The 'best smoker fuel' subject is debatable and not all beekeepers will agree upon any one source as being the absolute best. What are sources you have tried and your present favorite?
Yesterday was my time of re-stock. Storing in 'packed' sealed top, 4 gallon buckets. Though I have tried several different sources of smoker fuel, (except pecan hulls as advised by Paws, and I do intend to try those).
So far my favorite is zoysia grass clippings. I use the mulcher attachment on my mower to row up the last bit of cuttings. The following day with a rake, I flip these over as one might do the same on a larger scale in a hay field. This allows the clippings to thoroughly 'cure' with no chance of mildew developing.
The result is a pleasant smelling, cool burning smoke that does the job well and last for a long time when packed tight once the fire base has been successfully established.
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Instead of making my own mini hay field, I just use actual hay! :cheesy: Our goats waste a good bit of hay (actually a few weeks ago, my sister found the bucks just ripping all the hay out of their hay rack for fun), so I just use the clean stuff they drop, or the hay that ends up on the floor in the garage, which is where we store our hay. As you say about grass clippings, it burns nicely and smells sweet and not acrid. I usually top off my smoker with a handful of damp hay, just to make it burn a little slower and to help the smoke to be a little cooler.
Haa Haa lol. My little 'mini hayfield' usually makes just enough for about 3 packed, 4 gallon buckets 'if' I do everything properly and use the mulcher, otherwise I can't find enough to scrape up a cup full. :wink:
I learned of grass from Kaymon Reynolds. He uses hay as you do Reagan, (or at least he did) I haven't kept up with his stuff lately. I don't have horses anymore and the source of hay is not readily available for me as it once was. This method might help those who do not have hay handy. Kaymon uses Bermuda if I remember correctly (from that old video). He spoke of the coolness of the smoke and I agree, as do you.. Thanks for your input. What are other sources you have tried?
Phillip
I am a fan of burlap. I can get it free or cheap around here, but I have noticed that it is being used less these days. My next choice is pine needles and cones, but they can be sappy so If you can collet them the year before and store them they are less messy.
my last choice is our wood pellets. They do an OK job once you get them to the smoking point and they last a long time.
Oh, and do you remember Father Michael told us about using the incense starters to get and keep your smoker going? I have not tried that yet. Wonder where he got to?
I believe these are what he was talking about
https://www.amazon.com/Coal-Disks-Incense-Briquettes-Quicklighting/dp/B08CNLV6FN/ref=sr_1_2?crid=104JM1YYM8YPD&keywords=incense+pucks&qid=1658695973&sprefix=Incense+pucks%2Caps%2C171&sr=8-2
Quote from: Ben Framed on July 24, 2022, 05:42:23 PM
What are other sources you have tried?
When I first started beekeeping I used pine shavings, since we use that as bedding for our chicken coop, and it was okay, but the pine shavings burned fast, so I often had to refuel, which was a pain. Also if the shavings were too small, they'd pack down too easily and smother the fire, and then I'd have to relight, which was even more of a pain. I have also tried pine straw, which I didn't like, as the smell was acrid and made me cough. I also found the pine straw to burn too hot and way too fast.
Kathy burlap use to be a common material around here as it was used for feed sacks. The feed manufacturing companies here use paper or plastic sacks these days; Unfortunately.
Quote: KathyP
"Oh, and do you remember Father Michael told us about using the incense starters to get and keep your smoker going? I have not tried that yet. Wonder where he got to?
I believe these are what he was talking about"
I do remember Kathy! I do not know where he got off too. I miss him here. I sent a PM to him back in November 12, 2021 letting him know that I missed his post here and hoped all was well for he and his family. I sent another wishing him Happy New Year January 1 this year.
Phillip
Quote: The15thMember
"I have also tried pine straw, which I didn't like, as the smell was acrid and made me cough. I also found the pine straw to burn too hot and way too fast."
Same here Reagan.
Phillip
In my opinion 75% punky wood and 25% pine straw. Are the best for smoker fuel.
BEE HAPPY Jim134 :smile:
"Punky wood"?
I've tried about everything and nothing works as good as burlap. I admit, though, I have a small amount of pine straw in the spring which is gone in a few weeks, and I use it when it's there. It smells nicer, but doesn't burn nearly as long. The burlap is cut somewhere between 9" and 12" wide the length of the bolt (which is about five feet wide). Then I double it in length and then in width and roll it reasonably tight and tie it with a piece of burlap thread pulled from the cloth. The frayed edges are together so they light easily. I usually use a self igniting torch. Back in the days when I had to do this with matches, I would get some small twigs and build an actual fire in the bottom of the smoker and then add the burlap. That way there are coals in the bottom to keep it going. But the torch does well enough.
Burlap or pine needles here. My discovery, though, was that a little wad of lint from the dryer is great to get things going.
pine straw here. Free, unlimited supply, burns cool and lasts forever, if the smoker is packed correctly.
