[crabbydad]

anyone use the 1.75 hp home depot 5 gallon bucket wet/dry vac for a bee vac? saw one online and wondered if anyone here made one and how well it worked
Tony

 

[Rader Sidetrack]

See post #44 of this other thread for photos:

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?296709-Best-bee-vac-design&p=1097530#post1097530

 

[KPeacock]

I've got one that I i have used for that. i didn;t collect a swarm with it, but did use it to vacuum up some bees when i moved a hive. It worked just fine for me.

 

[crabbydad]

i was wondering if i had enough power, so i guess it does than, as long as your hose isn't too long. i want to make one that isn't too cumbersom to move around. i was going to go with two buckets and bungee cord them together and possibly make a setup to strap them on my back like a backpack

 

[KPeacock]

If i had to use them on a cut-out, i'd but smoothe hose for it an line the bottom bucket with foam at the impact surface. I used foam to help cushion the bees, but didn't bother with the smooth bore tubing for such a small ball of bees.

 

[imthedude]

i like the thought of the bucket style vacuum and its portability, especially with shoulder straps mounted to the bucket. my only question is about the entrance of the bees into the bucket. how do you not kill the entire colony as they enter the vacuum and make a rapid 90-degree turn into the bucket? am i missing something on the operation of the vac? it seems like it would be better to have them enter the bucket outside of the vacuum, i.e.a separate hose from the actual suction port on the vac itself.

 

[brettj777]

You can't use it 'as is' - it will kill the bees. You can use it as the suction source when you have a catch box in between. There's lots of postings on it. and some have mounted the bucket head in a lid so you can suck the bees into a screened box. But once they enter the box the suction is diffused so they don't hit a wall or something.

 

[crabbydad]

i want to use 2 buckets. the vac in one and the other is a catch bucket , the hose would come in the lid as well as the hose exiting going to the other bucket with the vac. the lid could be removed and a lid with a screen put on when done or to switch to another bucket.

 

[GaryG74]

I've used one like it from Lowe's. Look at the book by Bill Owens and Cindy Bee titled "Honey Bee Removal". It shows plans for several options for vacuuming straight into a hive (has to bee air tight for suction to work) or into a bucket. Gives all sorts of ideas for "extras" also. Like brettj777 said, put foam at the impact point and use a smooth interior hose to cut down on injured and dead bees. Inside diameter for my vac was 1 1/4". Used my set up for a cut out and by adjusting suction kept dead bees to a minimum. The bucket vac worked fine.