bee vac ??

[SunnyBee]

what size hose do most use, 2 1/2" ? is the shop vac type hose with ribs ok ? has any one made a bucket type vac container with a screen container to catch the bees ?

[beehonest]

You will get a lot of opinions on this. I made mine it is a bucket type like the one they sell at brushy. I used the rigid bucket vac from home depot. You have to remove the cage and the ball and trim the cup around the intake that the ball is sucked into. I built my cage from screen for a bottom board conversion. It is a lot cleaner look than the brushy. Smooth hose is better but not a necessity. I worked on vacuums and installed central vacs for about 12 years. I will try to upload some picts if I can figure out how and get the time, I have a 2 year old and a 6 month old need I say more. I am great with wires and mechanics just never realy got into the tech thing.

[Charlie B]

This one from our buddy Rick on this forum works like a charm. Over 30 vacs with hardly any dead bees. All the queens made it as well and are doing fine.

https://plus.google.com/photos/11186...225?banner=pwa

[SteveBee]

I used a piece of pool hose for the intake. While it's corrugated on the outside, it's smoother on the inside than shop vac hose.

http://honeysunapiary.wordpress.com/tech-tools/bee-vac/

[Bradlyowen]

I just built a bee vac and used for my first cut out. I used the same principle as the plans shown on this site but mine goes on your back. My way of thinking was if the bees were to be injured it would be when they were crashing through the hose. With it on my back I was able to make the hose shorter, only 6'. It is sch40 1" flexible hose (it's smooth inside and out). I Initially thought about a bucket but I'm pretty happy with what I made. I put a port on the bottom that you hook to any shop vac. I built a couple of cages so I could swap it out when it got full of bees. The cages have a removable bottom so they're easy to dump in the hive. Their held in the vac with a plexi glass cover so you can see to adjust the vacuum. Here's a few pictures...

[stevedc]

hey, i built one based on the bushkill design. put 20 ft. 1" clear tubing on it, sucked up a swarm and had 4 dead bees and a good queen when thru.

[Kurt S]

I found a nice sized plastic box and was just planning on using with a shop vac. Cut three strategic holes, screen the end, and be done. It's big enough to hold a pretty big cut-out.
What's the concept of using the box in a box design? I'm not seeing much of an advantage.

Thanks!