# Good smoker or cheap smoker?



## Fusion_power (Jan 14, 2005)

Stainless steel, large size, with wire protector, do NOT get the cheap rubber/plastic bellows. Dadant will last a lot of years. I am using a 25 year old Kelley and have two backups.


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## Treehopper (Dec 9, 2012)

accidents happen, but I hate buying a tool twice...I try to buy one grade higher than I think I can afford. I have the same dadant, and am very pleased with it.


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## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

Get the good Stainless Steel one (Dadant). I've entering my 11th year beekeeping and I've had to replace the bellows twice but the smoker itself is rock solid. To be fair my smoker is exposed in the back of my truck (except during winter) so the UV and weather may have shortened the bellows life.


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## Fusion_power (Jan 14, 2005)

> It was hard to get lit.... it was no match for a Ford.


 I never had a problem getting my Ford lit either. A gallon of gas and a match was all it ever took.


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## Rusty Hills Farm (Mar 24, 2010)

FWIW: I've got 2 smokers. Both are from Dadant and both are 25+ years old and both work like a charm.

HTH

Rusty


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## Billboard (Dec 28, 2014)

Get this one. This is the one everyone is talking about. I bought it too works great. https://www.dadant.com/catalog/m009281-smoker-4-x-10-stainless-steel-with-heat-finger-shield


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## Tim KS (May 9, 2014)

Brad Bee said:


> I've found myself recently in the market for a new smoker. My recently deceased smoker was from Mann Lake. I can't say that it was great and I can't say that it wasn't. It's the only one I ever had. I know 2 things about it: It was hard to get lit, more specifically it was hard to keep lit for the first 15 to 20 minutes of use and secondly it was no match for a Ford.


(continuation of the other thread) 

I've got a good used Mann Lake that I'd sell.....the lid has a bit of problem. :lpf:


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## JoshuaW (Feb 2, 2015)

Get the Dadant one. You'll be glad you did. I am.


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## dynemd (Aug 27, 2013)

Dadant...


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

Tim KS said:


> (continuation of the other thread)
> 
> I've got a good used Mann Lake that I'd sell.....the lid has a bit of problem. :lpf:


What a coincidence, I have one for sale too. A real fixer upper. I think the dents in it will polish out with enough rubbing....


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

So y'all are recommending the cheap one? LOL

I don't mind paying $50 for a good smoker but DANG I hate paying shipping and waiting. Amazon Prime has me spoiled on free 2 day shipping.


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## MTN-Bees (Jan 27, 2014)

You get what you pay for- I started using Dadant smokers a few years ago and I wouldn't look at anything else. They work great.


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## liljake83 (Jul 2, 2013)

Hands down get the Dadant I started with a mannlake used it for a year before I ran it over I read a few threads about how the mannlake was bad and dadant was the best I remember thinking these people are absolutely crazy then I got a dadant smoker wow never ever going back to a mannlake


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

Due to popular demand, I just ordered the 10" Dadant smoker.


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

I tried out a high dome smoker and love it, I'll never go back to the old style. What happened to your old smoker? My plastic bellows didn't last but five years, but duct tape has fixed it up. The leather bellows lasts well, if you don't leave it out in the weather. The plastic/rubber bellows is the only thing bad about my smoker, it's a high dome from mannlake with the wire cage and raised inner bottom.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

I've been using the Dadant smoker for decades. Tried a wooden bellow ML smoker a few years and loved the slightly taller dimension and the larger opening in both the bellow and the smoker makes for far easier puffing and lighting than the Dadant but found the wire guard was poorly constructed and no provision was made to keep a hot fire pot from burning anything it was set on. Gonna try another one this year because it appears the cage has been redesigned. This just might end my quest for the perfect smoker. 
https://www.mannlakeltd.com/wood-bellow-smoker


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## MTN-Bees (Jan 27, 2014)

i just bought one of the Dadant High Dome smokers. I haven't used it yet. My wife said- another one- don't you have enough of those things!


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

RayMarler said:


> I tried out a high dome smoker and love it,


I had one for awhile. Hated it. Got so pi**ed at it I ran it over with my truck, backed up and ran it over again. On purpose. Done!


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Good story Michael. You, angry? Can't imagine it! 

The way I see it, the thing a beekeeper has in his hand all day every day is a smoker. It's used constantly and if it works right your job is pleasant.

So, why do guys skimp and save 20 bucks to get a cheapo smoker? Beats me.

Me I have a Dadant, recommend it, and like it. But for a perfectionist to whom money is not an object, here is in my view an even better smoker but it's only sold in Australia so would have to be shipped. It is actually modelled on the old better worked Dadants before they went a bit cheapo, but made of stainless steel. It's the Beeco, on the right. For those really hankering after something unique they also come in brass.

http://www.honeybee.com.au/catalogue/page7.htm

But for a good all round smoker I'm with the others, get a Dadant.


