Caution using Oxalic Acid Vapor

[Lburou]

I have a couple extra heilyser glow plugs if you need one....Just send a PM with your contact info.

[kebee]

 Thanks, I am going to try a few more test on it to make sure the plug is bad as ohms resistance and screw in resistance which I had not though of, thanks CBT and Lbutou thanks may be contracting you. Oh yes did the water reason I know it didn't work.

Ken

[LazyBkpr]

Ef;
  My concern would be that the vaporizor was getting too hot too quickly. The OA vaporizes but turns to formic rather than OA Crystals... Is that why you do not see much in the way of vapor? Is that why the treatment seem less effective than they should??   I really do not know, just a thought...  Are you using enough of the Oxalic Acid in the pan?   I know, the pup pestering the big dog could get me bit, but I had to ask 

   My Varrox takes about two minutes and ten, to twenty seconds to vaporize enough OA to treat a three medium hive..   

[Lburou]

FWIW, you want your vaporizer in the 310-370 degree range (F).  On the cold side, only the water boils off, on the hot side it flashes to formic acid.  You can test your vaporizer with an infrared thermometer.  :-)

[efmesch]

Perhaps my mistake was in assuming that the battery charger wouldn't  produce as much heat producing electricity as a fully charged battery.  I wanted to compensate for the lower power by racking up the charge from 12 to 24 volts.  I have no means of testing the temp the vaporizer produces.  When I tested it out before placing the vaporizer inside the hive it took five minutes to turn all the test OA (a bit less than half of a level teaspoon) into vapor. 
When I try it out again, I'll keep the charger setting on 12 volts and see what happens.

[CBT]

You may need a battery with more amp hour capacity or weight. I would think a good car battery is fine. I ran a cable from our utility golf cart battery and it works good.

[capt44]

I bought a deep cycle battery for my vaporizer.  The battery isn't big it is for a motorized wheelchair. Think I give $78.00 for it. They said to charge it 12 volts DC at 2 amps.
I've used it on 57 hives and it still vaporized the oxalic acid.

[LazyBkpr]

Hooking the charger to a small battery, even a lawn mower battery may even things out. Looking forward to your next test.

[efmesch]

Yesterday I did a trial run of my vaporizer (outside the hive) using my battery charger set on 12  Volts, rapid charge.  After five miuntes of not getting anywhere, I changed the setting to 24 V and it started vaporizing.  Out of concern, lest at that setting it would get too hot, I alternated the setting, shifting back and forth (about 1/2 a minute each time)  between 12 and 24  volts.  The OA powder vaporized nicely til it was all gone after five minutes.  Now I have to try it inside the hives.

[kebee]

 I cleaned my vaporizer and put back together and boiled water out of it in 2 and a half minutes, I believed it was the set screw not making good contract on the prob of the glow plug.

Ken

[efmesch]

Good going Ken,  So now you have a "new" vaporizer for free. 
 You're a man after my own heart.