Smoker Fuel

[Millet]

It may sound like another dud question to most of the more experienced folk But what i a want to know is what you use for your smoker.. i have been practicing with pine shaving's mixed with chicken poop from the coop and it stay's alight for around about 1hr.. i have a endless supply of this fuel but what i need to know is this ok .. i have messed about on practice run's i see my smoker creosoting up like the chimney in the house.. is this fine or are they other product's available apart from pellets from amazon..

 

[enrico]

Loads of threads on this.....rotten wood, hessian sacking, corrugated cardboard, dry grass..etc.etc.
E

 

[deanrpwaacs]

I use oak bark and a blow torch to light it .

 

[Gilberdyke John]

It may sound like another dud question to most of the more experienced folk But what i a want to know is what you use for your smoker.. i have been practicing with pine shaving's mixed with chicken poop from the coop and it stay's alight for around about 1hr.. i have a endless supply of this fuel but what i need to know is this ok .. i have messed about on practice run's i see my smoker creosoting up like the chimney in the house.. is this fine or are they other product's available apart from pellets from amazon..

I've got a pile of sawdust under my circular saw. I mix this half and half with woodshavings which I buy for horse bedding. I use a small amount of egg carton to start the burn then gently fill up the smoker with the sawdust / shavings. Shavings on their own burns away quicker than the blend with sawdust.
Tar does build up but its easy to remove by playing a plumbers blowlamp on the tar to burn it away then the brittle residue scrapes or brushes easily away.

 

[user 3509]

Old dried teabags with a few dried lavender heads thrown in for good measure.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

i have been practicing with pine shaving's mixed with chicken poop from the coop

fresh pine shavings are fine - but the soiled stuff from your chicken coop - recipe for disaster IMHO, I wouldn't put fresh chicken sh!t on the garden, let alone on my bees!
Fresh pine shavings will tar up your smoker, it's no big deal, you just have to clean it occasionally with a blowlamp

 

[alldigging]

What's the smoke like in your face?

 

[For want of a better word]

At the Gwenyn Kernow AGM hemp sacking won the smoker competition guess it was going strong for 3 hours... was a big smoker... and this without the sneaky puff of the bellows!

Yeghes da

 

[Millet]

What's the smoke like in your face?

The smoke is eye watering if you get my drift and it makes my finger's look like a heavy smoker when adding fuel to get it going..

Thankyou every one for your valuable input..

 

[Duckduck]

The smoke is eye watering if you get my drift and it makes my finger's look like a heavy smoker when adding fuel to get it going..

Thankyou every one for your valuable input..

Find something nicer to your eyes.

 

[bpmurray]

I prefer dried grass but, because of the bad weather, I've been forced to use pine shavings - loads of smoke, but also tar and it seems much harsher than the grass.

 

[Millet]

Find something nicer to your eyes.

What about getting up wind as i'm sure that would help failing that i have a load of old tyre's here to cut up.. lol

 

[Karsal]

Using dried rotten old trees gathered from around my friends farm. Smokes for ages nice white cool smoke. Leaves no tar or residues in the smoke.

 

[tazbee]

Hi
I don't use any smoke, just a fine mist of water.
Give it a try.

 

[Eyeman]

Chopped up some old Hazel fencing for smoker fuel. Enough to last the rest of the season!

 

[Obee1]

Old dried teabags with a few dried lavender heads thrown in for good measure.

This one sounds good. A constant supply of teabags in my house.

I use the latticework cardboard used by many bee kit suppliers. Mixed in with wood shavings and broken up dried out pine cones- kills the fingers to break them though.

 

[madasafish]

Hi
I don't use any smoke, just a fine mist of water.
Give it a try.

It's fine until you get a really nasty hive. Then you either drown them in water or smoke..

 

[birdsandbees]

I was using pine needles but since running out I'm on to dried rotten wood, goes well and it's a cool smoke too, used cardboard and shavings but hate the smell and sting of eyes if the smoke drifts.

 

[MuswellMetro]

we have 12 beginners in our training apiary and at the first session we practice lighting their brand new smokers, that went ok, but we then went into the apiary.....no need to smoke the hives...you could hardley see them for the smoke from 13 smokers (includes mine)

after half an hour, it go better as, only my smoker was left still alight

 

[sahtlinurk]

i used to use gas torch but now use instead tesco barbecue lighting cubes with a bit of eggbox carton and then some poplar bark on top.


Lauri