# Anyone using the Lorob Bees Oxalic Acid Vaporizer?



## Michael L. (May 31, 2021)

Just pulled the trigger on one of the Lorob bees vaporizers. Looks legit, and I’ve seen a few YouTube videos on it. This will be my first of this style of vaporizer as I’m migrating from a fogger that I’ve been using. The fogger is efficient, but they only seem to last one year and then break. I also wasn’t a fan of how inaccurate it was with dosing. The open flame on it also made me nervous about treating in my out yard in the hills where it’s really dry. I’m feeling like I made a good move here but I’d love to hear experiences of some people using one.


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## GovtMule66 (Jun 7, 2019)

Sent you a DM Mike.


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## Wayne Brown (Mar 20, 2021)

I have one, love it. I built a Johno unit that has the same basic components, but the Lorob unit is much cleaner and tidier.


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## Michael L. (May 31, 2021)

Good to know! Thanks for the reply. I’m wondering if I can use it through a hole in the bottom board instead of having to drill into the bottom box. It looks like it has a rest on it that lets you leave it in place while you prep your next dose which seems like a slick feature.


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## Wayne Brown (Mar 20, 2021)

You can. Keep in mind that the sides of the bottom board above the actual bottom is fairly thin and may crack out at some point. I drilled into the brood box itself, aiming for a point at the bottom of the frames and between them as well.
I bought enough extra cups that I prepare one for several hives at once and place them on top covers, then move tool down the row. Keep in mind that you will need to scrape the cups and likely the vaporizer cup prior to storing, and possibly while dosing. 
Invest in a respirator, automotive paint stores will have a disposable one for around $25. Just place it back in the bag it came in when done, I have been using the same one for about a year even though it says it's only effective ( for paint fumes) for 24 hours.


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## Michael L. (May 31, 2021)

Great advice! Thanks Wayne.


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## GovtMule66 (Jun 7, 2019)

Michael L. said:


> Good to know! Thanks for the reply. I’m wondering if I can use it through a hole in the bottom board instead of having to drill into the bottom box. It looks like it has a rest on it that lets you leave it in place while you prep your next dose which seems like a slick feature.


In the rear of the hive we drill a 3/16" hole in the 1/2" lip running around the bottom board. Some people place golf tees back in the hole but since I don't golf we used 1/4" bolts that was laying around the shop. The bolts will just about tap themselves in the wood but if you happen to have a 1/4-20 tap it makes life a little easier. The pictures below show the bolt in a existing hive plus a old bottom board we swapped out that also had 1/2" bolt left in it from another GasVap Vaporizer we had that uses a bigger tube.


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## Michael L. (May 31, 2021)

GovtMule66 said:


> In the rear of the hive we drill a 3/16" hole in the 1/2" lip running around the bottom board. Some people place golf tees back in the hole but since I don't golf we used 1/4" bolts that was laying around the shop. The bolts will just about tap themselves in the wood but if you happen to have a 1/4-20 tap it makes life a little easier. The pictures below show the bolt in a existing hive plus a old bottom board we swapped out that also had 1/2" bolt left in it from another GasVap Vaporizer we had that uses a bigger tube.
> 
> View attachment 64163
> View attachment 64164


Nice! I’m running 3/4” spacers on 3/4” plywood solid bottoms. If I can make it work with a hole in the spacer, I’d prefer that if possible, but I can drill into the bottom box if necessary. 

I guess the main concern for me with drilling into the box is the distribution of the vapor. I think it just makes sense to me that blowing the vapor under the frames and letting it float up through the cluster would give more even distribution of the vapor than having it funnel between frames. That said, it may be a moot point altogether. I know the website for the vaporizer shows it being used with the hole in the box, so it must still work well that way.


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## johno (Dec 4, 2011)

The thing about OAV is that any mite that gets a little on them will die, so the trick is to get as mich coverage in the inside of the hive that is possible to get the maximum effect of the treatment. I have also found that vapor going upwards has to displace air, so if the top is completely closed the further away the bottom is if you treat from the bottom board the poorer the coverage will be at the top. The vapor does rise but in the end it all falls to a lower surface, with this in mind I try to treat into the space between the 2 or 3 brood boxes by means of a 3/16" clearance hole in the center of the frame rest of the first or second box if you have 3 mediums as close to the top edge of the box so that the vaporizer nozzle comes out between the 2 center frames into the space between the lower and upper box. No matter how high you treat, the particles of the OA will always end up falling downgiving you good coverage below. See the old video I made some years ago.


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## Michael L. (May 31, 2021)

Awesome insight! Thanks for that Johno. I’ll use that when treating for sure.


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## gator75 (Apr 21, 2021)

Does it matter what acid you purchase and use? There's an expensive one on the beekeeper sites and there's inexpensive stuff on other sites.


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## johno (Dec 4, 2011)

gator75 said:


> Does it matter what acid you purchase and use? There's an expensive one on the beekeeper sites and there's inexpensive stuff on other sites.


Well you can buy the 99.6% pure stuff cheap from Amazon supplied by Florida Labs, or you can buy the expensive less pure stuff from your bee supplier that has been sanctioned by the Employment Prevention Agency who get their information from pointy headed interlectuals who generally do not have a clue on the subject involved. Take your choice, I know where my choice is.


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## Michael L. (May 31, 2021)

I use the Florida labs stuff. I think I paid $15 for a 2 pound bag or something like that. It has worked really well so far.


