Looking for the best smoke making material

Cindi · April 28, 2007, 10:03:57 AM

I picked the red cones from the Staghorn Sumac trees. I have had them drying now for about two months above my kitchen cabinets. That place is really warm and dry and is a perfect place for drying anything that needs to be dried.

I actually forgot about them until reading this post. Time to drag them down. I heard that they were really good for fuel and burn a long time. Time will tell that tale. Have a wonderful day, great day, the sun is shinin', great health. Cindi

tillie · April 28, 2007, 10:08:28 AM

I bought cedar chips on the recommendation of a bee club friend and I find it very hard to keep them lit. I ended up ordered the compressed cotton stuff from Dadant, but I'm going to a bee Institute in May and to pass the basic certificate, I have to be able to light the smoker - I find it entirely challenging.

Linda T challenged in Atlanta

DayValleyDahlias · April 28, 2007, 10:53:06 AM

Gorgeous day here! I suppose I should start practicing lighting my smoker NOW before the bees arrive...

Shoudl I fill the cannister to the top with stuff? Should I leave it loose or compact it?

Linda, exciting about the bee institute!

reinbeau · April 28, 2007, 01:03:04 PM

Quote from: Cindi on April 28, 2007, 10:03:57 AM
I picked the red cones from the Staghorn Sumac trees. I have had them drying now for about two months above my kitchen cabinets. That place is really warm and dry and is a perfect place for drying anything that needs to be dried.

I actually forgot about them until reading this post. Time to drag them down. I heard that they were really good for fuel and burn a long time. Time will tell that tale. Have a wonderful day, great day, the sun is shinin', great health. Cindi

Cindi, supposedly the smoke from the sumac will make varroa drop off the bees. Also, I've heard the bees aren't really thrilled with it - so please let us know if you notice them getting agitated when you use it. I'm not wishing you harm! Just interested in the results. :)

livetrappingbymatt · April 28, 2007, 09:27:11 PM

tillie,can you get bailing twine,the brown not the green? make a ball/cyl with it light by starting wax paper fire in empty smoker add twine work bellows until FLAMEING close lid. work it a few minutes than PLUG smoker until completely out.
next time you use pre-burn twine will relight easy.
good luck on the test!
bob

Brian D. Bray · April 28, 2007, 10:18:20 PM

BeeHopper,

I just have to ask--is that new or used toilet paper, wet or dry? LOL. Beauty Bark works well too. I have a back yard full of prunings from the orchard. I run a limb through the chipper and have enough smoker fuel for the entire summer. If I need more I make more. When I run out of limbs it's time to prune again.

Sean Kelly · April 29, 2007, 07:41:51 AM

Quote from: kensfarm on April 27, 2007, 03:00:45 PM
Quote from: Mklangelo on April 27, 2007, 02:38:34 PM
40 pound bag of wood pellets for 10 bucks from Dadant. I haven't used em' yet but that's pretty cheap and is should last a LONG time for me.

Go to Home Depo, Tractor Supply(TSC), Lowes.. and that 40lb bag would have cost less then $5.

I saw those pellets from Dadant and they look just like Pellet Stove pellets. I have a pellet stove and gave a handful a try. Works awesome! Only problem was a massive buildup of creosote. I left my smoker burning on my concrete patio, went out to dinner with my family, and 3 hours later the darn thing was still going strong!!! I have a dome style smoker and I hear the creosote build up on those can get nasty compared to the cone type.

You also gota check out the Kwik-Start pellets from Mann Lake! You can light it directly with a lighter, blow out the flame and ta-da!!! Instant smoker! They burn out real quick though.

I also used a big handful of dried leaves from my back yard that I didn't rake up last fall. Worked awesome too but burned out pretty quick.

I think I'm gunna give those cedar chips a try. Always lookin for the smoker holy grail. :-)

Sean

Cindi · April 29, 2007, 11:03:51 AM

Quote from: reinbeau on April 28, 2007, 01:03:04 PM
Quote from: Cindi on April 28, 2007, 10:03:57 AM
I picked the red cones from the Staghorn Sumac trees. I have had them drying now for about two months above my kitchen cabinets. That place is really warm and dry and is a perfect place for drying anything that needs to be dried.

I actually forgot about them until reading this post. Time to drag them down. I heard that they were really good for fuel and burn a long time. Time will tell that tale. Have a wonderful day, great day, the sun is shinin', great health. Cindi
Cindi, supposedly the smoke from the sumac will make varroa drop off the bees. Also, I've heard the bees aren't really thrilled with it - so please let us know if you notice them getting agitated when you use it. I'm not wishing you harm! Just interested in the results. :)

Ann, so now the experiment stage is in process. I don't know if I will have varroa issues this year or not. Probably will. But, if I do a sticky board count, find there are varroa, I will smoke the hive lightly with the sumac and see what kind of mite fall there is afterwards. Food for thought. This will be a long term thing, but it will be in the back of my mind always. Best of a beautiful day, good health to all. Cindi

DayValleyDahlias · April 29, 2007, 11:19:59 AM

In the human world, essential oils of eucalyptus, tea tree etc are benficial for curing and preventing fungus, infection, bug bites etc...

