tips for newbees re smokers

I don't think it hurts to pass on a little knowledge for free occasionally so here's my tips for newbees.
You will have been using your smokers for a while, we all know how hard they are to keep lit so always check the bottom air hole, the top holes and the smoke exit hole. You will be surprised how easy it is for them to get blocked. When you finish using your smoker always store it open. If you allow it to cool closed the tar can seal the lid to the base. If that happens then heat it to soften the tar again!
Throw away your matches which are hell to light in gloves and buy yourself a little kitchen blowtorch with automatic ignition. It makes re lighting your smoker in a hurry much much easier.
Chose your own fuel, rolled corrugated cardboard is good, the lighter the weight the better, some use hessian and others rotten dry wood or grass, If you have chainsaw then cut a piece of wood with the grain instead of across it, this gives long pieces of thin shavings which can easily be dried and smoke well, more natural too. Always carry spare smoker fuel. Finally, try to use as little smoke as possible but be generous if they are getting lively, and try to be as quick with your inspections as possible as tetchy bees can get fed up of smoke quite quickly!!
Hope this helps someone somewhere, we can all learn by my mistakes!!!!

It came just at the right time for me. I think I will give up on the matches. However, I am also wondering about water or sugar and water spray and also the product I saw at Stoneleigh, on the German stand, a spray which sounded very effective though looked expensive for regular use.
Tricia

I struggle to keep my smoker lit which might be a good thing as I give them a blast at the entrance and the bu**er goes out, so I try to do as gentle and quick an inspection as possible, they dont seem to mind but the other day when installing my new colony my smoker stayed lit the whole time but I still used it very little, mainly just at opening up.
I use newspaper to get it started then some petshop wood shavings, it seems better than the hessian for me but might not suit everybody.

I use a little shredded newspaper to get it started and the main fuel is dried rotten wood. I always look out for it on dog walks and have a stock drying in the airing cupboard. I top it up with herbs of the day. At the moment I am using the frost scorched bayleaves from my poorly tree and cuttings from the rosemary. Later I'll use lavender and mint. The trick for me is to light it well before I suit up by which time it has settled down and is no longer an inferno. You can then give it a bump to settle the fuel and top it up with the herbs.
I think the bees are OK with the extras , they certainly seem calmer with bay odours wafting over the apiary. Mostly I try to use sugar water in a garden spray....proportions don't matter.... with lavender or rosemary or peppermint essential oil added with the smoker as a back up.

Thank you everyone- I thought i was the only one to struggle with my smoker- will check all the parts today for blockages and will consider the use of herbs and petshop shavings!

Great read!! Love the variety of tricks. Im using newspaper and pine ones at the moment, seems working fine
Thanks again, R

I am a great believer in sugar sprays. and with quiet bees what more could you give them than a treat when you open them up. On the other hand there will always be times when it just isn't enough so I always have a smoker to hand. I also have a can of fabi spray which I have had for years (I hope it isn't banned!) I can't tell you much about it as it is all in German but with an angry hive it is amazing. One blast of that and it drives the bees down like a ton of bricks. I only use it in emergencies when I have to go into an angry hive but if you can still find it in the bee suppliers then buy one. It lasts for years and is a good 'last resort'.
Glad to have been of some help
E

I really like the idea of adding herbs. As others have said, what an interesting post this has become.
T

I had a can of fabispray in my toolbox and I dropped my hive tool into the box from not a great height and it pierced the side of the can. This created a fountain of spray that went everywhere. Chaos reigned! The bees really dont like it though so I guess it would be good for controlling a nasty colony

I asked my tutor this week about water spray - he was unusually adamant in saying that making bees' wings wet stops them flying and that it was not a good idea and he strongly advised to carry on with smoke

Took center can out of my smoker put in a false bottom made of mesh , same as we use on hive floor with a few screws to keep it about half an inch of the smoker floor , use dry lawn cuttings . Once The smoker is working pack it well and it will stay going for more than an hour and you can top it up if you want to stay going longer.
Liam C

Did you paint the profile watercolor yourself Lois, looks nice.
Liam C

Liam C Ryan said:

Did you paint the profile watercolor yourself Lois, looks nice.
Liam C

Click to expand...

Yes I did and I do many others, I am about to sell some but its a nerve wracking thing to do

Ape Resi said:

Great read!! Love the variety of tricks. Im using newspaper and pine ones at the moment, seems working fine
Thanks again, R

Click to expand...

pine cones = not good. makes honey taste awful, and the smoke ain't good for bees (or you)

If you've gotta use a smoker then:
Aldi have a jet barbecue lighter @ £1.49.
Make sure airways are clear especially the bottom insert is the right way up, legs down.
If using corri cb tease out the centre, tear and light.
With the larger smokers to keep the outer wall temp down use an old bake bean can, peppered with small breather holes, as a fuel holder.
When all done make sure to extinguish and let cool down before putting into car boot/ Qual'Street tin.

Oh... thanks for letting me know! Will go back to the rotten wood bits then! Mostly hard wood

I always light my smoker (just in case) but try to rely on a water spray for inspections. I use a sheet of newspaper which I light first (in the smoker) when that is alight I put a piece of rolled hessian on top and puff away with the lid open until that is lit too. The smoker (Dadant) has a small platform in the bottom to allow the air to circulate and has a 4" chamber.

The smoker with this fuel is very reliable, I lit it a couple of days ago for an inspection, used it to add a couple of puffs in the entrance and under the crownboard due to a slightly grumpy colony, then I hung it on the fence; I inspected, went to the shed pulled out a fresh hive to perform an A/S tidied up, watched the bees etc. I suddenly remembered the smoker about an hour after I lit it and there it was still on the fence gently smoking away; I had to cork it and lay it on its side to extinguish it. If you can find it and have not tried it I heartily recommend using hessian, mine comes from coffee sacks from a local tea and coffee merchant.

nelletap said:

I really like the idea of adding herbs. As others have said, what an interesting post this has become.
T

Click to expand...

I recently found the bees reacting badly to the cardboard I was using, but since using lavender stalks from last year's harvest, monkey nut shells, pistachio shells and dried satsuma skins.

I don't bother with the smoker, but I do light it just in case and I collect dried leaves from the park on the way down to the bees and use a bit of scrunched up shreds of newspaper. I find I am able to inspect the bees quite easily without smoke so far, but understand with some bees it is going to be necessary. I was kinda put off by some honey I was given that tasted of smoke. You could smell the stuff as you opened the jar.

tonybloke said:

pine cones = not good. makes honey taste awful, and the smoke ain't good for bees (or you)

Click to expand...

My tutor at the beekeeping course used pine cones and his honey tasted superb, better than some other local honey I have sampled.