Makita® DAS180 Blowing Gun for Beekeeping

01 · GUN OR BLOWER

Speed against volume

The numbers say it all: this gun reaches 200 m/s but moves 1.1 m³/min; the shop's backpack blower stops at 52 m/s and moves 13 m³/min. One throws a fast narrow jet, the other sweeps with volume.

To clear a whole super in a couple of passes, volume wins. This gun shines at the other thing: it weighs 1.2 to 1.7 kg with the battery against the blower's 3 kg, it is handled one-handed all day and it reaches specific corners with precision.

02 · DO NOT RUN IT FLAT OUT

The force is adjustable for a reason

The four force levels — 1.1 to 2.8 N — are not decoration. At full power, a 200 m/s jet does not sweep bees, it flattens them, and a damaged bee in front of the entrance is an alarm for the whole colony.

You work at the low levels, letting the air move them along, and only go up where they are packed tight. The variable-speed trigger fine-tunes what the levels cannot.

03 · IT SHARES THE BATTERY

Makita 18 V LXT system

It runs on an 18 V LXT battery, the same as the rest of Makita's range at that voltage — including the blower for clearing bees. If you already have one, there is no charger and no battery to buy again.

Run time reaches 55 minutes of continuous use, and clearing bees is not continuous use but bursts: for a normal day it is plenty. The battery is not included.

04 · 82 dB ARE STILL 82

Quieter, but still loud

The maker's figure is 82 dB(A). That is a good deal less than a petrol blower, but it is still a level at which hearing protection is advisable if you work for hours at a stretch.

And to the colony, noise is noise: the handling is the same as ever — clear the bees in front of the entrance and do not labour any one spot.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

The battery is separate. And if what you want is to clear whole supers quickly, look at the blower first: it moves twelve times more air.