Laurence Edwards reviews the GasVap, a cheap propane-torch device for treating varroa mites with oxalic acid. It's compact and needs no batteries, but the torch fails mid-treatment and gets dangerously hot. Better for one or two hives than a whole apiary.
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Hi, I'm Lawrence Edwards from Black Mountain Honey. Welcome to another episode of No Nonsense Beekeeping. Today we're going to be taking a look at the gas vapour and oxalic sublimation. Now, first thing to say is whenever you're doing any form of oxalic sublimation, please make sure you're using a registered product. The only legal product to use in a gas vapour, Sublimox, Varox, or any other product is Api-Bioxal. That's the only one that's legal to use in the UK, so please, if you're sublimating oxalic acid or any other type of product, please use the correct product, and that is Api-Bioxal, and that's what we're using today. So today's video is going to be a review of the GasVap. Now, the GasVap is a very, very simple way of sublimating any oxalic acid product. It works with A blowtorch and some copper fittings like that, and it's really simple how it's been put together. Now, I know a lot of people really, really like the gas vapour, and I have to say, unfortunately, it's not my favourite tool, and I'll go into the reasons why. And it's not to say that there's not a useful place for it, kind of within a beekeeper's arsenal, But for me and for the number of hives that I've got, I prefer to use other products. So this video, I'm going to tell you a little bit about the GasVap. I'm going to kind of show you the construction. I'll show you how it works, how you apply the oxalic, and then I'll tell you a few of the reasons why I'm not overly sold on it. So like I say, it works with a blowtorch, so using a propane gas, and you fill that up underneath. So you need to make sure that you carry kind of additional propane with you. You don't want to run out when you're doing this. And then it's a set of copper fittings that are soldered together using, I believe, a silver solder so that it can kind of withstand the heat that comes from the propane torch. It fits in like that, and then you apply the oxalic acid in there, and then it fires the sublimate out like that into your hive. So it's a very simple design, and that's kind of reflected in the price of it. It's nowhere near as expensive as the Sublimox, which is kind of like £300-£350. It's actually cheaper than the Varox, which I found to be a very cumbersome tool indeed. So I had really high hopes for this, and I thought that this is going to replace the Sublimox for me. The things that I really liked about it before I had one was The idea that I didn't have to carry around a battery pack, I didn't have to carry around a generator, battery or generator, I wasn't restricted to using cables. Like, those 2 or 3 things on their own meant it was really, really appealing to me. Also that I could kind of keep it in the car. Do you know what I mean? It's very small and I could keep it in the car and then I could treat as and when I needed. There was very little preparation. I didn't need to go and get the battery or the generator or the extension lead or any of those things. And I do, I still keep this in my car, in the back of the truck, but I use it for very, very specific activities. I don't use it to treat all of my hives. I use the Sublimox to do that. And the reason that I do that is I'm not overly sold on the torch. So the torch for me is unreliable. And I know that's not like, not having a go at the guy who designed that. I think that's a really, really neat design. There are issues with it that I don't like, but overall he's solved a problem there and come up with a good product. But it comes down to this, they're unreliable, the torches, and I find that I could be kind of working, maybe get through like 10, 15 hives, and then I either run out of propane, okay, that's my fault, or the torch goes faulty. And I've had that twice now where I've been out doing it and the torch is just gone. So whether the ignition's gone on it, like, I'm not sure they're designed for kind of extended use. So if you've got 1 or 2 hives in your garden and you're looking at a way of kind of applying apibioxal, by all means, I think this actually works quite well. There's a few other issues with it that I'm not overly keen on, but again, that kind of comes down to my routine and my methods, and it doesn't specifically suit me. So it does, it may well suit other people, so don't Don't think that's it, I'm not going to get that product now. There's definitely a use for it. So my main, my main gripes with the product as a whole is the propane torch. I think it's unreliable. If you could find a really super reliable propane torch to go with it, that would improve it somewhat. My other main, and this is a big issue with it, is that it gets very, very hot. Now I can't use the plastic gloves that I normally use with it. So I've had to try and kind of find some welder's gloves to go with it because as you're applying