# Bee-z Smoker ... Any reviews?



## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

A fellow beek and friend of mine bought one. He later traded it for an empty nuc box......


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## GLOCK (Dec 29, 2009)

Well if that guy has had bee's since 1976 and that's how he light's a smoker he's not a very good bee keeper. I can light mine in less then 60 sec. and it stays lite for 2 hours.
I think it's just one more of them in the corner beekeeping junk things. I think we all have some.
Here one of my many.
Electric Uncapping Plane


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

LOL!!! I think the three step process is this. 1. Send us lots of money (you know, the money you were saving to purchase one more nuc this year). 2. We ship you this thing. 3. You wonder why you fell for the slick marketing campaign. 

Lighting a smoker gives my inner pyro an outlet.

I would think that if you are going into one hive having a gizmo that lights quickly or that is instant on is probably pretty cool. I have the opposite problem though. I will light my smoker to go into one hive and then decide that what the hell, might as well check this one, and oh well, I still have some ashes from that paper plate I put in the smoker for fuel, I may as well go into this monster hive too!


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## WWW (Feb 6, 2011)

A 20 year veteran beekeeper should know how to light a smoker, that type of advertisement is embarrassing, makes me wonder what they are not telling us about the new beezsmoker. :shhhh:


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## Zbee (Apr 15, 2014)

Ya'll see the pricetag on that baby? $150? Yeah... I think I will stick to the 'ol lighter and fuel.


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## Honey-4-All (Dec 19, 2008)

GLOCK said:


> Well if that guy has had bee's since 1976 and that's how he light's a smoker he's not a very good bee keeper.


In total agreement here... Nor very wise regarding fire and smoke physics... 

Being from sunny ( and often very dry) California where we minimize smoker use for safety concerns in the first place I can tell you that any help that was caught lighting smoker fuel from the top down would have a head smoking MRI provided free of charge within an hour of being caught for doing any such foolish thing. Plain unsafe in our area and for sure the dumbest way to burn up bees instead of smoking them. 

When I first spied one of these at ML a few years back I decided to pass as I really didn't need another piece of equipment to toss on the junk pile. If I'm going to use anything build under the same principle it would be a piped system to smoke bees right off the mounting and tips of the forklift. Beyond that........ forget it.


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

My Dad kept bee 55 yeRs ago..long since past away. I was cleaning out an old cupboard in the barn and found a can of Bee Smoke..press the nozzle and out comes smoke. Now that is easy


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## pgayle (Jan 27, 2008)

Well, I've used it three times. The first time I put a small amount of fuel in because that's the way I understood the instructions. 

The fluffy pine shavings burn up fast and I kept having to refill. The next time, I was probably not going to need it, so I just had it on standby, and needed it once. I thought it was pretty neat to be able to have smoke in 30 seconds or so. I was liking it better. 

The time after that, I added more fuel but did not pack it down because they say not to. It kept going out. I could restart.. but all those 30 seconds add up. I could not just grab the smoker and give a quick puff. Then the battery ran out in the middle of a big colony. There is no spare battery, and no quick way to change it even if there was a spare. Your only option is to recharge. 

I am not impressed.


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## Nabber86 (Apr 15, 2009)

Zbee said:


> Ya'll see the pricetag on that baby? $150? Yeah... I think I will stick to the 'ol lighter and fuel.



Does it come with lube?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I saw it demonstrated and it looked impressive. I was impressed, but not in a positive way, by the price. Even if it worked as well in real live as the demo (unusually for most products) it wouldn't be worth the price to me... but then I've got 50 years experience lighting campfires, trash fires and 40 years experience lighting smokers. I don't find it that difficult. Especially if I have an insert can. I can light it in the can, let the breeze get it going and then drop it in the smoker and not have to pump the bellows. 

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm#smokerinsert

The insert takes me about five minutes to make and costs nothing...


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

Nice! I like it. I'll save the next soup can!


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## Andrew Dewey (Aug 23, 2005)

I bought one thinking it would be a smoker to have inside a car. I've decided I like keeping a real conventional smoker outside the car.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I have a metal box for the smoker. That is my favorite way to have in in the car...


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## F6Hawk (Mar 31, 2014)

How do you keep it going for 2 hours? What are you using for fuel? I have tried pine straw and pine pellets. Straw lights easier, pellets live longer, but I seem to do best with a mixture of both. Rarely does my smoker last more than an hour tho...



