ProVap 110 Sideliner Commercial Vaporizer to heat oxalic acid to a vapor to kill varroa mites in a bee hive. Additional ProVap Caps and O-rings can be purchased separately.
You're looking at 20 seconds per hive! There is no wand to insert, you just point and shoot. No guessing on dosage. No compressor or battery. Just plug it in to an inexpensive inverter, generator or use house current. It’s 110 volts, 250 watts, 2.2 amps. This is the one you’ve waited for and now it’s here!
Details and Instructions:
This sublimator (a more accurate term than vaporizer, but we’ll use the term vaporizer as most know it by this name) is strictly for use in a grounded 110 volt (3 prong) socket.
Operation:
This vaporizer is most easily used from the back of the hive, where a small (¼”) hole is drilled in the back center of the ¾” rim of the bottom board that supports the bottom brood box. This hole is needed to accommodate the vaporizer stem. You want the vapors to rise up through the frames throughout the hive. Using a hole in the back of the hive and at this place (we believe) is easiest as it eliminates the nuisance of flying bees. The friction between the stem and drilled hole also holds the vaporizer in place during vaporization, which allows you time to prepare the next dose. The bees will readily propolize this small hole. Should you wish to close the hole after vaporizing, a plastic golf tee works great and is easily removed for next time.
You can use the ProVap in the front entrances as well if you wish. Rather than closing the entrance with rags or whatever you choose and inserting the vaporizer in an open area, simply take a paint stick, cut it to the desired length and drill a ¼” hole in the center of the paint stick. Slide the stick over the stem and you have an effective vapor block. With a number of these pre-drilled sticks, you can easily “march right down the line” vaporizing.
Connect the vaporizer to your 110 volt power source. It will take approximately 2 minutes to reach operating temperature. The red sequence readout will display 230 when ready.
In the white Teflon lids (recess side up) place the appropriate amount of OA. Do NOT pack the OA in the lid; rather place it loosely. Use one gram per brood chamber no matter the size be it mediums or deeps, eight or ten frame. Use a 1/8 gram on a nuc. One gram is almost ¼ teaspoon, so on a two brood chamber hive; you would use ½ a teaspoon. Invert the vaporizer. Take the white Teflon lid containing the OA and push it onto the bowl (be careful the vaporizer bowl is very HOT!) Place the still inverted vaporizer stem (with lid attached) into the drilled hole then turn the vaporizer right side up and tap the lid. The acid will fall into the bowl and start to vaporize.
This will cause the temperature to drop to approximately 210-215 then very quickly start to rise. When it again reaches 230, it is finished vaporizing and you can move on to the next hive. This will take approximately 20 seconds! You need to seal any openings during and 10 minutes after vaporization. It is not unusual to see the temperature rise above 230 to 250 during treatments. This is normal and well within tolerances.
The temperature is preset for 230 C. This is the correct setting for the bowl of this vaporizer. However, you can change it as follows:
- Plug in the vaporizer. The upper red numbers will show the bowl temperature. The lower green numbers shows what the bowl temperature is set to achieve.
- To change, depress the left side of the set button, and then depress the upper and lower arrows to the desired temperature.
- Depress the set button again. This will save the new temperature setting.
Safety!
You must use a respirator that is rated for organic acids! Make sure you buy one with replaceable filters. You are going to work in a heavy OA environment. The 3M full face model 6800 with #60923 filters is a good choice. Heavy, heat resistant gauntlet gloves are a must as well.
Details:
The vaporizer is a 110 volt electrical appliance, 330 watts, 3.3 amps.
Maintenance:
After you have completed your treatments, you must clean the bowel with warm water. Make sure that water flows out through the stem. You can do this while the vaporizer is still warm (not hot) from usage. This is to prevent build up in the bowl and stem of OA that may block the stem. Make sure also you clean the cups of any residual OA. You may wish to carry a “pipe” cleaner in case the stem gets blocked during usage.