Quote from: Bob Wilson on July 24, 2022, 11:29:14 PM
"Punky wood"?
You know how the wood at the center of a rotted log or branch is all fibrous and soft? That's punky wood.
I usually start my fire with Pine needles dried under a tarp. Then I use Pecan hulls obtained from a shelling place, or I keep the hulls we shell. They smell good and burn for a long time. I also use them in BBQ on top of charcoal or wood or in an electric smoker. I think this is some of the best smoke to use. Back to bee smoking, I got some coffee grounds, and I left them in the green house, and they dried out, so I tried the coffee grounds in my smoker. I used the dried coffee grounds on a hive that I never made eye contact with when I walked by, or I got bopped. When the coffee smoke hit them, they calmed down and were really nice. Coincidence, maybe, but has worked a couple of times on mean bees. Try it.
Hi Folks,
The use of a smoker is a BIG deal to me and a few other ?mentors? in our club.
At our Bee School we demonstrate what to use, how to light, and how to maintain a lit smoker. We devoted two classes to it this year. We emphasise tinder and a good base fire before adding fuel. One demo used burlap and cotton rags. Another guy used newspaper as tinder and pine needles and ?stuff he picked up? as fuel. We all explain about ?green grass? if your smoke is too hot. Another guy used pine curls (plane shavings off a pine board) or small pine cones as tinder, and cedar or pine pet bed shavings bought at Walmart as fuel. Most students are suburbians, and don?t have the where-with-all to gather pine needles and ?stuff?. They can buy a bale of pet bedding, enough for several years (I do agree with 15 about the fine dusty bits). After two hours of unattended smoldering, both smokers had to be dumped out and extinguished to leave for home. I like the cedar. Bees don?t seem to mind it. Smells good to me.
I now tell ?mentees? to light their smoker a half hour before I?m due there. I?ve been disappointed when I pull up to a newbee?s house and they greet me with all their gear,? and an empty smoker. Or sometimes they?re knelt down smiling at me while gathering trash and grass off the ground. Now, I carry my own tinder and fuel with me. After me spending time lighting their smoker, and when we?re about halfway through the inspection,? the smoker is finally ready.
I recently posted to our club FB page: It takes only one carless match to start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box of matches and two butane lighters to light one smoker. Many related.
BTW!!! My smoker lid is a pain to open after it cools. I've scraped, wire brushed and burned that black "tar" around the lip and it's still a pain. Plumber's torch? It must be those resins from the cedar.
Sal
Perhaps not the best smoker fuel...... but as I have an unlimited supply of corrugated cardboard.....
Rolled into tubes with a hollow centre. Easy to light (butane torch) and long lasting when lit.
It will do me.
>corrugated cardboard..... Rolled into tubes with a hollow centre
I have used it in a pinch. Unfortunately it smells worse the burlap...
I use burlap, once nice and hot to slow the burn rate while at the same time boosting the smoke density and volume it gets stuffed with hand grabs on the fly with balls of green grass, hand stripping of leaves from low hanging branches, bark sheets off old rotting tree stumps, moss, ?. You get the idea. Have a goto fuel for getting going then grab what nature presents in hand.
For a short look into a couple hives int the backyard; nothing is more satisfying than shredded paper from old bills, credit statements, etc. easy, fast to get going, and mental release as the text goes up in smoke.
Quote from: Bob Wilson on July 24, 2022, 11:29:14 PM
"Punky wood"?
Where I lived in central New England... You could go into the forest and find many trees that were blown over... Or trees with a top broken off... And the top slam on the ground... I used to Find a lot of Maple , Birch and Cherry trees.. I never tried softwood.. Like Pine, Hemlock or Spruce trees.. When the The wood is about half the 3/4 rotten.. This is "punky" wood.. All I used was a small hatchet and a 5 gallon pail... You also can use old stumps of trees.. And also pick up some pine straw.. From either Red Pine or White Pine
BEE HAPPY Jim134 :smile:
Quote from: Michael Bush on July 25, 2022, 07:26:42 AM
I've tried about everything and nothing works as good as burlap.
Yes I use burlap back in my fifties... For my smoker... Sometime around the Early sixties.. The feed company started putting poison in a burlap.. So it would kill rodents... I personally never used a burlap again... I can buy organic burlap bags .. From a coffee company... At $5 per bag... No thank you I will stick with the "punky" wood.
Now all the feed bags we get are polypropylene. wonder how that would work?
Quote from: Bill Murray on July 26, 2022, 10:11:04 AM
Now all the feed bags we get are polypropylene. wonder how that would work?
My guess is they would melt, and probably stink. :oops:
Quote from: The15thMember on July 26, 2022, 01:04:51 PM
Quote from: Bill Murray on July 26, 2022, 10:11:04 AM
Now all the feed bags we get are polypropylene. wonder how that would work?
