# smoker fuel



## Billboard (Dec 28, 2014)

What different kinds of material can you use for smoker fuel. I have a kitchen garbage bag full of wood shavings. Will they work? If not what can i use?


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## AL from Georgia (Jul 14, 2014)

I like wood shavings, they smoke well and last a while.


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## Billboard (Dec 28, 2014)

Oh good then ill have my son shave wood all weekend. I got alot of small cedar boards left over from making my hives.


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## TylerStewart (Oct 15, 2014)

Lately I've been using strips of old blue jeans which have been working pretty well. They light up quicker than most which is usually my priority. I don't have great access to pine needles which is what most people seem to use.


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## Billboard (Dec 28, 2014)

Pine needles? I got those too. Thats real cool i dont have to spend money to burn.


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## marshmasterpat (Jun 26, 2013)

Pine needs get my thumbs up, can do 2 or 3 hives then have to reload. Just used it with some small wood shavings added in and it works even better.


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## Billboard (Dec 28, 2014)

Cool ill do that. Do i pack the smoker full??


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## Beeonefarms (Nov 22, 2013)

Billboard said:


> Cool ill do that. Do i pack the smoker full??


pack it IN Tight and once its going a hand full of green grass on top..... Squeeze release squeeze release.....


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## BeeGora (Oct 22, 2013)

Rolled up corrugated cardboard.


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## Beregondo (Jun 21, 2011)

In use wood chips ATM.
Whatever is free, produces a lot of smoke, and non toxic goes in in the can.

In the past I have used dry and corn cobs (said to be toxic, but noticed no detrimental effects in practice), dry leaves, rolled up cardboard (burns too hot and too quickly for my preference), 100% cotton cloth (nice and smokey, lasts well enough for 5 or six hives at a go), and wood chips...I'm using the chips because they are free to almost free here and smolder well.

Note the advice about grass to cool the smoke in the post above... That's excellent advice--if the smoke is too hot, you van irritate bees with th your smoker rather than calm them.


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## Michael B (Feb 6, 2010)

I buy a bag of wood fiber for rodent cages at TSC for about $5 and it last 2 season.


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## lemmje (Feb 23, 2015)

I use dryer lint and toilet paper cardboard centers, then pack in the pine needles. No cost. I currently have only 2 hives, and this lasts long enough to get me thru them, but i don't know that it would work for any more than a few hives. 

I have used pet bedding before too, instead of pine needles, because i had a half a bag left over from the chicks i raised (that are now laying eggs).


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## Billboard (Dec 28, 2014)

Well i just ordered the dadant 4x10 stainless steel with fingershield. I ordered it tuesday night its still processing, i guess. Dont know why it takes so long to ship. But i cant wait to get it. Im gunna burn alot to check it out. You know break it in kinda thing. My bees come in 2 wks. The smoker was costly but was highly recommend. So i hope its a good one.


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## lemmje (Feb 23, 2015)

They look so shiny and pretty when they are brand new, but i love how they look after they are blackened from use. I wish i still had my dad's old galvanized steel smokers, and so many other things of his.......


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## jwdeeming (Apr 22, 2014)

+1 for old bluejeans. I just tried it last weekend and was really happy with it. Didn't think about dryer lint as mentioned above - I suppose it should be mostly cotton?


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## Michael B (Feb 6, 2010)

One thing about dryer lint.... Once you use it it will make you think twice about not cleaning the vent!


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## SWM (Nov 17, 2009)

I start my smoker with a few small pieces of burlap, then add a handful of pine wood shavings, then add 2 handfuls of wood pellets covered with a layer of burlap so the pellets don't blow out. This will smolder a long time and can be adjusted to smoker size (mine is a 4 x 7). Pellets are key but don't start well on their own (at least for me)...hence the burlap and wood shavings.


