As many of you well know, Oxalic acid has been used in Europe for several years and is now emerging as a reliable and safe treatment in North America.  The Canadian government has already registered the use of oxalic acid in both liquid and vapor form as an acceptable treatment and the United States is currently working on emergency registration for use (hopefully soon).  Oxalic acid has been scientifically proven to be an effective treatment when used properly at the right stage of colony development, however, has yet to be considered efficient or plausible for the larger commercial beekeepers because of the lengthy treatment time involved for each colony.  About four years ago,  we were contacted by a number of people in the commercial side of the industry to try and engineer an apparatus that would bring the benefits of oxalic acid together with shorter treatment times and ease of use in order to make this treatment a plausible alternative for those commercial beekeepers who wished to use it.

The Cowen Oxalic acid vaporizer enables the operator to quickly and effectively treat up to four hives with oxalic acid vapors in as little as two minutes.  By combining existing vaporization technology with sophisticated controls and industrial tough components and housing, this unit is constructed to hold up to the hard environmental conditions expected during fall treatments while delivering a consistent and inexpensive treatment every time.  

Systems are comprised of a power supply which will provide 12 vdc and control up to four vaporizers.  Treatments are accomplished by placing the nozzle of each unit into the entrance of the hive, loading the reservoir with acid crystals and starting the cycle.  Cycle time is just over one minute and setup and loading time is made easy and quick because of the premeasured reservoir size.  Two operators can easily move from one pallet to the next by each inserting two of the ergonomically designed vaporizers into two hives simultaneously and starting the cycle on all four hives at the same time, then moving on to the next pallet.  The whole process from starting one pallet until starting the next pallet can take as little time as 3 minutes, depending on how close the pallets are placed together and how easy they are to access.

We have been working on this system for over three years to develop a machine that will be dependable, durable, easy and quick to use.  We feel that we have finally accomplished this goal.  The machines are constructed entirely out of stainless steel and designed for the rigors of use in the field.  We have engineered this system with longevity in mind, counting on the fast pace of treatments and the inexpensive nature of the acid to make this machine pay for itself quickly. 

The vaporizer system consists of a vaporizer and a power supply module.  The power supply module can supply power for up to four vaporizers.  Vaporizers can be purchased with the power supply module in a single vaporizer unit or with multiple vaporizers.  Vaporizers can be added as necessary, up to four per module.  Discounts are available for full system and multiple system purchases.

As with all Cowen Manufacturing products, these units will be produced with the same quality and backed up with the same service record that has given Cowen Manufacturing Co Inc the reputation that has been bringing back customers for over forty years.