Best smoker fuel

[Dallasbeek]

I've tried burlap and the fuel pellets Dadant sells and my smoker won't stay lit for more than a couple of minutes without attention.  What are your best techniques and best fuel for a long-smoking smoker?

Gary

[schawee]

I LIKE PINE NEEDLES.IT LAST A GOOD 3 TO 4 HOURS WHEN YOU PACK IT IN THE SMOKER.CUT GRASS IS MY SECOND CHOICE.     SCHAWEE

[sc-bee]

Best smoker fuel..... the free kind :-D In my case pine straw.... got it by the acres and acres.

[Vance G]

Burlap is my favorite and you need to have a foot square piece that you light and get totally charred and burning hot.   Then you pack another piece on and put some fresh green grass over that.  I can work thru a yard of twentyfive colonies with that load and you do need to keep it pumped the first couple hives.  Then it is just available.  Pine straw is real good and the cardboard egg cartons work surprisingly well once you get them lit and hot.  A lit smoker is a skill that needs to be learned and every beek is irritated when their smoker goes out.  Right now with the main  flow on, mine just doesn't get used enough to stay lit.  Only an occaisional hive notices I am there. 

[Wolfer]

A small scrap of old denim jeans has worked the best for me. If handy a small piece of wax, burr comb, foundation scrap gets it burning fast.
I usually throw a wad of green grass on top to cool the smoke a little.

[KD4MOJ]

I LIKE PINE NEEDLES.IT LAST A GOOD 3 TO 4 HOURS WHEN YOU PACK IT IN THE SMOKER.CUT GRASS IS MY SECOND CHOICE.     SCHAWEE

+1 on schawee. exactly what I do.

...DOUG
KD4MOJ

[GSF]

Ditto what Vance said;   A lit smoker is a skill that needs to be learned..,

I've been using hay, it's a pain in the but. I'm still trying to master that skill.

[iddee]

The brown bailing twine, NOT the green plastic.

[capt44]

I go thru so many hives that I have to have a smoker stay lit for several hours at a time.
If I'm going to be inspecting a lot of hives I use wood pellets.
I put about an inch or so of wood shavings from my planner in the bottom of the smoker.
I have starter pellets which I add 3 pellets.
I start the pellets and as soon as they start burning I add 3 to 4 inches of wood pellets.
I set it to the side and give it some puffs from the bellows.
It will give me smoke for 5-7 hours.
Another way is to have the wood shavings in the bottom with 3 starter pellets.
Put a paper towel in the smoker to form a sort of bowl.
Put the wood pellets in the paper towel.
When you get on location just pull out the paper towel with the wood pellets and light the starters in the bottom of the smoker.
Then put the paper towel with the pellets in on top of the lit starter pellets.
That way everything is contained and ready for the next job.
If I'm going to go thru a couple of hives I just put Wood Shavings in the bottom of the smoker (about an inch or so) and when it catches up I fill the smoker with wood shavings.
It will have smoke for about 30 - 40 minutes.

[Dallasbeek]

Capt, that's amazing.  At my bee club, we have a contest every year.  I hope nobody from the club reads this blog, 'cause you just gave away a winning secret to smoker contests.  Great contribution.  Thanks.  I'll work on it.  But somebody else may have a good way, too.  If the humidity is high, it's really hard to keep smoke coming.  What do you folks along the Gulf coast do?  And I spent one summer in South Carolina, where it rained every day about 2 o'clock.  What do you do there?

Gary

[Dallasbeek]

Capt44, what are thestarter pellets?

[vemergy]

I use pine needles and pine cones.

[stanisr]

I use pine needles, but if I need a longer burn time I add walnut tree bark. It will stay lit for hours.

[AllenF]

I like free.   If it is free and will burn, it's good.   Dead leaves out of the woods or clippings where ever.   Its all good. 

[sc-bee]

And I spent one summer in South Carolina, where it rained every day about 2 o'clock.  What do you do there?
Gary

And where in Sc does it rain every day around 2 :-D Wish I could find it...... pushing 100 now and dry. Maybe in the coastal area?

[Dallasbeek]

It was in Aiken, SC, in 1955.  Afraid there may have been some climate change since then.  i haven't been bach since, but would love to spend time there again.  Lovely countryside, wonderful people.  Texas has changed since then, too, but we're all brothers in beekeeping.  I just wish we had those idylic times back.

Gary

[capt44]

I use starter pellets from http://www.Mannlakeltd.com
It's basically like charcoal with the starter already in it.
I put about an inch of wood shavings in the bottom then add a couple of the starter pellets.
When the starter pellets start to burn I put the wood pellets in.
I have a bolt that I put in the smoker spout to smother it when I'm done.
One package of starter pellets last me about a year.

[Dallasbeek]

Thanks, Capt44.  I'll pick some up next month in Minnesota when I'm there.  Looks like good stuff.

[BeeMaster2]

I use pine needles, but if I need a longer burn time I add walnut tree bark. It will stay lit for hours.

Stan,
If you pack the pine needles real tight after you get it burning, it will last up to 5 hours. Also the smoke is cooler and no sparks can come out. I pack it down every couple of hours to keep it tight.
Jim

[RHBee]

I use pine needles, but if I need a longer burn time I add walnut tree bark. It will stay lit for hours.

Stan,
If you pack the pine needles real tight after you get it burning, it will last up to 5 hours. Also the smoke is cooler and no sparks can come out. I pack it down every couple of hours to keep it tight.
Jim

I use the same method. I carry a small cardboard box full of pine straw and just keep packing it in. When packed really tight it lasts for at least 3hr.
Ray