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## Lorob Bees (Jul 16, 2021)

Just came across this thread, You all are amazing. I know how informative this forum is but if you find yourself with any questions about your units feel free to email or call us we take a lot of pride in our customer service. All of our contact info is on the bottom of our webpage.-Rob


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## Michael L. (May 31, 2021)

Lorob Bees said:


> Just came across this thread, You all are amazing. I know how informative this forum is but if you find yourself with any questions about your units feel free to email or call us we take a lot of pride in our customer service. All of our contact info is on the bottom of our webpage.-Rob


Thanks for chiming in Rob. I finished a round of 3 treatments on my hives and the vaporizer performed flawlessly! Thanks for offering a great product at a great price.


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## username00101 (Apr 17, 2019)

Between Johno's and lorob bees, it's a different design. The lorob has the heating band on the outside, and it tends to get super hot, eject all the OAV in like 10 seconds, and then ejects a bunch of carbon dioxide at the end.

It's a sloppier design than Johnos - the cap moves around quite a bit - Johno's seems more sturdy.

The Lorob vaporizer leaks OA through the bottom screw too.

It doesn';t have insulation like Johnos either.

It's an acceptable vaporizer, I like how darn quick it is - I can do a whole row in like 3 minutes .

I like the deeper cups of the lorob bees vaporizer, makes it harder for them to pop off and burn my face.


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## GovtMule66 (Jun 7, 2019)

username00101 said:


> Between Johno's and lorob bees, it's a different design. The lorob has the heating band on the outside, and it tends to get super hot, eject all the OAV in like 3 seconds, and then ejects a bunch of carbon dioxide at the end.
> 
> It doesn';t have insulation like Johnos either.
> 
> ...


How you spoke to Rob about the pot moving around on your vaporizer? If you have tried snugging up the locknut without any success I do know Rob has added a chemically inert PTFE Washer inside the bowl to help this from happening in the future.

As far as the other faults you found with Rob's design I'm not sure what to tell you without starting another Oxalic Acid debate. Both Johnno's & Rob's vaporizers are great units and both heat to around the same temperature so singling one out one for carbon dioxide and not the other has me puzzled to say the least. It is true that Rob choose not to wrap his pot with insulation, but to say it is a fire hazard is a bit of a stretch. At some point a user has to take some responsibility of his/her own actions or maybe they shouldn't be using electrical equipment to begin with. Unless you are laying the vaporizer down in drought ridden hayfield or on top of some flammable liquid I don't know how Rob's vaporizer is any more dangerous than vaporizers people have been using for 20 years. We treat near 50 colonies each time we go out and I have yet to cause any type of castastrophe from placing my vaporizer on something that would catch fire or easily burn including myself. I am not trying to insult you in any way, but I don't think it's fair to Rob and his family to put out information that isn't true either. Rob has been more than willing to help resolve any issue I have run into with my vaporizer and I'm sure he would help you also if you give him the chance.


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## username00101 (Apr 17, 2019)

I mean it's a good device, it's just not as good as Johnos vaporizer. The fire hazard thing is a concern of mine, it's extraordinarily hot - don't make the mistake of accidently grabbing it the wrong way, don't lay it down in your car, or anywhere that could catch fire -- I think Johno's design is much safer from that standpoint.

From a quickness standpoint, the lorob wins .. That thing vaproizes 2-3g in like 10 seconds. 


With regards to the CO2 It's a good question. When I put in 2 or 3g of OA, the temp of the cup drops very little, and literally shoots out in a giant burst.

I tested it out in the open - shoots out the OA, and then it shoots out clear gas afterwards.

Still drops mitess though - I've been using the Lorob this fall almost entirely, and my mite levels are plummeting.


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## Sean Govan (Jul 9, 2018)

johno said:


> The thing about OAV is that any mite that gets a little on them will die, so the trick is to get as mich coverage in the inside of the hive that is possible to get the maximum effect of the treatment.


Johno, I am having an issue with distributing the vapor in my poly hives, and if you chimed in I would be very grateful due to your experience. It's this thread. (And it's a Provap 110).



Lorob Bees said:


> Just came across this thread, You all are amazing. I know how informative this forum is but if you find yourself with any questions about your units feel free to email or call us we take a lot of pride in our customer service. All of our contact info is on the bottom of our webpage.-Rob


Lorob Bees, thank you for chiming in, I will be looking you up. I have seen pictures of your vaporizer and I noticed that the copper tube seems very long. I have a Provap currently, but I like the idea of a longer tube for my poly nuc boxes, because the vapor re-crystallizes near the tip of the tube, before it gets a chance to spread out. If you also could chime in on this thread, I would greatly appreciate it.


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## johno (Dec 4, 2011)

Hi Sean, by poly hives you mean polystyrene hives like Lyson hives. I have a Lyson hive and the only way I could treat was to make an entry hole from the side of the bottom board as the back end sloped upwards to the edge and you have less than 2" to work with. So if I remember correctly after looking at the bottom board I found that the sides of the bottom board had a height of 3/4" from the bottom. so into this side I drilled a 1/2" hole and cut a piece of 1/2" dowel a 1/4" longer than the thickness of the side, drilled a 7/32" hole through the center of the dowel then coated the inside of the polystyrene hole with Tightbond glue then pushed the dowel into the hole, smeared a little Tightbond around the inside and outside edge of the dowel and that was it. when the glue has set you can treat through the 7/32 hole.


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## tulsafarmer (Feb 28, 2016)

Michael L. said:


> Nice! I’m running 3/4” spacers on 3/4” plywood solid bottoms. If I can make it work with a hole in the spacer, I’d prefer that if possible, but I can drill into the bottom box if necessary.
> 
> I guess the main concern for me with drilling into the box is the distribution of the vapor. I think it just makes sense to me that blowing the vapor under the frames and letting it float up through the cluster would give more even distribution of the vapor than having it funnel between frames. That said, it may be a moot point altogether. I know the website for the vaporizer shows it being used with the hole in the box, so it must still work well that way.


 I like the idea of using a 3/4 spacer on plywood


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