Lidl mini blowlamp (Mon 24th)

[masterBK]

If you can't light a smoker with a single match then how can you be regarded as proper beekeepers! I regard lighting a smoker with a blowlamp as cheating.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

If you can't light a smoker with a single match then how can you be regarded as proper beekeepers! I regard lighting a smoker with a blowlamp as cheating.

Ah - so the BBKA guidelines have been modernised, I thought they still insisted on a flint and steel.
But a single mach is no problem - just use a slosh of the petrol that a load of urban beeks seem to carry around nowadays in case of an agressive colony

 

[Anduril]

If you can't light a smoker with a single match then how can you be regarded as proper beekeepers! I regard lighting a smoker with a blowlamp as cheating.

You mean a bit like Del boy using a pump action shotgun instead of a double barrelled shotgun at a pheasant shoot.

 

[itma]

Thanks itma, I was hoping for a heads up on this as I would like a refill canister.

A note/reminder that this Lidl mini-blowlamp runs on the gas that is sold to refill cigarette lighters.
Lidl have sold little refills (last year this product included a mini refill can - dunno about this time round) but you don't need to wait for Lidl to offer such a thing. They are widely available and not expensive (even in the standard size which is much bigger than Lidls!)

 

[REDWOOD]

You can also use your magnifying glass on a sunny day, just an alternative if your gas runs out

 

[itma]

Until it runs out of gas just when you need it, I'll stick with a few disposable lighters from the £1 shop although I can see the advantage for a new beekeeper who has problems lighting a smoker.

You can also use your magnifying glass on a sunny day, just an alternative if your gas runs out

You seem to have been badly scarred by that experience of forgetting to check that you had enough gas …
I do hope you'll get over it!

 

[madasafish]

If you can't light a smoker with a single match then how can you be regarded as proper beekeepers! I regard lighting a smoker with a blowlamp as cheating.

Matchsticks are banned . Only old fogeys use them..

 

[REDWOOD]

You seem to have been badly scarred by that experience of forgetting to check that you had enough gas …
I do hope you'll get over it!

Once bitten twice shy, nothing worse than walking 1/2 mile to find out that your out of gas, now I keep a few disposables in every pocket, I supose it's a different story for those with garden hives or the luxury of a 4x4 who can drive down to their apiaries, horses for courses so I do what suits me

 

[beeno]

A note/reminder that this Lidl mini-blowlamp runs on the gas that is sold to refill cigarette lighters.
Lidl have sold little refills (last year this product included a mini refill can - dunno about this time round) but you don't need to wait for Lidl to offer such a thing. They are widely available and not expensive (even in the standard size which is much bigger than Lidls!)

Thanks itma. I lead a very sheltered life

 

[madasafish]

Once bitten twice shy, nothing worse than walking 1/2 mile to find out that your out of gas, now I keep a few disposables in every pocket, I supose it's a different story for those with garden hives or the luxury of a 4x4 who can drive down to their apiaries, horses for courses so I do what suits me

or have a butler

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I supose it's a different story for those with garden hives or the luxury of a 4x4 who can drive down to their apiaries, horses for courses

No - given up on the horse - she didn't like the bee suit

 

[masterBK]

Why do you need a smoker in the first place? What sort of beekeeper needs to use alot of smoke to control their bees? If you have selected your bees to produce good tempered colonies then they can be manipulated (with good technique) without the need for smoke at all and if on occasion they do get a bit uppety, they can usually be controlled using a light misting of water from a hand sprayer.

Not sure it is healthy for the beekeeper to risk inhaling smoke blowing back into their face especially if burning some of the things people use in their smokers or get the tar from the inside of the smoker on the skin when cleaning it out.

Also I often taste "smoke" when judging honey at major shows suggesting that some beekeepers do puff smoke into their supers and then wonder if I am getting a free dose of carcinogens?

 

[Hivemaker.]

Not sure it is healthy for the beekeeper to risk inhaling smoke blowing back into their face especially if burning some of the things people use in their smokers or get the tar from the inside of the smoker on the skin when cleaning it out.

Also I often taste "smoke" when judging honey at major shows suggesting that some beekeepers do puff smoke into their supers and then wonder if I am getting a free dose of carcinogens?

Just curious, but do you wear a chemical warfare suit 24 hours a day or live in an oxygen tent most of the time?

 

[masterBK]

Childish comments (even if mildly amusing?) do not advance a serious discussion or gain respect. People once thought asbestos was safe and that smoking tobacco helped you clear your lungs. All I am suggesting is that beekeepers should consider safer alternatives to controlling bees than using smoke.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Childish comments (even if mildly amusing?) do not advance a serious discussion or gain respect. People once thought asbestos was safe and that smoking tobacco helped you clear your lungs. All I am suggesting is that beekeepers should consider safer alternatives to controlling bees than using smoke.

But your not serious are you.

 

[Russel]

You can also use your magnifying glass on a sunny day, just an alternative if your gas runs out

Paul: Ever the optimist living in Wales

 

[Amari]

Why do you need a smoker in the first place? What sort of beekeeper needs to use alot of smoke to control their bees? If you have selected your bees to produce good tempered colonies then they can be manipulated (with good technique) without the need for smoke at all and if on occasion they do get a bit uppety, they can usually be controlled using a light misting of water from a hand sprayer.

...to which you can add the 'liquid smoke' sold by T's @£1 per sachet. I have tried it but uncertain if it gives added value.

 

[itma]

FWIW, I prefer to give a bit of smoke a few (real whole) minutes before opening - not seconds before!
But after opening, I find (plain) fine water mist very useful indeed if they start "getting up". And it is brilliant for clearing the bees down during reassembly.
But for my mongrels, that initial pre-smoke is needed to 'relax' them.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Also I often taste "smoke" when judging honey at major shows

Hardly use any smoke now (just the lightests of puffs before opening - if I remember, but always keep a smoker handy just in case - often handy when the get a bit uppity just before closing up. In Africa (usually on the advice of UK beekeepers they absolutely douse the hive in smoke before inspecting, and even more before taking the honey off (instead of using clearer boards) Had a taste of some honey at a convent/orphanage in the capital city where they also kept bees (in the garden - not the orphanage) and it brought fond memories rushing back (of the best smokehouse in Peel, Isle of Man when I used to call in to collect my two stone of kippers to take home) you could almost see the clouds of smoke in the honey