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Re: My Bee Bucket Vac
« Reply #43 on: November 23, 2013, 09:38:24 pm »
got some pics of mine today;

  

      The top is the vac.. the hive body and bottom board ""ARE"" a hive body and bottom board..


  

   I made a cleat to fit in the lower entrance of the hive and secured it with two screws...   Upon returning from a cutout, all I have to do is remove this cleat, drop an inner and telescoping cover on it and I am done...



  It took me a bit of time to figure out how to keep the bees from "clumping" under the intake area.. adding the piece of pegboard and screen evened out the suction across the entire top of the hive so they dont stick to it anymore.. there is about a four inch gap between this board and the top of the hive box....



   The intake connector from the old vac had an angle on it that I had to cut off so the bees come straight in without hitting anything.. in this image and the first one you can see the two holes I can use to increase or decrease intake suction.. I just used a couple brackets I stole from something else, ran a screw in them to hold them. They allow me to open or close these front holes to slow the amount of suction in the hose.



   I found that those two holes in the front were not enough, so I made a hole in the top.. that finally allowed me to reduce the amount of suction enough to keep from killing them..
   They come into the hive where the suction is diffused, and drop to the frames under them. Adding a frame of brood one of honey /pollen and at least two drawn combs usually has them covering those frames when I open the top. If the cut out is a large one I just add another medium super before I start to give them space inside. The more volume inside the chamber the less it seems to affect the bees once they are in there..
     I tried a couple different types, and didnt like either of them much.. I dont like sucking the bees up at the site, then dumping them into a hive when I finally get home..  this allows me to vac them, take them home, drop the tops on, replace the cleat with a reducer and I am done..

   I use a simple ratchet strap to keep it together. I can carry it with one hand full of bees. I have a pvc cap I slide into the hose port when done so I dont have to worry about bees coming out the hose.   I have used it only twice.. the first time I killed a lot of bees, the second time I added the top hole.. it took a lot longer, but was worth the effort and time in saving a LOT more bees, including the queen.
   Its just an old shop vac I picked up at a yard sale. I cut the filter adapter off the bottom and screwed what remained to the top of the box I had made. I used foam around the sealing surface where the box meets the hive body, but this vac has enough suction that I dont think it was necessary. I have two ten foot long pieces of PVC I can put on over the hose to reach 20 feet up if necessary.
   I hope to get a video or three this coming spring.. I cant compete with JP but can at least show it in action.

  SO!!   Moots.. whoever vacs the most hives that SURVIVE wins!!!  Whats the prize?? An all expense paid vacation consisting of 20 minutes at McDonalds???


   


« Last Edit: November 23, 2013, 09:50:33 pm by OldMech »
39 Hives and growing.  Havent found the end of the comfort zone yet.

Offline bbbthingmaker

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Re: My Bee Bucket Vac
« Reply #44 on: November 26, 2013, 06:06:43 pm »
I picked up some free buckets at a friends restaurant today.  I think I'll build me one.

Offline catbackr

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Re: My Bee Bucket Vac
« Reply #45 on: May 06, 2014, 11:03:47 am »
great design.  thanks for sharing

Offline Frankenberg

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Re: My Bee Bucket Vac
« Reply #46 on: July 01, 2014, 12:18:49 am »
Moot,

Built one this weekend thanks to your brilliance.  I was successful for the first time on a cut out.  1 for 3 now!!!
I learned the air pressure was my enemy in the past, I had thought it was the heat.

Offline txbeek

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Re: My Bee Bucket Vac
« Reply #47 on: July 03, 2014, 05:59:18 am »
I built one based on this design several months ago, and it works like a dream!  The shoulder strap keeps it horizontal, and frees one hand to regulate suction over the original vac intake by the motor, and the other to vaccum bees. If I need more suction, I cover the hole with my hand, or tap my hand on it to vary the suction. I have built more canisters so I dint overcrowd bees. I only use about a 4 foot hose that came with the vacuum. I insert the normal working end into a pvc pipe fitting that i glued together through a hole in the lid. When I change canisters, I just pull out the hose end and stuff a rag in the hole in the lid. I attach the hose with one wrap of duct tape, which is easy to remove and replace.

Since I use top bar hives, I just pour the bees in the hive where Ive placed the cutout comb, and just leave the bucket overnight if need be. The bees climb out of the bucket into the hive and onto the comb.

Ive done 10 plus cutouts and sucked up 5 swarms, and have no no ticable bee casualties. On several I have sucked up the queen and she was alive and well when I later checked the hive. I have used it at night to suck a swarm from a rosehedge thicket powered by a generator in my pickup bed. Without the vac, I could not have gotten that swarm.

Thanks again for sharing that design!! I cant imagine doing cutouts or even swarm removals in bad locations without it.

Moots

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Re: My Bee Bucket Vac
« Reply #48 on: July 03, 2014, 06:16:26 pm »
I built one based on this design several months ago, and it works like a dream!... 
Thanks again for sharing that design!! I cant imagine doing cutouts or even swarm removals in bad locations without it.

txbeek,
You're more than welcome, thrilled to hear it's working so well for you...

I know several folks that have gone with this design and communicated back to me that they've been quite pleased with it.

Maybe I should have named my horizontal design twist to the bucket vac the "Moots Bucket Vac"....Sure it'll never go mainstream and be known like the "Coates Nuc", but hey, you can't blame a guy for dreaming. LOL!  :-D   

Offline buddy

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Re: My Bee Bucket Vac
« Reply #49 on: July 04, 2014, 03:32:12 pm »
Greetings Sir,   In the pics you posted it looks as if there are 3 buckets used. Two that are put together and one for the cage. Is that right.

Offline buddy

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Re: My Bee Bucket Vac
« Reply #50 on: July 04, 2014, 03:43:00 pm »
After reading for 5th time I see it now.  3. thanks