GLOCK said:


> Well if that guy has had bee's since 1976 and that's how he light's a smoker he's not a very good bee keeper. I can light mine in less then 60 sec. and it stays lite for 2 hours.


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## Honey-4-All (Dec 19, 2008)

A smoker that is loaded with the right way with the correct fuel and kept out of the wind can stay lit for way over a day. Kind of nice except when you jump in the pickup the next morning for a jaunt down the freeway to town and the guy behind you is calling either 911 or the Air resources board less than 5 minutes after you have left home. Sucks when the rest of the stuff in the bed catches on fire cause you were a numb nut and didn't cork it up. Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything. And if you believe that..............


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

Go to youtube and lookup fatbeeman lighting a smoker. I don't do it quite like him, but I don't need to have mine go for hours on end. You just need it to smolder, not a flame.


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## F6Hawk (Mar 31, 2014)

Mayhap I have not been packing mine tight enough then. I saw fat bee man's, as well as the other youtube where the guy uses pine sawdust (which I have a lot of, and haven't tried yet... will next time though!).


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

The guy who had kept bees for 37 years and couldn't light a smoker was clearly told to make it look as complex as possible and was presumably paid a fee commensurate with publicly displaying himself as a bumbling fool.

Having said all that, the price, touted as high, is probably fair. The cost of producing this custom electronic gadget for a small market would be high, and I would not be at all surprised if they are still in a loss position over it.

I meet a lot of new beeks who just cannot get how to light a smoker & keep it burning, and because they only have one or two hives never do it enough to figure it out. For those folks an electric ignition smoker may help, long as they don't want instant puff when they pull the trigger.


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## Kamon A. Reynolds (Apr 15, 2012)

Just one more thing to take the fun out of beekeeping. The smoker is a element of beekeeping. A very cool part I might add.


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

I agree with oldtimer that the price is right for a small production run, but this is also means it will fail. If it were 19.99 as seen on TV I could see it as an impulse purchase, but at $150 it is an investment. I would have to use the thing all the time to find value in it. 

I think that if you really hate lighting your smoker you should look at something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/BERNZOMATIC-TS1500KC-TRIGGER-START-PROPANE/dp/B004UAGGX6

You could light just about anything in 30 seconds with one of these, and if it craps out you can have a lighter as a backup.


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## F6Hawk (Mar 31, 2014)

Actually, it's one of the WARMEST parts. Minus donning a suit in summer... 



Tennessee's Bees LLC said:


> Just one more thing to take the fun out of beekeeping. The smoker is a element of beekeeping. A very cool part I might add.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Some people like gadgets and some people don't. Keeping it going would be the same problem with any smoker, not packed right or the fuel is damp. Relighting it with an electric element is going to be less effective after it is first lit because ash is now surrounding the element and the fuel has burned away from the element. How does it get combustion air?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>How do you keep it going for 2 hours? What are you using for fuel?

Pack it full of burlap.


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## F6Hawk (Mar 31, 2014)

Don't see burlap as a ready source of fuel around here. Might hafta call the coop and ask if they have any torn up bags to use...



Michael Bush said:


> >How do you keep it going for 2 hours? What are you using for fuel?
> 
> Pack it full of burlap.


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## Honey-4-All (Dec 19, 2008)

Michael Bush said:


> >How do you keep it going for 2 hours? What are you using for fuel?
> 
> Pack it full of burlap.


The right burlap......best tweed and oil content will burn low and slow for days. The current issue is that the last "starbucks" coffee bags I purchased were 10 times the price we paid 20 years back. Not only has the Joe gone up.... so has the Joe bags<


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## d20636 (Jun 27, 2013)

$150? That's ~30 cu ft of cedar shavings. That would last me a LONG time...


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

If they want too much for coffee bags, there is always the fabric store...


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## pgayle (Jan 27, 2008)

They do have a 30 day return policy. Will see..


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## rweaver7777 (Oct 17, 2012)

I learned how to keep my smoker going from a boy who was a member of our club. And I do mean, like 12 years old. And no shortage of pine straw. All I do is go stuff it full, light it and then stuff again after it smokes a bit. Lasts for as long as I need - have 4 hives. It's gone for 2 hours before. If it gets weak, just add more straw.

I do use my propane torch to light it quickly.


