Making a Bee Vacuum - say "What?"

When my brother in law suggest it - I said "WHAT?" - My first thought was he was joking
but he wasn't

After more time searching the net I came up the way I would do it to suit my conditions and top bar hives - Bee vacuuming NT Top Bar Beehive Australia style

Context please -
The hive I am shortly going to relocate into one of my top bar hives is currently in an old kitchen cupboard on a farm junk pile - it has easily 40 thousand or more bees which will not appreciate my shifting of brood combs etc to elsewhere. Better with most of the bees in a box while the operation takes place. A bee vacuum will put them in the box safely away form me working on the hive comb

Here is my initial sketches, design aspects and ideas based on hours of research on the web

Basically the need is if you use a vacuum straight to the bees - they would splat and spin all around the vacuum bin.
So you need a middle man - in this case a box between the vacuum proper and the swarm or hive. This allows the bees to have a holding area with no massive air movement

Most of the bee vacuum examples out there use a bucket or a Langstroth super box as this 'middle man'. However, I also wanted the holding area to be placed in my top bar hive to allow the bee access to the moved comb once all in place from the back of top bar hive and they can settle in with the comb rather than be shaken out of the holding box forcefully (more agitated bees!) like some videos show, same when having bought a box of bees and placing (shaking) the bees into a new hive.

So I designed the box purposefully to fit right into the hives I had made previously - once bees collected and comb relocated

It also has a observation panel (perspex) to check bees are 'ok' during 'vacuuming' - and if there is a capacity issue for so many bees (might see queen too if lucky too)

It additionally has an access panel - a late inclusion I had to cut into the box after it was made - poor design planning indeed! - my students would be mortified at my error in my construction plan although remembered eventually.

There is a sliding panel over the input hole to stop the bees escaping once all "sucked" into the holding box

There is aluminium netting over the top to ensure the bees can't escape once "sucked' into the holding box
The top box (removable) is just there to diffuse the air pressure. On top of it is also a valve to release vacuum sucking pressure - if needed when too much pressure for the bees (splatter factor elimination and minimization!)

There is a weather strip is placed between the two box to create a seal
And finally the whole lot is held together with a ratchet strap for while vacuuming and transport
after you add wet/dry vacuum and a couple of really long extension cords for power - Then you are ready to go swarm collecting!

Given I have made the hives, made the feeder station following boards, now made the bee vacuum - The Next blog entry - will be the relocation of Kitchen cupboard hive to my first Top Bar Hive
Scary and enticing all at the same time
Can hardly wait to get into my bee suit and get at it!
I will video all the action to come! So exciting!

Oh bugger - need to paint everything first - but no blog entry about that too boring!