3BeeKeepers

Out of business. Personally after several
attempts to contact them I gave up on
trying to order smokers.

Good that you did. More than one has gotten taken by him.

http://www.beesource.com/cgi-bin/ubb...719;p=1#000010

I placed an order for a Rauchboy II smoker just after the going out of business ad appeared here last spring. After a couple of weeks and a couple of E-mails my smoker finally arrived. I really like it. It is easy to get it started and it keeps on going without any intervention from me. It is now my favorite smoker... That said, I am a hobby beekeeper......Sundance, as a commercial beekeeper, you may find it a little on the small side, especially if you are burning something like cedar chips as opposed to the longer lasting wood pellets. You may be better off inserting a can with holes in it into the large bingham type smoker as has been mentioned previously on other threads....Come to think of it as resourceful as you are, you're probably already doing that!

One other thing to ponder... the Rauchboy has a leather bellows. I used to dump the ashes and coals from my bingham smoker into a bucket of water and hang the smoker on the side of the bucket to cool off. Sometimes it would stay outside in the weather for weeks like that. I don't think the leather bellows would take that kind of treatment. I cork it and store it outside in a metal trash can now.

Just something to ponder before you plan your next vacation around a trip to Germany to pick up a Rauchboy smoker! [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img]

Tim

"...you may find it a little on the small side.."

They make a big Rauchboy as well. I still
drool over getting one. ;) I do the can
insert now and it's OK but I can't find a
big can to fit my big smoker. They are
either too small or too big.

Too big is not a problem. Cut it up the side, compress it to the size you want, and shoot a screw through the overlap. Or where it overlaps, make two short cuts close together and bend the tab over.

Good idea..... I had been worried about
keeping the bottom intact. But it shouldn't
matter if you use the existing bottom. It's
the sides that need the ventilation.

Thanks