[dd33]

Hi everyone,

I was looking for some advice on how to safely (for me, the bees and my equipment) inject OA vapors into my hives using Johno's Easy Vap.

Most of my bottom boards are made with PVC so I can't inject through the back rim of the bottom board. I tested a scrap piece of the PVC material and it melted when in contact with the nozzle.

In the videos I watched on youtube it seems normal to inject above the frame rails in the top rim of the box. Maybe my boxes are weird but I don't have room to drill a 1/4" hole up there. It would almost need to be drilled half in the frame rail of the box and half in the bottom of the box above it. I am not opposed to doing that but the boxes would have to be aligned perfectly every time.

I've read some scary stories of people injecting through the middle area of the box and putting the nozzle against the side of frame and having the cap blow off in their face. I also thought that shooting directly between the frames would have the highest risk to the bees.


I have read suggestions to trim the nozzle down to the box thickness (3/4") so you can't hit a frame rail or cut the nozzle end at 45degrees. Are these good options? Is it generally considered safe to inject below the handhold in the middle of the box? Any advice for me?

Thanks

 

[bushpilot]

I don't have a clue, I don't have an Easy Vap (though I wish I did), and I have never seen a PVC bottom board. Did I say I don't have a clue?

That said, if and when I ever get an Easy Vap, I intend to drill the hole in my slatted racks, and injecting there. Maybe you could add an eke, shim, or slatted rack above the bottom board?

 

[crofter]

I have done a few rounds from the top. I use one of my winter feed rings which I drill a hole in from the side. I lift the inner cover of a hive, slap on the feed ring, put inner cover back on top of feed ring and s h o o t. Some people doing this way use a bit extra dose and dont even bother closing bottom entrance. When you inject in the top and see it come out the bottom, I think you can assume good saturation.

 

[johno]

I have built some migratory covers with a 3/16" strip around to give bee space above the top frames and then made the 1/4" hole in the back through the back 3/16" strip and treat those hives through the back of the cover and it works great.

 

[drobbins]

Johno, seems like that 3/16 tall cavity you're injecting into would serve well to make the vapor fan out over the frames
going from the bottom it's a 3/4 tall cavity (plus ya gotta bend over)

 

[johno]

drobbins, most of the leaks are around the bottom of the hive and I think the vapor seems to displace the air in the hive so it moves more easily in the direction of the leaking air. Now if you cover the top frames the vapor can only go down towards the air leaks. But if you cannot go from anywhere else but the bottom board it is still better than doing nothing.

 

[Fivej]

You can put a shim on your bottom board too. Some like to do this to lift the frames up for doing a OAV with a wand and to take frames out of a draft. J

 

[Alex Madsen]

If you have a john o vaporizer just drill a 3/8 hole in the back of the box and inject through that. I put my hole 2" up on the 2ed box of my double deep.

 

[Barhopper]

If you have a john o vaporizer just drill a 3/8 hole in the back of the box and inject through that. I put my hole 2" up on the 2ed box of my double deep.

Better be careful doing that. I tried it and it scorched the end bar on the frame in front of the hole.

 

[Beecraze]

I made boards the size of entrance reducers without the openings. Then I drilled a hole in it. this closes the hive up and gives me a place to inject the vapor.

 

[JWPalmer]

I made boards the size of entrance reducers without the openings. Then I drilled a hole in it. this closes the hive up and gives me a place to inject the vapor.

Doesn't the landing board interfere with inserting the upside down vaporizer? That method would only work if the opening was flush or almost flush with the front of the hive.

 

[Beecraze]

The way I made my vaporizer it works fine. It may not work with other designs.

 

[JWPalmer]

Beecraze, your idea is good, I just do not think it would work with the design of the ProVap or EasyVap and a standard bottom board. Pictures or videos are always appreciated. Your vaporizer and/or hives may be configured differently than most.

 

[little_john]

Better be careful doing that. I tried it and it scorched the end bar on the frame in front of the hole.

When using my 'top-insertion' approach, I also discovered that scorching occurs:



Not sure if it's that much of a problem though ...

Still - my plan to fit a deflector should eliminate this.
LJ

 

[username00101]

There's 3 locations I use:


1. In between the two brood boxes, but be certain to insert a long object, like a screwdriver to make sure that the hole is unobstructed all the way through. If there's a frame in front of the hole, it'll just get covered with OA and waste part of the vapor, minimizing the effectiveness of the treatment.

2. The upper portion of the bottom board. Be sure to seal the entrance very well.

3. Very lowest part of the honey super, above the brood boxes. This is my favorite location, but again - stick a screwdriver in the hole to make certain there's no frames obstructing the stream of OAV.

I've had to re-drill several holes, because When I stuck in the screwdriver it was blocked by a frame. that's bad, it'll result in OA buildup on that frame, wasting OA that would otherwise have vaporized.

 

[dd33]

I think I may add 3/16" shims on my migratory covers and go through the top like Johno said. This would probably be the best location for me since my bees don't seem to do much in the bottom boxes anyway.
Thanks for the tips.

 

[tenleez]

PVC is TOXIC when heated to the point of melting for man and beast alike. Avoid that at all costs.

Option 1: drill a hole larger than 1/4" in your bottom board and line it with metal tubing to insure that the easy vap tube doesn't touch the PVC when inserted. You take a short piece of 1x3 wood and drill a 1/4" hole in that. When you go to treat the hive with your vap, you open that metal lined opening and put the wood block with the vap tube in it over the hole. Flip the vap so the OA spills onto the hot plate and wait the recommended time. Remove the vap w/the wood block and block the hold with whatever fits (wood dowel, cork, etc.) into the metal lined hole on your PVC bottom board.

Option 2: Use a block of 1x wood that fits the entire length of the front entrance bottom board. Drill a 1/4" hole at the center of the block that fits btw the landing board and the bottom of the hive box. When getting ready to treat that hive, you position the block across the entrance, place the vap's copper tubing into the 1/4" hole in the wood block and treat for the time recommended on the machine. Remove the vap, plug the hole w/wooden dowel, cork, etc. and leave entrance blocked for 10 minutes - or whatever is recommended.

When I treat the bees in my nuc box I cover the front entrance, the full width of the landing board, using a 1x3" wood block w/a 1/4" hole drilled into the center of it. I stapled a plastic strip on either end of the wood block and use push pins on the other end of the strip to hold it to the hive box. Works well and I use a wood dowel to block the hole when finished and let it sit like that for 10 minutes.

 

[davemal]

You might find these two experiments of mine done this past winter regarding OAV from the top to be interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5dk52VMUB8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpTjPWW9Pe8&t=388s