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## My-smokepole (Apr 14, 2008)

One of the comm. guys posted a study of smoker he had and hand down the Danant won as I remember.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

My-smokepole said:


> One of the comm. guys posted a study of smoker he had and hand down the Danant won as I remember.


Probably this one I did. I began to like the ML smoker more and more as I used it but my reservations about the ML at the time turned out to be correct. The wire shield turned out to be junk and the failure to extend it to protect the bottom somewhat inexplicable. Its does appear now to be redesigned. Both the hinge and bellows have held up well and I'm pretty tough on smokers. 
http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?308091-Dueling-bee-smokers&highlight=smoker


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

Michael Palmer said:


> I had one for awhile. Hated it. Got so pi**ed at it I ran it over with my truck, backed up and ran it over again. On purpose. Done!


:lpf:

Yes, we all have our moments!
We are all individuals with different ways of doing things.
You are one of the best mentors in beekeeping around, but I'll keep my high dome smoker!


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

RayMarler said:


> I tried out a high dome smoker and love it, I'll never go back to the old style. What happened to your old smoker? My plastic bellows didn't last but five years, but duct tape has fixed it up. The leather bellows lasts well, if you don't leave it out in the weather. The plastic/rubber bellows is the only thing bad about my smoker, it's a high dome from mannlake with the wire cage and raised inner bottom.


Look on the main bee forum for a post titled Tragedy strikes.... 

My wife ran over it.


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## CAP (Feb 4, 2017)

Does anybody have any experience with the Kelly smoker, it is galvanized 4" x 7" and it is $23.00


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## Briarvalleyapiaries (Feb 26, 2015)

CAP said:


> Does anybody have any experience with the Kelly smoker, it is galvanized 4" x 7" and it is $23.00


I have the 10" Kelly smoker and I really like it compared to the ML.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

CAP said:


> Does anybody have any experience with the Kelly smoker, it is galvanized 4" x 7" and it is $23.00


You get what you pay for.................Dadant!


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

Have been criticized by the local bee club members over a myriad of things. They're a critical bunch. 
What brand paint. What color. How I wrap them or not. What frames. Foundations. Waxed or not. Where I get my equipment. Used? New? What truck I drive. Where I buy my gas. Where I get my bees. What clothes I wear. What type of fence I have. The big yellow dog. What other hobbies I have. How I manage the hives. Whether to use smoke or not. What type of fuel. (and more) 

So far they've missed the smoker detail. opcorn: 
My smoker smokes.


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## Riverderwent (May 23, 2013)

Brad Bee said:


> Good smoker or cheap smoker?


Good smoker..



> it was no match for a Ford


I laughed.


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## shinbone (Jul 5, 2011)

Oldtimer said:


> But for a perfectionist to whom money is not an object, here is in my view an even better smoker but it's only sold in Australia so would have to be shipped. It is actually modelled on the old better worked Dadants before they went a bit cheapo, but made of stainless steel. It's the Beeco, on the right. For those really hankering after something unique they also come in brass.
> 
> http://www.honeybee.com.au/catalogue/page7.htm


The Beeco uses the older, and presumably better, Dadant design - what about that older Dadant design is better than the new Dadant design? Anything else beside design that makes the Beeco better, i.e. materials, fabrication?


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## kaizen (Mar 20, 2015)

i'm also in the market for a smoker that stays lit. can anyone describe the design of the dadant that makes it better? i'm not overly concerned about the wire on the outside just the smoke ability. looking at my cheapo 1st year one it doesn't look too complicated that could be drastically improved. just want to know what i'm buying


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## gww (Feb 14, 2015)

I bought the $26 large smoker off of ebay. It may not last but does work much better then my homemade one that I used for my first summer. I pack it plumb full and tight with straw. It seems to stay lit very well. Some times the fire comes out the hole that the bellows blow into and if I am not watching, I may sometime end up catching the bellows wood on fire but so far it is such an improvement to what I was using, that I am happy.

Cheers
gww


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Not sure if you can even get it anymore, but this is my favorite smoker:
http://pinecreektrading.com/rauchboy-smoker/

Bee Thinking was the last place I could find one and they don't seem to have it now. I've had Kelley's large smoker. It was fine. I've had Mann Lake's large smoker, it was fine. I admit Dadant's is nicer on several counts and worth the difference in price. For sure, don't buy a small smoker. They are far harder to keep lit. I like all of them better with an insert:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm#smokerinsert
http://www.bushfarms.com/images/SmokerInsert3.jpg
http://www.bushfarms.com/images/SmokerInsert2.JPG

I can fill the insert, light the insert and when it's going well (the breeze feeding it oxygen) I can pick it up with gloves and quickly drop it in the smoker... Then it stays lit better. because it provides an air space and air flow...


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## Knisely (Oct 26, 2013)

Rauchboy website:

https://shop.strato.de/epages/17848997.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/17848997/Categories


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