BBKA Forum

They look like the ultimate accessory for the Steam punk homesteader Alfred

Can't claim to have made this as my woodworking skills are minimal to say the least.....but I did have this bee vac made for me. So it nearly counts. There is 2ms of smooth bore tube that fits on the bottom tube for sucking the bees in with.
Looking forward to being able to remove bees from the garage/extraction room and set them free again. Might come in handy for hoovering up the odd badly situated swarm. Need s a hoover to create the vacuum, then you can adjust the strength of the vaccum...my vax will suck in bees but is too powerful and they mainly die.
Looking forward to its trial runs.

Can you put frames in to turn it into a nuc?

Not unless you unscrew the mesh from the top to prevent the bees you have gently vacuumed into the bee vac going further on in to the vacuum cleaner itself.

Finished off the extractor stand



The meticulously calculated geometry (the offcuts ended up the right length ) allows the spout height to tip an upward arc allowing the goods to be strained through a filter set straight to a 25l settling tank.



Anti vibration fittings and qd fixings for a bit of poshness.
Just need those bees to produce a bit of honey this year to justify it.

Nice mods Alfred and varnished as well!

Me... just been wrapping this years supply of smoker fuel from all the cardboard I accumulate.

Looking good Alfred but don't forget to leave the wheel brakes of when spinning honey..them extractors do like to dance when in use..

Nigel..have you tried hesian..?..it is easy to light and burns for ages..it also gives a nice smell free smoke..I have aquired a nice few pieces if you want to try it..

Yes, Steve, used hessian it's a good fuel. But as I have so much free cardboard makes sense to use it. It also burns well and for ages. One of those tubes will do 2 apiary visits.

Definitely adopt a 'use whats available' mantra
My shed spits out a seemingly endless supply of timber scraps so that's what the smoker lives on.
I find the cardboard leaves a lot of dead ash that needs removing but the timber forms reusable charcoal once the smoker is suffocated in the ammo box.

I've been finishing off more winter projects.


They weigh a ton so might be a bit more deer resistant.



Three floors for them.

New meshes, screws and bolts for the stands but otherwise entirely reclaimed material coming in at just under £15 for the six items.

I wonder how far I would get with that money at Maisethornpaynes.

That's the wood burning water heater knocked up ..now I can clean up all the frames I have stashed in the green house.