[Trin]

Well there is a connection sort of. I went out yesterday evening to sublimate some OA in a few hives. These hives are tall, still 3 deep brood chambers. (note to self; use queen excluders next year) The top box was full of capped brood so I added an empty top box and sublimated from the top. Just to avoid melting any wax, I put a metal QE under the top box. All went well although I treated one hive from the bottom only.

So as it was getting dark I decided to use another sublimation tool that has a thin profile. I inserted this in the front entrance and waited. I did not see any smoke so I wasn't sure how long it took to heat up. This is where things went south. I decided to run into the house for a couple of minuets and subsequently forgot the essence of time. Probably 15 minuets later the brain sent out an alarm.

I fully expected to see a bonfire. Burning building if you will. But no, just a roaring of angry bees. I shut off the heater and waited a bit before attempting to remove the same. I can't get it out. After 3-4 tries and angry bees pouring out the front entrance I retreated. Upon further examination today my guess is the melting wax (I found a pool of melted wax on the screen bottom close out board) globed up on the heater and now it is bigger than the opening.

Aside from calling myself stupid and absent minded, I figured it might be worth posting for a lesson on what not to do. I wish I could see in the entrance to figure out what is obstructing the heater, but the bees seem to have put up an additional line of cops and maybe called out the national guard, all hanging out at the entrance and boiling out at the slightest movement of the heater handle.

I will re-try after donning riot gear.

 

[Boondocks]

When I used to stick a wand type vaporizer into the front entrance I sometimes ran into burr comb and would have a big glob of wax covering the end of the vaporizer. I now have a box type bottom board with a screen floor for the bees on top of the box with a solid landing board. I have slide down covers for the back of the box. I now do it from the back with the vapor rising up into the brood comb. This keeps it calmer for the bees and myself.
You do not use the timer app on your phone to keep track? It usually only takes 2 minutes to vaporize 1/4 teaspoon of OA using a wand.

 

[Trin]

I'm thinking about making several changes to equipment over the winter. Eventually I will probably buy a Provap 110 as the smaller wand types don't have enough volume capacity for single dosing on larger hives.

Applying from the bottom on large hives seems to be an issue with the vapor not getting into the upper boxes as well. So I may split doses with some in the bottom and some in the top. This necessitates adapting my current hives to make application fast and easy. Maybe not as big as an issue as I currently think, but I wonder about a lot of things. Plus I have a few long hives and having a small hole along the side means multiple dosing ports.

Probably like many beekeepers i have an odd assortment of equipment, so finding an easy universal solution makes sense. The alternative perhaps is spending the money on an expensive versatile tool vs losing more hives.

All my hives have screen bottoms but sealing them off with the wand inside is an issue. Going to be a busy winter building 8 frame boxes and NUCs.

 

[Jim Braun]

To all of you beekeepers that are also woodworkers. I'm sure that I saw this on here but I'll repeat it for those who missed it. I took two shims and drilled a 1/2" hole on the short end between the 2 shims. I remove the inner and outer covers and insert the wand between the 2 shims. I'm sure that the shank of all of the different styles will fit in the 1/2" hole Then I turn the outer cover upside down on top of them. After burning the top of a few frames I put a piece of flashing under the wand now. I still put the towel over the front entrance on the bottom. The whole box still fills with vapor and you can do it from the back to keep out of the flight path of returning foragers. No more worrying about if your end will fit under the reducer too. If you have a screened bottom board you will still have to cover it.

This sure made my OAV applications easier.

 

[JWPalmer]

Trin, two words. Easy Vap. Way less expensive than the ProVap and works just as well.

 

[elmer_fud]

Applying from the bottom on large hives seems to be an issue with the vapor not getting into the upper boxes as well. So I may split doses with some in the bottom and some in the top. This necessitates adapting my current hives to make application fast and easy. Maybe not as big as an issue as I currently think, but I wonder about a lot of things. Plus I have a few long hives and having a small hole along the side means multiple dosing ports.

I have run a vaporizer in the bottom with a clear sheet on top of 3 boxes (1 deep, 2 medium) and a top feeder and the vapor seemed to go to the top fine. It was interesting to watch. I suspect it gets distributed fairly well. I dont have any long hives, so I can not watch them.


Before I run my vaporizer in the bottom I run the bees up with a smoker blown in the entrance and use a flashlight to make sure there is no burr comb hanging down. I then put a metal plate (roof flashing) on the bottom and set the vaporizer on it and run it.

 

[Trin]

Trin, two words. Easy Vap. Way less expensive than the ProVap and works just as well.

Thanks for the bump. I had forgotten about that alternative. I might just spring for one in the next day or so.

I still might do a dose split between top and bottom just to ensure distribution. With some old boxes (not the best sealing.) and leaking issues I wonder about vapor distribution. Maybe if I get busy this winter I will have plenty of new boxes that actually sit square. I noticed that 2 hives are well propolized and one is not.

 

[Robert Holcombe]

Trin, "Aside from calling myself stupid and absent minded, I figured it might be worth posting for a lesson on what not to do." Don't feel as though you are alone.

I have used a Vorrox for 5 years wihtout a problem until yesterday. On my sixth hive, I waited the elapsed times, pulled the wand out and it was full. Oh, I must have forgotten to connect to the battery. Repeated, same result. Shut off eveything, went to think an dplan trouble shooting but the Patriots game got my attention. As the Raiders committed a touchback fiasco, Yeah Pats, I realized I reloaded my OA bag but with what? Pats won, go check what I put in the bag. Learned something new, you sublimate baking soda very easily ( carry it to neutralize large OA spills. Took a few minutes but I got back on track. I did run a test this past winter to verify you can ignite honey with a wand. I carry a buckt of water for multiple reasons.

 

[cviuc1972]

Hopped into my truck as it was sprinkling that afternoon. I had the vaporizer attached to the truck battery. Left it in for 3+ minutes. Jumped out of the truck and unhooked the clamp from the vaporizer. Got back in, looked up and noticed white smoke seeping out yet. Looked again after less than a minute and the smoke had gotten thicker. Fortunately, I still had my suit on, I jumped out and quickly dismantled the hive, finding a small flame on 2 of the bottom frames. All the bees were either not moving or moving very slowly. By this time, it was raining steadily. I put the hive back together, figured it was a total loss. Went back a couple days later when it was warmer out, and I was surprised to see they were acting as though nothing had happened. Well, except they were definitely more ornery...