Build Your Own Battery Powered Bee VAC

[@TexasBeekeeper]

Edit: Links for the parts are in the description. I get absolutely nothing if you use the links. They are just there to help. Used the vac for the first time tonight and I think it did really well. It was dark when I did the swarm and even darker when I got them home, but there was a bucket of live bees, so I'd say it did what it was supposed to. I don't think I'm going to put the ball valve in that I mentioned in the video because I think the suction was perfect. I may however make some fittings that are low profile that can add additional screened vents to the bucket, but have them closed off while the vacuum is being used. That will be much later down the road (maybe this fall). Edit: I almost forgot. In regards to the batteries. I got about 98% of the swarm vacuumed up with the included Ryobi battery and then thankfully my battery adapters had come today so I was able to finish the last little bit using the Dewalt adapter with Dewalt battery. Had I used the Dewalt 5ah battery from the start I think it would have done the entire swarm. The whole vacuum job took about 15-17 minutes (so the Ryobi battery did about 12 minutes of that). And the last little bit was vacuuming up straggler bees here and there. I'll try to post a follow up video if any of my video is decent. I was using red light and not sure if the camera focused or not. Thank y'all for watching.

[@woodlandharvesthoneycompanyllc]

Good to see you! Great design and the idea for the battery adapter will help to by using batteries you already have. I have Milwaukee. A couple of 5 ah and a 12 ah.

[@TexasBeekeeper]

Thanks @woodlandharvesthoneycompanyllc, Yes! I wish I would have thought about the adapters sooner. It would have saved me an extra $60. Oh well. Live and learn. #Ryobi does have a pretty impressive tool lineup though, so now that I have a battery, I can start looking into what they offer to see if anything would be of use.

[@lagrangebees]

gotta love when people take the time to teach others how to make a good tool for themselves and save a bit of money in the process :)

[@TexasBeekeeper]

Hey Alex! Exactly. Just hoping to help people that want a slightly more affordable way to get a battery powered bee vac. Thanks for watching.

[@larimorefarms]

That’s a nice setup my my friend. I knew you had to be working on something.

[@TexasBeekeeper]

Thanks Keith. Yes, always seem to be working on something. Hope you're doing well

[@gunlinebees.3831]

Money saving, we're all about that! Tell ya what... We've got $30,000 cash, we'll call "funny money" for all rights reserved to Gunline Bees for this here get up. But... We will need you to sign a nondisclosure agreement on how this was built before any funds can be transferred. Great job, it's good to see you back at it! God Bless.

[@TexasBeekeeper]

LOL! Cracking me up right now! Hope y'all are doing well

[@MinnesotaBeekeeper]

Really interesting! Thank you for posting.

[@TexasBeekeeper]

Thanks Mike!

[@Swarmstead]

Nice design for smaller jobs. Definitely a money saver.

[@TexasBeekeeper]

Thanks @Swarmstead. Saw you had a couple of nice swarm retrieval videos recently. The one in the park on the fence was nice. They had a good march into the Hive.

[@Swarmstead]

@@TexasBeekeeper thank you.

[@MyMaxmorgan]

Awesome video! Where did you get the bucket shoulder straps?

[@TexasBeekeeper]

Thank you! It has been working great! I got those shoulder straps from Amazon. Thanks for watching!

[@dennisbarney869]

Great job Blain looks like it should work just fine. suggestion to others that have not used one. keep them out of direct sunlight when ever possible, jmho Thanks for posting Blain.

[@TexasBeekeeper]

Thanks Dennis. Yes, Great tip. The bees will bake in those if kept in the sun.

[@DavidDetrich]

Where do you get the manual bottom sliding gate valve? Thanks!! Great video!!

[@TexasBeekeeper]

Hey David, I get those from Amazon. I have updated the description to include links for all of the products. I get absolutely nothing if you use the link. It's just there to help. Thanks for watching.

[@DavidDetrich]

Excellent!! Thanks. Hope your bees are doing good this year.

[@TexasBeekeeper]

@@DavidDetrich You're very welcome! Thank you! Hope yours are doing good too!

[@orymarrioneaux6566]

Thanks for the video, very informative and I love the portability. Could you let me know where you ordered that self-contained gate valve? Please keep them coming. Also love your water tank video.

[@TexasBeekeeper]

Howdy! Thanks for watching and commenting. I just added links in the Item description to help everyone find all of the parts. I don't make anything off of these. It's just to help people find what they need.

[@dcsblessedbees]

Hey I know that guy his name is Blaine, I call him Tex.🤠Very cool.👍 Good to see ya buddy, Blessed Days...

[@TexasBeekeeper]

LOL! Hey DC! I had to re-remember how to post a video..... Plus side is with my new internet, it was a lot quicker than it used to be. Hope you're doing well.

[@dcsblessedbees]

@@TexasBeekeeper Nice.😁still got 5 and they are growing. We have the small native blackberry starting along with the Hawthorne trees with the tail end of maple. So Spring food appear to be coming in well. They were just small but they are growing now. 1 is into a 2nd deep and I figure most will need it with in a few weeks so they are building fast. Here in a week or so I'll find out the date for my 10 new queens (4 Caucasians and 6 Sol Stock) I am picking up 2 or 3 brood frames for each of them from Harris to set them up with an instant single. Beyond that I'm just going to try and grow strong hives for Winter.😂Spring into Summer is just starting and my Brain is already getting ready for Winter. Blessed Days Blaine it's good to see ya.😁

[@philipthomas1285]

Hi,whwre did you buy the scerw on lead?

[@philipthomas1285]

How did you make the screw on led?

[@TexasBeekeeper]

The screw on lid van be purchased from Hone Depot and probably various other places. They run about $8 each. There is a threaded rim that you snap on a 5 gallon bucket and the lid screws into that. Both pieces come in the set. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@philipthomas1285]

My problem with this vac is removing the bees from the bocket to the hive box

[@TexasBeekeeper]

The bucket is completely sealed off so it's just a matter of unlatching it and carrying it to where you want the bees. Unscrew the lid (which is at the bottom) and shake the bees into the box, or just set it there and let them walk out on their own. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@philipthomas1285]

Where did you get the screw head?

[@TexasBeekeeper]

I got those screw on lids from from Home Depot. They're worth getting, just for the ease of removing the lid.

[@philipthomas1285]

Ok thanks

[@philipthomas1285]

If i need a battery for one hour is it available?

[@TexasBeekeeper]

I don't know that you'd get 1 hour on this without using at least a couple of battteries. But they're easy to swap out. No different than a cordless drill.

[@tarheelbeekeeper3971]

Blaine you need to be looking at a patent for your vacuum

[@TexasBeekeeper]

Hey Tarheel, Thanks. I don't think there's a lot to patent here since nothing was made by me. Only assembled together. I appreciate you saying that though. Hopefully this video will help someone make their own too. Thank you for watching!