My guess is they would melt, and probably stink. :oops:
And give off toxic smoke.
Jim Altmiller
Hi Folks,
An interesting topic. I have used burlap (we call hessian in Australia) It works quite well and gives off a cool smoke. It?s getting harder to find these days and I?m not confident to use it anyway due to possible chemical contamination. Straw and dried grass works quite well at a pinch if you only want to make a quick hive inspection. Pine needles work well but gum up the smoker and don?t last as long as burlap (or corrugated cardboard) I won?t use correlated cardboard in my area as much of this material is manufactured overseas and contains chemical treatments. My personal favourite is the bark from the local white stringy bark tree.
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The outer bark comes off in long strips. The poor tree in the photo is regularly harvested as its bark dries.
The bark is twisted and rolled around in your hands until it breaks up into fine fibres (a bit like coconut fibre) It burns with a cool smoke and lasts for ages.
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I am just about to light the smoker and extract some honey. The smoker will still be burning this afternoon when I return the stickies to the hives.
Cheers
Les
That looks just like the bark off the red ceder. Im going out now to strip some and try it.
Thanks les
Quote from: Jim 134 on July 26, 2022, 05:32:24 AM
Quote from: Michael Bush on July 25, 2022, 07:26:42 AM
I've tried about everything and nothing works as good as burlap.
Yes I use burlap back in my fifties... For my smoker... Sometime around the Early sixties.. The feed company started putting poison in a burlap.. So it would kill rodents... I personally never used a burlap again... I can buy organic burlap bags .. From a coffee company... At $5 per bag... No thank you I will stick with the "punky" wood.
Thanks
Jim 134! I did not realize the situation with the treated burlap. Thanks for the information!
Phillip
Due to an over abundance, I use crushed pine straw and red cedar straw out of the street, It's crushed, dried and burns well. Yes it gums up the smoker, but not as fast as the uncrushed pine needles in my bee yard. A few minutes with a propane torch cleans my smokers right up.
Everything gums up the smoker... Nothing a torch can't fix...
Quote from: Michael Bush on August 18, 2022, 09:56:53 AM
Everything gums up the smoker... Nothing a torch can't fix...
True, a torch will fix a gummed up smoker pronto.
Apparently I need to get one. My pinestraw fuel (abundant and free in my yard) has gummed up my smoker for years. I finally figured out how to use my hive tool and the top of the bellows to leverage/pry off the top.
Quote from: Bob Wilson on August 19, 2022, 09:12:07 AM
Apparently I need to get one.
Spend the ten extra bucks on the self lighting model!
Hi Folks,
I tried burlap today. I've had "organic fair trade" bags for a while now. I got them and coffee bean chaff that I use as mulch from a local roaster.
It took more burlap than I expected to fill my smoker, rolled like a cigar. I originally tied it with baler twine, but realized that must be treated, so I ripped a swatch and threads of burlap to tie the roll.
It lit very well. I held the wad outside of the can and lit it there. It lit fast, one match. I stuffed it in, puffed, puffed, tamped it down and puffed some more on the way to the hives. Nice thick cool smoke, not as aromatic as I'd have liked, but ok.
I puff around the hive, set up my wagon, puff another time or two, and set it down where the smoke wafts toward the hive. Just four hives this year. I had to see the queens today.
It actually lasted a lot longer than I expected more than three hours and I stopped watching. Nothing but a soft, fluffy wad of burlap ash left.
It took longer to cut, rip, wrap, cut more, wrap more, tie and light than with my shavings. Still, it was good.
Sal
well the cedar bark had a nice aroma, lit well, but burnt up to quick. Wondering about HEMP.
Hi Bill,
Don't Bogart that smoker my friend......
..... Pass it over to me.....
Sal
Hi Folks,
It was either here or in the What did you do in the Bee Yard?
Too cold here to do anything with the hives, BUT:
I have to demonstrate smokers later today. I have two stainless smokers, a Dadant, pin hinged, and a bigger Adunno brand with a cage and a "fruit-loop" hinge. Both were pretty gunky, pita to close up. I have to make a good impression.
There have been stories and jokes about how to clean this gunk off. Scrape, plumber's torches, wire brush....
I had the cellar stove fired up last night. I unhinged my smoker tops and tossed them in the fire for a few hours. They came out with a beautiful blue patina, clean as a whistle. Brush the ash away and they look great.
In the demo I'm going to use wood chip bedding (Walmart) in one, and pine needles in the other; Tinder will be small wood scraps from the shop for the chips, and pinecones and twigs for the needles. I'm going to bring a swatch of burlap just to show. Get newbees started off on the right foot with smokers.
