Has anyone ever tried using Thorne's packaging material as smoker fuel?

[Rob den Dekker]

Just wondering, as they sent me loads of that shredded cardboard with my last order and it looks quite suitable for burning.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Yes, it works, but seems to make quite a lot of tar.

 

[Midland Beek]

Too dark and sooty, but good to use as a starter. I ordinarily use their CC fuel.

 

[protheroe]

I use it as my main smoker fuel but you will need to clean the smoker every couple of weeks if you use it a lot

 

[Phayze]

I use it mixed with wood shavings pet bedding lights easy and the shavings keep it going

 

[Cazza]

If you use it, go through it and take out the bits with plastic stuck on them.
Cazza

 

[Rob den Dekker]

Cheers guys, seemed like a waste just to recycle.

 

[Poly Hive]

I found a lovely big rotten tree last year and am STILL using the lump that got me through last year and looks as if it will last this year too.

I tear a bit of newspaper (which you should always have with you for uniting and so on) light it, put it in the smoker, which is empty of ash and so on, puff the bellows, add the perpetual fuel and puff again, and it stays lit.

Type of tree? Sorry not a clue, unless big and dead helps?

PH

 

[psafloyd]

I found it made my bees angry and it has a lot of plastic on, too. I stick to mostly newspaper to start, then dry grass and lavender stalks and a few heads and occasionally orange peel and pistachio shells.

 

[BeeNice]

I use it as a starter with small bits of wood added. No problem with making the bees angry with mine, I try and use as little smoke as possible just a puff under the crown board on opening up and a puff to clear them off when closing up. I have also learnt the lesson of getting well suited up before opening.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I found a lovely big rotten tree last year and am STILL using the lump that got me through last year and looks as if it will last this year too.

Same here.
Huge tree with white wood.
Clean pale smoke very little tar.

 

[Luminos]

I use the T'ornes shreddies
My bees are quite angry anyway so it makes little difference

 

[TJSnapper]

I use the shredded packaging as well, although I start with Newspaper and then once it is well alight stuff in some of the shredded box. I always try to avoid the bits with labels/ tape on as this cant be good for me or the bees . Before this i was using paper and wood chippings etc, whatever i could get my hands on in the garden.

 

[MuswellMetro]

I use it as well as a starter with wood chips as the main fuel

for just short period of smoke I also cut up their boxes into strips and roll them into cylinders to fit inside the smoker...dont use Amazon packages as it goes out (?fire retardant)

 

[For want of a better word]

I use hessian sacking with dried donkey poo and lavender stalks

make a sausage of the wet donkey poo inside a number of layers of hessian and make into a smoker sized sausage and allow to dry... cut into suitable smoker sized lengths.

Long lasting aromatic smoke !

 

[Rosti]

I use it as my main Fuel but agree with Cazza and others, remove any with plastic/tape on or indeed obviously heavily printed sections. No need to start with paper - just buy a jet lighter, success quickly, every time, irrespective of wind conditions.

Has no adverse effect on the naturally pissy Yorkshire black bee

 

[Bob Bee]

I use it as well as a starter with wood chips as the main fuel

for just short period of smoke I also cut up their boxes into strips and roll them into cylinders to fit inside the smoker...dont use Amazon packages as it goes out (?fire retardant)

Me too, I always have a cardboard box (anybody's) folded flat on the floor of the car, sometimes used as fuel sometimes for rubbish and sometimes ( I hope)to catch a swarm.

 

[Black Comb]

Tried it a few times bu gives me a bad head.
Use hessian, which is a nice cool smoke.

 

[nikca]

To add to the growing concensus...

I use the sherred card at the bottom of a Th*rnes mesh liner, and top up with hardwood shavings from the woodworking dust extractor (This year I mostly be working with Oak!). A good tip I got from MJBee I think, is to briefly use a butane plumbers torch on the mesh - it takes about 5 seconds then to light the smoker.

The smoke from the card is strong and white - settles down to fairly light grey when you get onto the hardwood - but still seems to do the job even though you can't see it mearly as much. When I get a fallen tree of the right degree of rotten-ness I'll use that!

 

[stoneleighhouse]

collect good moss in the autumnn dry over winter fantastic smoker fuel