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Questions & Comments on the new ProVap Vaporizer

45K views 96 replies 24 participants last post by  Groundhwg 
#1 · (Edited)
I'd appreciate it after viewing the introduction thread on the New ProVap Vaporizer, that you'd post any questions and comments here as that thread is closed to posting.


Thanks!

Larry
 
#4 ·
As a commercial beekeeper running the larger vmVaporizer, i have to say this looks like a perfect mid sized vaporizer. Not as fast as the one i use but definitely efficient, simple, and price tag friendly. Perfect for someone with more than a handful of hives looking to treat with oxalic in a timely manner.
 
#5 ·
Tried to message you Larry. Your inbox is full. Put me down for one please.
I'm taking off to late buck for a couple days, send me a invoice please and will settle up when I get back

jloutdoors@aol.com is my regular email

Thank you Sir, look forward to trying it! I have some tall hives as well and will take some video of treatment and results. I'll be running it off a generator for the most part.
 
#7 ·
I can't keep them in stock long enough to place on the website. With the sales here, sales at the meetings I've attended and just word of mouth, I can't keep them in stock.
Again, if you're serious about purchasing, please PM me.
 
#9 ·
Have another shipment arriving tomorrow but still won't have enough stock to place them on my website. With sales here, sales at the meetings I'm attending and distributor purchases. I can't keep them in stock.

Again, if you're serious about purchasing, please PM me.
 
#11 ·
I now have the ProVap110 listed on my website OxaVap.com. You can readily purchase there. Any questions or comments regarding the ProVap110, please post them here and I'll answer as appropriate.

Thanks to all that have purchased!!
 
#12 ·
From a satisfied user:

Hello Larry, just wanted to give you some feedback on the Pro Vap 110. This is the third dispenser I have purchased from you. The first two being the heavy duty Varrox vaporizer for $165.00, which worked fine, but took a little time using them. The third one I stepped up and purchased the Pro-Vap 110 for $485.00.
I love it! I sail through the task with ease. I am in and out of the bee yard in no time. Couldn’t be more satisfied!
Thanks again,
Robert
 
#26 ·
Thanks! There is no doubt that OAV is safe for the bees and highly effective against mites. We just need a way to easily apply it. This looks like a good tool for us small scale beekeepers to quickly put the hurt on mites.

And, as usual, Lauri provides good visual documentation of her methods
 
#27 ·
From Another satisfied customer: Shinebone of BS.

Got up to about 60F today here in Denver. I took advantage of the warm temps to do an OAV of my 10 hives with my new Provap 110, and to open the hives to check for dead-outs and spotcheck to maybe see brood.

I checked two hives for brood, and they are brood'n up! I scratched open a few capped cells, and based on the development of the larva, I estimate egg laying started about 10 days ago, i.e. January 19.

Also, the Provap worked great! http://oxavap.com/
 
#28 · (Edited)
From Another satisfied customer: Shinebone of BS.

Got up to about 60F today here in Denver. I took advantage of the warm temps to do an OAV of my 10 hives with my new Provap 110, . . . the Provap worked great! http://oxavap.com/
Just to flesh-out my brief comments from above:

I've got 10 hives in my backyard apiary. I saw the videos and comments on the Provap, and it looked it would solve my only complaint about the Varrox, which was it was slow to use. Looking at my local weather forecast, I saw a handful of days above 50F predicted for the next week, and decided to order the Provap and do a mid-Winter OAV of my hives. This because I had not done my usual late Fall OAV due to time constraints. I placed my order and SNL shipped the same day. Since I was trying to hit an imminent weather window, the quick shipping by SNL was appreciated. I also ordered organic acid filter cartridges for my facemask ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005YSRW0E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ), and picked up a 1/4" oak dowel from the local hardware store.

I run all mediums, and my winter configuration is 3 medium boxes. I drilled a 1/4" hole in the middle of the top box on the back of each hive, and plugged the hole with a 2.5" length of 1/4" dowel. I ran an extension cord to my apiary and operated the Provap according to instructions. I fired up my smoker to use as a wind direction indicator. I did a test run where I filled the top cap with 1/2 teaspoon of OA, inserted the cap into the Provap with the Provap inverted, and then righted the Provap and let it discharge the OAV into the air so I could see how much vapor it produced and for how long. I watched the temperature read out during the process.

The Provap worked great and a big dense cloud of OAV vigorously issued from the nozzle. During operation, righting the Provap causes the OA in the cap to fall into the heated bowl, and converting the OA powder into OA vapor absorbs heat energy. This shows up as the bowl temp falling, and then starting to climb again once all the OA has been vaporized. It is actually nice that you can monitor the vaporizing process via the temp readout, where the Varrox is operated blind. The Provap was mostly done producing vapor once the temperature readout started to rise. It took about 20-30 seconds to vaporize all the OA from the cup.