Sal
Thanks for sharing this Sal. I am happy to see you chose to share this information on this topic, as the other topic covers a 'variety of subjects' and might have been lost 'within' that topic for future reference.
Phillip
The best smelling smoker fuel I have used is pecan hulls. They smell good and burn forever. If they are crushed small so you get a smoker full they can burn as long as I want to take to do a cutout. Another fuel I like as an addition to pine needles or pecan hulls as the main fuel, I like to add dried coffee grounds usually two or three hand full scattered thro0ugh the pine needles, it seems to make protective bees more hospitable. FYI pecans are a very tasty nut that is native to mostly the eastern US. If you have a business that shells pecans you can get all the hulls you want free.
I use regular straw. A bale will last me a couple years so very cheap. It lasts good in the smoker also if its packed tight. I spent 4 hours working hives the other day and only had to fill it back up twice before it went out.
My Grandpa used to use denim scraps. He'd light a corner and blow it out. It would smoke for a good while.
I have used a variety of different fuels from pine straw, sisal bailer twine, burlap and cardboard but the top of my list is alfalfa cubes.. these are compressed hay cubes about 1? and a full smoker will last for hours and once you have it going good it never goes out..
Quote from: Bees-in-the-boo on April 13, 2023, 09:39:44 AM
I have used a variety of different fuels from pine straw, sisal bailer twine, burlap and cardboard but the top of my list is alfalfa cubes.. these are compressed hay cubes about 1? and a full smoker will last for hours and once you have it going good it never goes out..
I see your point and reasoning. Good idea Bees-in-the-boo. Thanks for posting your top choice.
Phillip
Bee careful using bailing string and new er burlap. They add ingredients to keep the bugs from eating it.
Jim Altmiller
Needed to jump into a hive quickly a few days ago to check on how it was progressing. When I went to my smoker fuel bag, I noticed it was empty. I had just cleaned up the workshop and had a pile of hardwood shavings that was under the wood lathe. Thought I?d give them a try. They were super easy to light and made a good, cool smoke. Yesterday afternoon a few experiments were conducted to see if they could be available option as a fuel. I was concerned that the shavings may exit the smoker when the embers were close to the mouth of the funnel. A load of shavings were packed in and the smoker was lit from the top. Initially there was an issue with embers and also heat but this settled down after a couple of minutes. I found that if a small handful of shavings was placed into the bottom of the canister and then then set on fire with a match, a fire quickly engulfed the fuel. The smoker could then be topped up and after a few puffs of air from the bellows, a good, cool smoke followed. I don?t think that this fuel will last as long as others that have been used but for a short visit of half an hour or so to the hives it should work well. If an extended period of time is required in the bee yard, the shavings will be used as a starter and then the smoker will be topped up with my usual fuel as it can be a pain to get stringy bark started at times.
I live in coffee country so I can get the burlap bags the beans come in. I am assured that they are chemical free, but I give them a wash anyway.
Some coffee grounds could also be added to the smoker. I pick up about 4 tons of grounds every year and have not tried any as yet. They will be on the ?to do? list.
I have used coffee grounds in a smoker and it seemed yo calm the bees more than pine straw and pecan hulls
Quote from: paus on October 16, 2023, 11:42:08 AM
I have used coffee grounds in a smoker and it seemed yo calm the bees more than pine straw and pecan hulls
That's saying a lot as I remember how much you like pecan hulls. I bet the coffee grounds smell good in a smoker situation?
I'm wondering if the caffeine doesn't affect the bees. Are they more productive afterwards?
I?m not overly productive until I?ve had a coffee. Coffee grounds have had a lot of the caffeine removed and I would expect that only a small amount would be added. I will try some on a hive with attitude and see what happens.
Tried mixing some coffee grounds with some shavings but it didn?t want to light up easily. If smoker is started with only shavings and then the mix is added later, it seemed to work fine. It was an unusual burnt coffee aroma. Which is what you would expect. Went to look at a cranky hive to see how a couple of foundationless frames were being drawn out. We have had a couple of hot days and was wondering if the starter strip was going to hold in place as it was glued in place with wax. No concerns at all as the bees had already drawn comb down past the first wire.
QuoteIt was an unusual burnt coffee aroma.
Hi Les, did you find it a unusual pleasant smell or not so much?
Phillip
Hi Phillip. It wasn?t offensive in any way, just different. It would be interesting to add a dried puck or two to the top of the smoker and see how it goes. I thought from the comment that paus made, it was worth a try. The bees were still a bit cranky but I couldn?t determine if they were any better than usual. Perhaps they would prefer a long black over a flat white 😆😆😆😆😆
😂😂
I just purchased another compressed pack of woodshavings, the stuff they sell as animal bedding.
I have also used dry cow dung and hessian.
It all seems to work and I have not noticed much of a difference in the bees reaction.
I have not tried shavings Max but I can see that it would be a handy fuel..
Phillip