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## Honey-4-All (Dec 19, 2008)

Michael Bush said:


> If they want too much for coffee bags, there is always the fabric store...



When the bees have been getting high off of residual coffee and cocao for twenty years its a tough call to go to Micheals or JoANNS and get them on switched to drug free smoke.


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## F6Hawk (Mar 31, 2014)

You say stuff it full and light it... are you lighting the straw on top of the smoker?



rweaver7777 said:


> I learned how to keep my smoker going from a boy who was a member of our club. And I do mean, like 12 years old. And no shortage of pine straw. All I do is go stuff it full, light it and then stuff again after it smokes a bit. Lasts for as long as I need - have 4 hives. It's gone for 2 hours before. If it gets weak, just add more straw.
> 
> I do use my propane torch to light it quickly.


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## Cait (Nov 9, 2014)

OK! i bought one... i had a disaster day with my hive and ended up with 60+ stings, mostly because my traditional smoker stopped smoking, the bees were going bonkers and it all got out of hand. Trying to problem solve i found the B-Easy Smoker on amazon and feeling a failure and possibly not being cut out for a life with bees i ordered it. It arrived in 3 days, which was amazing, but problems arose immediately, i couldnt get the thing going/stay going to complete an inspection (same problem as my traditional smoker). So i ring my local bee keeping novice and call around to see if he can make it out. After 10/15 mins we felt we knew the right order, how long for etc that the buttons should be held down for, my panic relieved. Then today after a 4 day wait for sunshine, i dress up, all ready to go, time for the smoker. I hold in the trigger button for 5-10 seconds as instructed but it takes more like 25-30 seconds, some smoke starts to appear at the spout, i hit the fan button, a plume of smoke and then nothing, i try a few more times, the same problem!!!??? i go for the traditional smoker firer her up, weary it might fail once im at the hive, distressed bees.... with some rain clouds over head i just got on with it, this time very successfully. Back in the house, it is clear that the metal electric filaments arent getting hot therefore not creating smoldering embers. I re-charge the smoker although this should not be necessary. OK! i load the smoker with the fuel it arrived with, press the heating elements button again for about 30 seconds, smoke comes out of the spout and so i press the fan button more smoke comes out, i let the smoker sit and i wait to see how long the smoke will keep coming, its over in 20 seconds. From what i have done today, it appears that you have to continually press the smoke button for 25+ seconds then a burst of the fan button and repeat again and again. This afternoon i was definitely sending it straight back in the next day post, now im not so sure, i think it might bee me, thats why i came on this forum to see if others are having problems too??? tomorrow i shall give it another go, but if it doesnt provide continuous smoke i.e. enough to complete a pre-winter inspection its going all the way back to the USA from France. It is certainly NOT simple to use and im definitely not a technophobe.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

It might be easily solved by contacting the manufacturer and have them walk you through it.


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## dsegrest (May 15, 2014)

shannonswyatt;1126432
and oh well said:


> Does the paper plate burn too hot?


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

$150 bee smoker?? Wow! Talk about a solution in search of a problem. Look, just go buy a 7" Dadant smoker for around $30. If you need smoke for an hour or two get some burlap or a bag full of pine needles. If you want something that lasts for most of a day buy a $4.00 bag of wood pellets that will last most folks a very, very long time and learn how to light them properly. A properly lit smoker full of pellets will yield smoke for most of a day and in my mind renders the 10" smoker obsolete. Perhaps I need to do a short instructional you tube video. Methinks mastering the art of lighting a smoker should be the very first beekeeping skill learned.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

jim lyon said:


> Methinks mastering the art of lighting a smoker should be the very first beekeeping skill learned.


Somewhat agree. I think it is more about what it takes to keep it going and how to vary the load for short runs verse long runs.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>Methinks mastering the art of lighting a smoker should be the very first beekeeping skill learned.

It's an odd time we live in. My 6 yo grandson can win any video game but thinks tying his shoes is too hard...

A few generations ago, mastering fire used to be one of the first things a person learned...


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## lazy shooter (Jun 3, 2011)

Since this product is manufactured and marketed to beekeepers, I think the ad is so condescending. It is an insult to the intelligence of the most novice among us to think that an experienced beekeeper lights his smoker with a propane cigarette lighter. That alone was my turn-off. I purchased wood chips from my local feed and supply store. They come in a four cubic foot bag and are used to put in animal stalls at various animal shows, fairs and such. For seven bucks I have a supply that will last me for years, even after giving some away. They are compressed in the bag, but come apart easily. Loosely filled they provide a couple of hours of smoke, and when compacted into the smoker they last four hours. 

