Smoker Fuel

When I first started keeping bees I used dry hardwood leaves as a smoker fuel..  They worked fine and were free & plentiful.  I'd go out to the back woods, grab a handful or two, mash them into the smoker and light it.  They provided abundant cool white smoke that smelled like burning leaves.  They would burn quickly and needed to be refilled often.  That lasted as a fuel until Fall when it began to rain each week and all the leaves were now green (as in water content not actual color).

I kept with the 'Free' theme and started using pine needles.  There is a patch of pine in the side woods with years of pine mulch laying on the ground.  Any time of year I could get a bucket of needles.  The bucket was stored in the garage which kept the needles always dry.  The smoke smelled better than the leaves but seemed hotter and was more likely to stain the wooden ware.  The needles burned better than the leaves and required less refuelings.  But, they also blew more ash, lined the smoker with more resin, & created a little less smoke.  Unfortunately, one colony hated the smoke and would become defensive.

Early this year a neighbor got into bees and started using the compressed cotton disks.  From what I saw they were difficult to get started and created very little smoke.  They rarely stayed lit and required a torch be always handy.  I didn't use them myself but did not like the look of them.  The smell was rough too.

Then I began to use the wood pellets; the hardwood pellets not the pine ones.  At first i used a torch to light them.  Now i add a handful of pine needles to the top and light with a single match.  Once lit they continuously burn.  When i fill the smoker 3/4 of the way up the smoke can last for two or more inspections.  A cork stuffed in the top extinguishes the smoke.  They make tons of cool smoke that smells like a campfire.

So unless I find something better I sticking with the hardwood pellets.

This smoker has been lit for thirty minutes and not been puffed for fifteen

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Smoker Fuel: Hardwood or Pine?

Breaking into the hives today gave me a chance to try out a new smoker fuel. I have always used pine needles as they are free & abundant here. The problem with needles is the tar they give off when burning clogs up the smoker. The smoker must then be cleaned with a propane torch. Also, the bees hate the smoke. I say that because they always attack the smoker & me.

So I bought a bag of those small wood pellets from Dadant. I hoped the pellets would be better and they are. The smoke from the pellets is cool & moist. I don't know how it's moist but it is. Some water dripped out from under the cap while it was lit. The smoke was less noxious than the pine needles smoke as tested by my eyes. The pellets stayed lit all day. I put a cork in the spout to smother the embers after I was finished messing with the bees.

I'll leave the unburnt contents in the smoker until I need it again. Then I'll relight it with a propane torch. I tried it once tonight to see how hard it was. It lit up in a second. Some squeezing on the bellows got it the rest of the way.

The biggest test is how it affected the bees; namely, Myrina. At the first puff Myrina's girls came out as usual to kick someones butt. Unusually, though, they did not directly find me. They buzzed around looking but only a few could locate me. Contrast that with the pine needles where they all come out directly at me.

During the inspection the bees spent more time in the hive than outside being defensive. Again another improvement. The best part is when I would give them a good blast of smoke they would actually move deeper into the hive as appose to attacking the smoker & me.

All in all the bees were calmer today than they have been since I got them; by Myrina's standards. If this behavior continues I will be sold on these pellets, or at least hardwood fuel vs. pine fuel.