the, uh, the apibioxal into the lid there, the little caps that come with it, they get so hot. Um, you definitely can't do it with a plastic glove. You need a real kind of heavy-duty protective heat glove, which I found quite cumbersome, and then I found it difficult to find one that had the long cuffs as well, and then I ended up putting that over another glove. So it just added a whole kind of extra layer of protection that I needed to be able to operate it. Now, if I could find a reliable torch, I could probably get over the fact that it was a bit too hot on my hands and I needed a different set of gloves. But it comes down to me, to the reliability of this item and the reliability of the torch in particular. Where I use the Sublimox, I've never had a single failed operation of the tool. I've Like, it gets up to heat and then I can do 100, 200 shots on it, maybe take like 3 or 4 hours. As long as I've got enough fuel in the generator, it's never going to fail on me. Um, so I'm going to get kitted up and I'm going to show you how this works. Another final thing to say is please, please, please take adequate precaution whenever you're doing any sublimation of any oxalic products. You need to make sure you have adequate eye protection, Adequate protection on your hands, but most importantly, you need to have adequate protection to cover any of it entering into your lungs. So you need a proper— I recommend a full-face mask, one that's certified for organic vapour. That's the one you're looking for, and then that means that you're not breathing any of this in. It's horrible, horrible stuff. Don't get it in your lungs. It can cause serious damage. And apart from that, it's a really horrible thing to get into your lungs as well. Like, it makes you cough. It's not nice. So just take all the precautions you can. And you should be okay using it. As I said before, I've got a couple of these masks now. They're really, really good. I'll just quickly talk before I put it on. So I wear a full face mask. I make sure I have the correct filters on it so they're certified for an organic vapour. And then I'm going to put the mask on and I'm just going to show you how it works. So as you can see there, I actually had a few issues trying to get that one working again. I'd cleaned it all out, but it was just the fact that I couldn't get that torch going up to the correct temperature to get it working properly. But nonetheless, you can see a couple of the issues that you have there. Like, I have to wear these proper welding gloves to get that going. And it's incredibly hot, so you can't put that down on any of your poly hives because you will melt them. And it's just a bit fiddly, like it doesn't fit together very well, I don't feel. And these are just the issues that I've kind of come to experience with it. So I'm really sorry for anyone who loves the GasVap. I'm not a fan. I much prefer the Sublimox. I'm going to do a separate video showing you the differences between the two. So like I say, I do keep, I do keep a gas vapour in the back of the van, and the reason that I do keep it in there is just for the instances where I can do a very, very quick vape on a colony where I might not be expecting it. So one of those examples is if I'm out and I'm collecting a swarm, I'll bring a swarm back here. I know there isn't any brood on it at all. I'll just give them a quick vape, and the reason I do that is that I know that there's going to be no brood at all. I can get all of the phoretic mites off in one go, It's a really, really good kind of practice to get into that when you get a swarm, just give it a quick vape. Now, I wouldn't want to have to kind of go back, get the generator, get all the other kit, get the extension lead, and come back and do it that way. So I just keep it in the car for those instances. So 1 or 2 hives, it works fine. It's just when I'm going around, I find it really, really cumbersome to deal with, and that's the reason that I don't use it. So like I say, it's not to put anyone off buying one. There is a use for it. It's good to kind of keep in your kit. It's good if you've maybe just got 1 or 2 hives and you don't want to spend the additional money on one of the more expensive items like the kind of the ProVap or the Sublimox, which are 2 very similar items. It's just that it doesn't kind of work with my line of inspections and my line of treatment regimes. So that's it for today's video, a very, very short one, just kind of on the pros and cons of using the GasVap. I hope you've enjoyed it. Remember, when you're doing any oxalic sublimation, please use the proper PPE and please use the correct product, which is Api-Bioxal. Thanks very much for watching. I do hope you're enjoying these videos. Please hit the subscribe button and hit the little bell so you get notified each time a video comes up. We're getting closer and closer to the season now. The snowdrops are poking out, the crocuses are coming along. It's really, really not that long away at all, so Fingers crossed for a good season for everyone. So thanks, and I'll see you next time.