The smoker with a heating element and a blower appears to have the characteristics of a Rupe Goldberg machine. 150 bucks?????


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

I "won" one a a conference. Used it a couple of times for the "hey" of it........... anyone want to buy it? Works...


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

For many decades I carried "strike anywhere" "kitchen matches" (the two terms used to be synonymous but are no longer) and was perfectly happy with them. Then along came the bic lighters. Convenient in some ways but too easy to get burned on when lighting burlap for a smoker. Then the BBQ lighters, much easier as you could get the flame on the bottom and not have your thumb next to it. But I admit it's hard to beat a self igniting propane torch when you are in a hurry...


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

dsegrest said:


> Does the paper plate burn too hot?


Sorry, that was a joke. But I do occasionally start the smoker up with not nearly enough fuel thinking I will only go into one hive and decide, well, since I'm here...


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

Michael Bush said:


> >Methinks mastering the art of lighting a smoker should be the very first beekeeping skill learned.
> 
> It's an odd time we live in. My 6 yo grandson can win any video game but thinks tying his shoes is too hard...
> 
> A few generations ago, mastering fire used to be one of the first things a person learned...


So true. But as a kid it we had a wood burning stove. If you wanted to be warm before you went to the school bus you learned to light a fire! We were all a bunch of pyro's!


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

The promo video showing the 'veteran' beekeeper 'trying' to light his smoker from the top with a lighter is insulting to anyone with a clue. That would be where I would stop. A company who would use that as a demo is not really showing proper respect to prospective customers. If it's an improvement, then show us how it really is an improvement...

...making a deceptive video would suggest it's not. 

Adam


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

Michael Bush said:


> But I admit it's hard to beat a self igniting propane torch when you are in a hurry...


In that, you and I are in total agreement. I use it even when not in a hurry!


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## rweaver7777 (Oct 17, 2012)

snl said:


> In that, you and I are in total agreement. I use it even when not in a hurry!


And if you're a pyro, it's FUN!


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Michael Bush said:


> But I admit it's hard to beat a self igniting propane torch when you are in a hurry...


That is what I always use because it doesn't blow out in the wind but that doesn't mean I couldn't light a roll of cardboard with a stick match if I had to. I would like to see the OP go to the manufacturer and register his complaint. He can always come back to BS and tell us how he was treated. The point of the fancy smoker is convenience. Is it or isn't it?


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## Goat Man (Nov 23, 2011)

My encounter with BEE Z SMOKER. I bought one a few months ago to use in my small yard. I used it about 6 times. At first it was great. I filled it with the fuel they sent with the unit, pulled the trigger for a few seconds then pressed the fan button, and I was cooking. Smoke everywhere. After the third use it seemed to get harder and harder to get the unit to take a charge. Then it became impossible to get it to charge.

I called the company, as there was a one year warranty on it. I explained the problem to the owner and he said I must have burnt the unit up. But send it back to him to check it out. I shipped it to him and in a few days he called me and told me he had repaired the unit and I owed him $90.00.
He had never mentioned that there may be any charges.
I asked about the warranty. He said the fire that destroyed the unit was my fault and the warranty was void. I disagreed with him but told him I would think about repairing it or not. Then a few hours later I received notification from PayPal that he was trying to collect the $90.00 from my account. I cancelled the PayPal transaction. Him selling a defective product, I am sure this has happened to more people then me, not honoring the warranty and trying to get paid by PayPal without my authorization told me all I wanted to know about this company and its owner.
The concept is a great one. And with another design that addresses the over heating problem could help a lot of beekeepers .
But for me I do NOT recommend dealing with this company. Maybe someone out there can take up the challenge and design a better smoker that won't burn up.inch::no:


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## kg7 (Jun 28, 2016)

Just started this year... 
I didn't look at any other options... and since I am a tool guy (woodworking, metal working, garden, mechanic...et al)... I didn't think there was any other way than the bernz-o-matic self lighting propane torch... 
Gee... I'm using GEM shavings right now (much like pine planer shavings), with some pine needles thrown in. 
For a $150 I think I'll save up for a Milwaukee 12 volt angle drill... (for another project)....


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