Are eucalyptus leaves unhealthy to use for smoking I wonder if the oils in it mite kill varroa, and not the bees? I wonder if marijuana smoke was ever used as an addivitve to calm the bees? I have tons of eucalyptus, no marijuana, but I am sure I could forage through a local forest and find some...hhhmmm

papabear · April 29, 2007, 11:23:29 AM

Where can I find some untreated burlap?

Cindi · April 29, 2007, 11:34:23 AM

Sharon, I don't know if the eucalyptus leaves would be good for smoke or not. There will be responses hopefully. Personally, when looking through the forest I would look for marijuana leaves, well, actually, look for bud!!! LOLL.

I still have seed for the Tea Tree that I was given by a fellow on Saltspring Island. I am really not too sure if I can grow these here, they are pretty tender. They grow on Saltspring Island,but they have a very warm micro climate over there.

I would really like to do some research on growing Tea Tree in my area. Will probably do it. I will also probably germinate some of the seeds and grow the tree inside my house until it is larger. I will treat it like I do all my other tropicals. I would love to get the honey from the Tea Tree, should I ever be able to protect it enough outside for it to mature. Have a wonderful day, beautiful day, good health wishes to all. Cindi

DayValleyDahlias · April 29, 2007, 12:05:35 PM

Thank you Cindi, yes...I will see if there is "bud" available haha. I know of Saltspring, our local yoga community has a center there...Looks really beautiful.

Tea Tree...almost bought one yesterday. They do very well here...perhaps you have inspired me to buy one today on my travels to the nursery, yet again...

Peace

shakerbeeman · April 29, 2007, 12:20:05 PM

Seriously now does the "bud" do the trick? It works quite nicely on man, this I can attest to. This scenario really gets the mind to working. We are talking some happy bees here.

Michael Bush · April 29, 2007, 03:53:49 PM

Burlap.

Dane Bramage · April 29, 2007, 05:34:10 PM

Quote from: DayValleyDahlias on April 29, 2007, 11:19:59 AM
In the human world, essential oils of eucalyptus, tea tree etc are benficial for curing and preventing fungus, infection, bug bites etc...

Are eucalyptus leaves unhealthy to use for smoking I wonder if the oils in it mite kill varroa, and not the bees? I wonder if marijuana smoke was ever used as an addivitve to calm the bees? I have tons of eucalyptus, no marijuana, but I am sure I could forage through a local forest and find some...hhhmmm

If you want to utilize the beneficial active constituents of any plant (phytotherapy), smoking is the least effective method. Smoking (combustion) destroys a large percentage of the beneficials and creates harmful irritants and carcinogens (CO, etc.,). I think that administering beneficial plant extracts in the hive may indeed have merit but I would suggest this is best accomplished separately from smoking. I suspect the amount of smoke necessary to delivery any beneficials would quickly reach the point of diminishing returns due to the harmful effects of the smoke itself.
A mist or nebulizer of essential oils... vapourising herbs (heating to the point that the actives are volatized (turned to gas) but prior to combustion) would all be potential "harm-reduced" methods of delivery.
I read in an Australian bee magazine about the beneficial effects (anti-fungal) of Eucalyptus pollen. I imagine many plants could be useful in a phytotherapeutic (plant-based/natural) method of disease prevention/management. Probably a topic for another thread.

DayValleyDahlias · April 29, 2007, 06:05:04 PM

Oh great info..burlap sounds good hahahah

Michael Bush · April 29, 2007, 08:31:54 PM

>Where can I find some untreated burlap?

The fabric store.

DayValleyDahlias · April 29, 2007, 11:14:06 PM

Got my burlap at the local coffee roasting company. Free

sandhya · April 30, 2007, 02:19:12 AM

Pot?!?!, now thats funny..however, pot makes people paranoid...so think about it!! :evil: I use white sage bundles, on a bunch of shredded paper...(yes, the shredder stuff from my bills!!!) the shredded paper is a great starter and burns real hot, then I put my sage bundle in and it smolders a long time and smells wonderful and calming for me!!!!

UtahBees · April 30, 2007, 01:29:26 PM

My brother-in-law showed me that he also uses LINT taken from the dryer to also get the smoker started (with paper). I tried it last Saturday, and it lit very easlily. I also put dry grass and dried horse poop in there too, but I think I was too impatient.

I grill quite often. Is charcoal and lighter fluid totally out of the question!? LOL

UtahBees