smoker advice, please

[bontbee]

Just a quick one - where do I get the best smoker on the market? One that works as a smoker(!) and can stand up, reasonably, to a bit of a battering from my clumsiness.... thanks.

 

[enrico]

With respect it isn't the smoker that needs to work but the person who is stoking it! If you get the fuel and lighting right and keep it clean most smokers will do the job. I quite like the etna ones as the lids are loose fitting so they don't stick as much. Always empty your smoker and leave the lid open after use and make sure the air ways are clear.
E

 

[dexter's shed]

yup, what enrico said



either corrugated cardboard or oak wood chip, smokes for hours

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

last one I bought was a fleabay special S/S etna £20.00 including postage - still going strong six years later!

 

[For want of a better word]

Beeing a fully paid up member of the Bad Beekeepers Club... I am always letting my smoker go out.... mostly because I have selected for calm bees that do not need smoke.
However before the nere~ do~ wells berate me...
I have put a small fan motor and a rechargeable LiON battery attached to the bellows... just enough puff to keep it going... in case I have a smoker moment!!!

Yeghes da

 

[Heather]

Have smoker.. rarely used. Try covers instead. Bees happier.
Just keep smoker nearby in case of problem. Corrugated paper good. I use a crème brulee burner to light it..

 

[Hivemaker.]

Just a quick one - where do I get the best smoker on the market? One that works as a smoker(!) and can stand up, reasonably, to a bit of a battering from my clumsiness.... thanks.

Dadant, Thornes among other places sell them.

 

[alldigging]

What problems do you have with your current one?

Sometimes if you push too hard to push the bottom plate right to the bottom and that makes it not work.

 

[bontbee]

last one I bought was a fleabay special S/S etna £20.00 including postage - still going strong six years later!

Dadant, Thornes among other places sell them.

sorry, and Enrico



Thanks all for replies, but I don't have any problems lighting the smoker, fuelling it or keeping it alight. Although I rarely use it while working, I do light it - been caught out enough times to know better than not to.

The reason for my query is that they don't seem to make them like they used to....My first smoker lasted for years and years, and is now only in semi-retirement. I bought a cheap one, on impulse, to replace it and shouldn't have been slightly miffed when it fell apart after two seasons. Then, three years ago, I bought a definitely not-so-cheap one which looks as if it isn't going to keep going for much longer.

It has to be said that I am clumsy, (very clumpsy) - the remodelling of my original trusty testifies to that. Despite the battering it has had, it still smokes well, and that's the problem there: the smoke outlet has got so large over the years (from being dropped so often) that it now burns too quickly.

I would very much appreciate recommendations based on experience - the more longstanding the better! TIA

 

[fred scuttle]

Dadant, Thornes among other places sell them.

Yes get a Dadant not cheap though but one thing for the Christmas list. Also, use hessian sacking as fuel, it's reasonably cheap, cool smoke easy to light and stays lit when driving between apiary sites

 

[Beanwood]

The reason for my query is that they don't seem to make them like they used to....My first smoker lasted for years and years, and is now only in semi-retirement......


.....I would very much appreciate recommendations based on experience - the more longstanding the better! TIA

And there may be the problem - any recommendations based on smokers bought years ago will be out of date - as the smoker production quality may well have reduced since they were originally purchased?
I'm imagining this is why you haven't just replaced with the same model as your original, unless of course, like me, you can't remember what particular name something bought six years ago was called....

 

[Michael Palmer]

Dadant.....

Best smoker in the world, imo. I have a museum full of others that failed soon after first use, or weren't worth lighting in the first place.

 

[madasafish]

My £15 ebay smoker is still going after 5 years .. Mind you I light it and rarely use it..Maybe the insert I use stops it falling apart.

If I was a commercial beekeeper, I'd buy a Dadant..but I ain't so I don't.

 

[B+.]

Best smoker in the world, imo. I have a museum full of others that failed soon after first use, or weren't worth lighting in the first place.

I have the one thats about 4" deeper than the normal size. A decent size firebox is important as it keeps burning for hours.
Having said that, I don't think I've even lit the thing up all year.

 

[Finman]

.
Burning for hours ? Eternal fire like in Hell.... My smoker burns only half a hour. Then I add stuff

Mostly I must suffocate the fire, because I move to next place.

 

[B+.]

Mostly I must suffocate the fire, because I move to next place.

I fold up a couple of dandelion leaves and plug the snout from the inside. This is a pretty effective seal if you're just moving a short distance. My apiaries are only 1-2 miles apart so it is good enough
I use wood shavings as a smoker fuel with a handful of grass ontop

 

[Cussword]

last one I bought was a fleabay special S/S etna £20.00 including postage - still going strong six years later!

I have the same, bought it last year.

 

[Jimmys Mum]

Dadant for me too. Got myself one a couple of months ago and love it. But yes, they are a bit pricey.

 

[Finman]

I fold up a couple of dandelion leaves and plug the snout from the inside. This is a pretty effective seal if you're just moving a short distance. My apiaries are only 1-2 miles apart so it is good enough
I use wood shavings as a smoker fuel with a handful of grass ontop

I stuck the smoker with foam plastic matress . IT is modern.

Smoker stinks inside the car even if it has no fire. IT is not lovely odor, and neither is the smoke odor.

.

 

[BrianO]

Problem I see with "El Cheapos "is as mine did after one season, the fire box base metal perforated section corroded due to , funnily enough... Not ... The fire. No did not even use it that much, well no more than normal