I next did the same procedure to a hive where I inserted the Provap nozzle into the 1/4" hole of a hive before righting the unit. I essentially did what Lauri does in her video of using the Provap [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkYC1XveCxU ] (Lauri rights the Provap before inserting so viewers can see how much OAV the unit produces, where I inserted the Provap into the hive before righting), as well as what is shown in the Provap-produced video [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYl63Akou3E ]. I had plugged the hive entrances with a wadded up paper towel. Within about 10 seconds, I could see OA vapor "leaking" out of the seams of the hive. Based on how much vapor the Provap had produced in my test run, and seeing the vapor leak out of the hive, I am confident that the OA vapor flooded the entire hive. This took about 30 seconds. Once inserted and righted, the Provap operates hands-free, and while the hive was being OAV'ed, I was scooping the next charge of OA into the second cap for the next hive. Since I was working at the back of the hive, I didn't even need to wear my bee suit. I was thankful I had on the face mask, though. It was all super easy and fast.

I've got a day job and other time consuming projects, so, for me, time is my main bottle neck for working my hives. The Provap works much faster than the Varrox (although, the Varrox is still an effective unit, it is just slow), and so is a big help for me.

I treated on Sunday, and will check mite drops on Wednesday. I will post photos of my sticky boards so people can see for themselves the resulting mite drops.




.
 
#30 · (Edited)
Good question, and I don't have any special insight into the answer. However, based on another of Lauri's videos, I elected to apply the OAV near the top of the hive because it seems that, at least in cooler weather, the OAV will tend to accumulate near the bottom of the hive. This seemed like a good way to start based on the evidence at hand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ22fhs27oo




.
 
#34 ·
I have a couple of practical questions:
1) If you drill a hole in your box, do you plug it with a dowel when you're done? Does the drilling, plugging, unplugging soak up the time savings that people like Shinbone (and me) are looking for?
2) how long do you keep the front entrance closed?
3) Do you need a heavier duty mask than with the standard Varrox?
4) what kind of power source do you need? I have a Sears 1150 amp charger that I use for Varrox. I don't want to shlep around a large generator (or buy one for that matter). Will my portable power 1150 be enough to operate the ProVap?
5) Does it matter what kind of Oxalic Acid you use?

Thanks
 
#39 · (Edited)
1) I drilled a 1/4" hole into the back of my top box, near the middle, just above the handle. I plug it with a 1/4" oak dowel. The plug passes entirely though the hole to protrude slightly into the hive to hopefully minimize the amount of propilis the bees apply to the area. I've only done one OAV treatment with this method, so far, but the time loss pulling/reinserting the plug is quite minimal. We'll see how things evolve as the bees propilize around the plug.

2) 10 minutes

3) I didn't use a mask when using the Varrox because I always stood 20' upwind during OAV application. Since I stand much closer to the hive while OAVing with the ProVap, I now use a 3M face mask with an organic acid filter cartridge. This has worked well, so far.

4) My hives are in my backyard, so I run an extension cord to my hives from a standard 110VAC wall plug. The ProVap does require 110 VAC, unlike the Varrox which ran on 12 VDC.

5) I bought a bag of OA from Brushy Mountain just to be sure I was in 100% compliance with any pesticide regs that might apply. I think it is the same stuff as the typical wood bleach available from Ace Hardware, but has labeling appropriate for using the OA in bee hives, i.e. application instructions, where the wood bleach does not. A technicality, to be sure, but it is easy enough to comply with so I do.




.
 
#35 ·
The ProVap operates on household AC current at 115 volts. A portable 'jump pack' that outputs 12 volts DC (including the Sears model mentioned above) is not suitable to run the ProVap.

It is possible to run an inverter to convert 12 volts DC to 115 volts AC, but that inverter would be best powered by a running engine (car, truck, generator, etc). Of course, if you have a generator that outputs 115 volts AC, then there wouldn't be much point to a separate inverter.
 
#37 ·
1) If you drill a hole in your box, do you plug it with a dowel when you're done? Does the drilling, plugging, unplugging soak up the time savings that people like Shinbone (and me) are looking for?
The bees will propolize any hole you'll drill. However, there is no reason you can't do it from the front. Just take a paint stick, cut it to length, drill a hole in it for the vaporizer stem and you have an effective vapor block.


2) how long do you keep the front entrance closed?
It is recommended, 10 minutes. It is the vapors that kill the mites. Letting the vapors out too soon defeats benefits of the OA

3) Do you need a heavier duty mask than with the standard Varrox?
Not knowing which one you have it is difficult to answer. For the ProVap, you'll be working in a heavy OAV environment. I'd use the best.
4) what kind of power source do you need? I have a Sears 1150 amp charger that I use for Varrox. I don't want to shlep around a large generator (or buy
one for that matter). Will my portable power 1150 be enough to operate the ProVap?
An inexpensive inverter (less than $25) will power the unit. It's 250w, 2.2 amp.
5) Does it matter what kind of Oxalic Acid you use?
Make sure the purity is greater than 95% and you're fine. Savogran (wood bleach) is 99.7% pure.
 
#38 ·
>>time savings that people like Shinbone (and me) are looking for?<<

Time savings is important. Proper set up accomplishes that. I'd argue beekeepers will find a way to put the time in if it means good mite control.

Guys with thriving hives are kept busy, guys with dead hives have the time to drink coffee
 
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