Creating a Bee Vacuum for the Beekeeper
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- Опубліковано 4 лют 2019
- In 2018, we had someone contact us who had a rather large swarm that decided to make its home in their chimney. And this was a VERY aggressive hive. Generally swarms are docile, but this one had already built comb. Tim wanted to make a vacuum to safely remove the bees from a tight space without doing damage. Here is a quick video about how he made the vacuum and used a dimmer switch to control the speed. He was able to quickly and easily remove the bees from their chimney (of course way up on the roof) and transfer them to their new home.
Didn't the dimmer damage the vacuum motor?
good idea to use the smooth sided hose. not seen that idea elsewhere
We plan to make a new one in the future. Haven't had a chance to yet, but we have a few tweaks we'd like to make!
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I think you wired the dimmer into to power cord for the vacuum. Wall socket->vacuum cord->dimmer->a little bit more vac cord->gray colored vac head. I’m thinking of securing the blue switch box to the gray vac head. This will allow the vac head to be removed and the bucket to be a free object.
That is correct.
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Can you show a video step by step on how you wire it in
It was no different then writing a light on a dimmer. White wire passes by the dimmer to the vacuum and the black wire goes through the dimmer. That's it, good luck.
If you should in the future make another, please show the build step by step. I think all of us have seen dozens of videos sucking bees with a bee vac, what is needed , videos building a beevac. most videos take for granted everyone understands what the maker is saying. thanks
Definitely! I'll make a note of it and try to get a video of the whole process when I can.
thanks for the response. did you ever get a chance to try it out, curious about how it worked sucking up bees and if there was many killed during the vacuum process . I think for a small to medium swarm of bees or cutout the light weight bucket seems to be a good choice and having the handle is good for hoisting the unit up or hang . take care, Ron in WA. State
@@ronblack2404 Yes, we used it last year to catch a fairly large swarm that had settled in someone's chimney. We needed something lightweight with a handle to carry up onto the roof. It worked like a charm! We were able to get all of the bees into the bucket (it was full!) and transport them to their new home.
@@gilhernandez7610 Hello - the vacuum itself is not airtight when it is off, so it is not like a jar with a lid on. There are some very interesting articles on how insects "breathe" here is one. phys.org/news/2007-04-easy-oxygen-bug-life-full.html
Another one I read stated 1-4 hours depending on conditions (this does not include under water). The bees were in there for maybe 20 minutes and we didn't lose any of them during the relocation. If you were to need to transport them farther, probably using 2 buckets stacked would work - the outside bucket would need to be solid and the inside bucket could have tiny holes. Once the bees are transferred into the bee vac, then remove the exterior bucket during transportation to their new home.
@@gilhernandez7610 I forgot to reply! I hope it went well for you! Tim said that he had the dimmer switched on to the lowest setting that still gave suction.
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I want to know how you hooked up the dimmer switch to the vac motor.
Same way as you would if it were hooked up to a light switch. The hot (black) wire runs through the dimmer switch and controls the power to the vacuum speeding up or slowing down the motor which adjusts the suction. Lower flow is better as it is less likely to hurt the bees. Be sure to use a smooth hose so the bees slide through it and don't get hurt. Also, don't leave the bees in the bucket for very long as it gets hot in there and they'll die so suck them up and go immediately to your hive, max 30 min or less if it's a hot day. You can also make a double bucket setup such that the first bucket has a screen in the bottom and the second bucket goes on the outside of the first. Then when you're done vacuuming them up, just remove the second bucked and they'll have air and it'll cool things down.
Did using the dimmer on this vacuum damage the motor?
Don’t put that HEX on me !!!! Lol but no. So far so good.
@patrickt863 No, I actually used it couple weeks ago, still working great
Hello, I have a question. I am doing the same thing you did but I can't figure out how to hook up the dimmer switch. All of the dimmer switches I found only have 3 wires that come out of the switch. I'm not an electrician but it seems like you would have to have 3 wires going in and 3 wires to come out. help explain that to me if you would. Thanks for the video, I think it's great.
Hello, I'd assume you are talking about the common, neutral, and ground wire. Look at the wiring diagram in this following link. Instead of the wires going to a light , they will go to the vacuum.
images.app.goo.gl/7QCr45xmM9wSeexR6
Hello, I'm guessing you are talking about the common, hot, and ground wires. The cord you use should also have the same wires unless you are using a plug without a ground. You'll connect the white wire to the white wire on the vacuum. The black wire to the black wire on the dimmer then the other black wire on the dimmer to the black wire on the vacuum. Then connect all the grounds together. Ground wires will either be green or a bare copper wire. Sometimes the wire coming out of the dimmer is red and this wire would hook to the back wire going to the vacuum. Hope this helps. You can always google how to wire a dimmer switch and you'll get lots of helpful images and videos.
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Would this be good for a cutout?? They don't die ?
You have to keep the suction low and use a smooth tube. Otherwise it will kill the bees. You also need to move them ASAP to the new hive, within 30 min max, or they'll die in the bucket. I ended up modifying th bucket by drilling holes and covering it with window screen then placed the whole thing in a new bucket so the seal is still there, otherwise the vacuum won't suck air. Then once I'm done sucking out the bees I can remove the lower bucket and the bees have air.
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