Can anyone tell me why my smoker always goes out!

[Snootycat]

I dont know where I go wrong but it always goes out no matter what I do! I have tried putting more fuel in, less fuel, different fuel., pushing the fuel down, not pushing the fuel down, making very sure its burning well before closing the lid, you name it. When I puff the smoker smoke comes out but as soon as I put it down it goes out. Now my logic tells me that it is because there isnt enough oxygen but I cant work out how to get more in there without puffing it all the time, which leaves me no hands free. I end up getting stung because it always goes out when I need it! It not THAT old.

 

[Alabamaeee]

Don't know what type of smoker you have or any other details, however if it's a lack of air getting to the fuel you could try a simple modification.

Scroll down this page until you find "Smoker Insert" and click on the pics for a better view of the tin can.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm#smokerinsert

 

[Snootycat]

Blimey, that was a quick reply. That is really helpful, I will try it out this weekend and see if it works.

Thanks

Pam

 

[Snootycat]

PS

I assume that the outside of the can has nothing round it and the inside has fuel in it?

Pam

 

[REDWOOD]

What ever fuel you are using make sure you you pump like hell with the top off until you can see flames coming out of the top, shut the lid to starve the fire of oxygen and let it smolder away. Always light your smoker before suiting up so if it is still smoking by the time you have suited up your OK to go. Always store your fuel in a dry place.

 

[itma]

That.
And make sure that the little hole (where the bellows puffs in) is clear. It should be unobstructed by tar and ash inside or even by the bellows on the outside.
Without using an insert 'fire basket', you should make sure that you have the little grid in the bottom of the smoker - its there to keep the fuel and ash away from that little hole. If you have been cramming stuff down into the smoker, you might even have flattened the grid ...

 

[keith pierce]

I had two of the smaller smokers that always went out, as soon as i bought the bigger smoker from thornes, the problen stopped. I have often gone home for my lunch and forgot to put the smoker out and when i came back the smoker was still going

 

[mbc]

Think of the smoker as a chimney, when its cold it struggles but once its hot it draws nicely. Get it nice and hot with combustible fuel ( newspaper's good ) then add more fuel that will burn slowly ( I use rotten wood ).

 

[enrico]

All good tips but the most important is to keep it clean. It needs scraping down and all the holes checking regularly. It will never stay lit if any of the holes are blocked!
E

 

[Luminos]

I had two of the smaller smokers that always went out, as soon as i bought the bigger smoker from Th**nes, the problen stopped. I have often gone home for my lunch and forgot to put the smoker out and when i came back the smoker was still going

Also, seems to work better if you don't cram too much fuel in, too tightly.

When I first started beekeeping, I just could not get it to stay alight, so I gave up and bought a sachet of that smoke flavoured stuff you mix with water.
As soon as I bought it, I managed to get the smoker to stay alight...
...I've never used the sachet...sod's law...

 

[chrismcd]

Are your holes aligned?

My first smoker (Th****s) was assembled with butterfly screws that stealthily unscrewed - with the result that the bellows slipped slightly to one side and were not blowing directly into the hole at the bottom of the smoker.

Hard work at lighting up got it going, but it went out while I was working the bees because single handed pumping did not get enough air into the smoker.

Before you spend money make sure you are lined up correctly. Having said that I gave up and bought a big Swienty one - which works well once I reinforced the flimsy prop underneath the 'fire basket'!

 

[Into the lions den]

To my great surprise not everyone seems to be aware that the tube leading from the back of the smoker opposite the hole in the bellows into the bottom of the firebox gets tarred up, to which dust sticks, more tar, more dust etc till it blocks, or at the very least impedes, the airflow.

Open up your smoker, clean the grid in the base, clear out the firebox, clean out the tube effectively. Reassemble and bingo, good airflow. We use jute and need to do this every couple of weeks to each smoker, although you get longer than that when they are new.

To REDWOOD: Pumping your smoker till the flames are coming out the top is not necessary and can reduce its life.

 

[itma]

...
To REDWOOD: Pumping your smoker till the flames are coming out the top is not necessary and can reduce its life.

With the top off, he shouldn't actually need to pump to get a good fire (with flames) going.
The basic principle remains, get the thing going as a fire before (adding any special smoke-stuff like dried leaves and) closing the lid to restrict the ventilation.
Smothering it before there's enough heat in the system to drag air through the smoker will lead to it going out quite quickly.

 

[FreeFall]

Here's my method, which works well for me...

Tear a long narrow strip of corrugated cardboard, which when rolled up will form a nice tight cylinder inside the smoker but allow you to close the lid. With the cardboard roll out of the smoker, pull a little taper out from the centre and light it, turn the cylinder so the flame is at the bottom and allow it to catch. Once you see smoke coming out of the top, swing your arm up and down / back and forth, to force air though the cylinder - keep going until you see flames shooting out of the top and you get nice roaring sound (a leather glove is useful at this point). Once it's going well, pop it in the smoker, lit side down, top up with dried grass / rotten wood / herbs of the day and close up. The only time I've ever had a smoker go out using this method is if it runs out of fuel.

I did this at my first (and only) visit to my local club apiary last year, after they had faffed about for an age trying to light the smoker with a blow-torch (!) - they were quite impressed (shame I wasn't - not been back since).

Nick

 

[drex]

Make sure it is going well before you put the lid on. Then give it a few puffs. Then make sure you stand it upright. Laying a smoker on its side will encourage it to go out. Go and suit up. ( most veils melt if any hot ash lands on them)

When you have suit on, give it a few more good puffs and off you go.

With the holes clear, and standing upright, the heat will draw fresh air in, without you having to pump the bellows ( until you want more smoke)

 

[beebreeder]

I know some hate them but I use the bigger rauchboy smoker, light early morning and then it will go all day, once last summer I left it in the p/up and it was still going the next morning but cold to the touch on the outside. I use grass nuts for fuel.

 

[Black Comb]

Tried those, smell was too strong for me.

 

[exmoorbee]

as we seem to be getting into my fav smoker fuel,

I've got two buckets, one of punk wood, which is dried out rotten wood found on the forest floor. very soft and spungy. and one of willow kapkins (Spelling) collect after all the pollen is gone and they fall on the ground. easy to get a few buckets from a big tree in about april May time.

once the punk woods is smouldering it is very hard to put out. I keep this in lumps about a quarter the size of the smoker fire box. once this is going I fill it up from the other bucket with with dried willow kapkins.

This might be a bit of a faff collecting but makes a nice smelling cool smoke that keeps going, although not sure about all night, that is impressive bee breeder. i might try the grass nuts. i take it that is like sheep feed?

 

[REDWOOD]

To my great surprise not everyone seems to be aware that the tube leading from the back of the smoker opposite the hole in the bellows into the bottom of the firebox gets tarred up, to which dust sticks, more tar, more dust etc till it blocks, or at the very least impedes, the airflow.

Open up your smoker, clean the grid in the base, clear out the firebox, clean out the tube effectively. Reassemble and bingo, good airflow. We use jute and need to do this every couple of weeks to each smoker, although you get longer than that when they are new.

To REDWOOD: Pumping your smoker till the flames are coming out the top is not necessary and can reduce its life.

there is no smoke without fire

 

[Alabamaeee]

Holy Smoke