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Bee smoker modifications???

18K views 44 replies 29 participants last post by  Ski 
#1 ·
I am wondering what others may do to their smokers to make them better.
Personally I've made a longer snout on mine that is a heavier gauge material. It is extremely handy when lifting a corner of a heavy hive body or honey super. I have to be careful there is no chance of a box sliding off and causing a huge number of angry bees. Understand this has never happened to me. Nor have I ever dropped a box, frame full of bees, a hive tool to the bottom of a hive box or accidentally killed a queen. Believe that.
What I do is get one corner loose and only one corner. This prevents (um...most of the time) the box from becoming a slider. I get it high enough to put the smoker snout under it and then I can relay without holding a lot of weight to get the rest of the box loose. It does require the box to be lifted higher than normal.
Just asking.
Thanks
Howard
 
#4 ·
I took a soup can and put lots of holes in it. Then I put the material to be burned in the can, drop it in the smoker, and light it. Using the can helps with clean up and keeps the bellow hole (where it goes into the smoker) free and clear of debris; and an easy why to remove the fuel when you are finished with it. I have two smokers I did this to a few years ago....one Mann Lake and the other is a Dadant.
 
#6 ·
I am wondering what others may do to their smokers to make them better.
I don't do anything. I have seen what others have done and admired them for it. Soldering a piece of copper tubing about 1 inch long to the nozzle. I just never considered that I needed to make any modifications.

What do you do w/ your smoker when you need both hands?
 
#19 ·
A hole in the veil does not sound like a good idea to me. When you are not using the "hookah" you have a hole bees can find their way in. Seems like??

On another note.. What kind of material would you burn in that contraption?? That makes me wonder how calming a device like that would be on the hive. Never get stung again!!!
 
#24 ·
The most useful modification that I have made to my smoker, and make it easy to light , was to drill a small hole in the side of the main body just above the fire grate. Made a small flap of thick aluminum foil attached with a self tapping screw as the hole seal.
Just stuff your smoker fuel into the body, use a small gas burner to light the material through the hole, close the flap and your smoker is good to go in 30 seconds or less.
 
#25 ·
I gotta try that little lighter hole trick. That makes so much sense. Someone's (read that Dadant or Kelly or Brushy) gonna build that into their smokers soon and owe you some royalties, or at least some beer. :)
 
#28 ·
should there bee a connector between the bellows and the canister? Mine doesnt have one and its a royal pain to keep lit. If I prop the lid open just a tad she goes like a forest fire....I typically use burlap....using either the man lake starters or more recently some leaves.
 
#35 ·
I have enough to do learning about bees, researching treatments, inspecting hives and mentoring beekeepers without trying to re-invent smokers, hives and things that have worked for over a hundred years. Complexity creates higher failure rates. Weight is a concern as you add this and that. Except for the new electronic computer controlled smokers that last as long as a good thunderstorm in the rain, I really doubt there is anything that has not been tried. There was a wise king that once said there is nothing new under the sun. The fool died with about a thousand wives and concubines and one of the largest apiaries rivaling many today at Tel Rehov.
 
#40 ·
Opposed to drilling a hole to light your smoker \I do this
I have a propane lighter I hold the flame on the front side of the smoker wall and heat it till red
this works like a car cigarette lighter when the metal is red hot it will ignite anything that
is, in touch with it.
It takes a min.and smoker is going strong
I don't have to pull half burnt fuel out from last session I just re-torch it

I also added a soup can that was the same (OD) diameter as my smoker
I used a 1 inch metal strap and riveted it to the main body to extend the fuel capacity
I re-attached the lid ,this added another 4 inch's or so, of fuel to it
 
#41 ·
Fyremedik,
I have not done it but our state bee inspector also put a small hook on the bellows and he hangs it on his back pocket and always has it handy. If I had a lot of hives or inspect hives all day long as some folks do I think I would also add a hook.
 
#42 ·
As someone who yesterday worked, w/ 4 other beekeepers, 192 hives, having something like a smoker hanging off of my belt or pocket seems to me to be something I would not want to do. It would be flopping around, from side to side, I imagine.

We all smoked hives and set the smoker down somewhere w/in reach, removed the cover and the empty supers, smoked some more and moved on to the next hive. stripping off emptys until the yd was stripped down to the honey and then, using fume board, removing the boxes of honey. All the time smoking, setting it down and smoking some more. Every now and then hanging the smoker on an open hive by the hook on the front of the smoker.

But, apparently it works well for your inspector. So, maybe under some cercumstances it might fit.
 
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