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## canoemaker (Feb 19, 2011)

I would be reluctant to use dryer lint or denim unless I knew it was 100% cotton. Burning polyester, nylon, or other plastic fabrics probably isn't very good for the bees. My favorite is wood shavings. I've got two large trash cans full of it from making woodenware.


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## laketrout (Mar 5, 2013)

Pine needles 100% what could be easier and cheaper and work so good !!! I find they need to be real dry to work best .


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## beepeep (Feb 8, 2015)

10 cu ft of animal bedding. I pack it in snug. Lights easily, long burn, stays lit, burns clean and seems to really calm the bees. I fill a gallon zip lock baggy and put it with my bee tools.


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## zhiv9 (Aug 3, 2012)

Sumac, burlap, pine shavings in my order of preference. I mostly used shavings as they are cheap and easy to come by.


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## PAHunter62 (Jan 26, 2011)

I mostly use Pine needles and sumac.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

Oh NO! Yet, _*another*_ thread on smoker fuel!!


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

I've been using pine straw (that's what you city folks and yankees call pine needles. LOL) for a while and they're cheap or free, BUT they will sure put a layer of creosote on the inside of a smoker lid. It's a pain in the rear to scrape it off every so often, but it's not hard to do....

I really like using wood sawdust and shavings but I'm out of it. Seems my dad got a wild hair and cleaned out the shop this winter. I had several 5 gallon buckets of sawdust and planer shavings to use.

I stopped at a pet store today and bought a bag of Aspen shavings. I used them this afternoon. I will likely never use them again. That is the most noxious smoke I have ever dealt with. It was rough.


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## McBee7 (Dec 25, 2013)

I second SWM and use a roll of corrigated cardboard in the bottom just to keep the pellets burning, I also second Brad Bee's comments on pine needles (and I'm a yankee lol)They smell like diesel fuel and would run an inturnal combustion engine and leave creosote up the wazzoo  but they work....Watch out for sparks, the bees will be annoyed , lol....

==McBee7==


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## Billboard (Dec 28, 2014)

I have a over abundance of cedar wood shavings and have tons of pine needles outside just waiting for me to use them. Oh my Christmas tree is in the back 40, so I'll stick with that for now. But with all the suggestions I will be trying a lot of other natural things I come upon. Thanks for all the help.


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## Coach B (Feb 28, 2011)

After trying them separately I've settle on a combo of pine needles and wood shavings that I already get to use as bedding in the nest boxes for the chickens. I light the pine needles, they smell great and light off easier than the shavings. Once the fire is going I add the wood shavings on top. They will last much longer than the pine needles alone but are harder to light all by themselves.


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

McBee7 said:


> Watch out for sparks, the bees will be annoyed , lol....==McBee7==


They get real annoyed when the sparks ignite the acre of dormant grass around the bee yard.....


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## DirtyLittleSecret (Sep 10, 2014)

Pine/fir needles/cones, leaves, grass clippings, burlap, smoker pellets, nut shells, etc. Just not tobacco or small animals.:no:


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

Regardless of what I use the thing I like best is a small auto ignite propane torch to get it going!


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

Any of you DIY OA vaporizer guys put a glo plug in the bottom of your smoker to light it with yet??


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## bigeddie (Feb 19, 2008)

If you have access to dry cow pies give them a try. 30years ago I had dairy cows and thats all I used in my smoker. Had a nice smell, gave a cool smoke and there was never a shortage.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

I prefer old cotton t shirts and blue jeans over all else. 

Dryer lint will contain too many different materials such as spandex, polyester, nylon which is a petroleum product. Not to mention fabric softener.
Pine anything will soot up the smoker rather quickly.
Cardboard contains binders which is the equivalent of some type of glue.
Wood pellets also contain binding agents.
Cedar shavings have a natural oil that makes it a great outdoor wood.


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## KiwiLad (May 18, 2015)

I'm returning to hobby beekeeping after a long (30+ years) absence and I'm catching up with developments. The old hessian/burlap sacks I used to be able to get almost any where back then have all been replaced by synthetics/plastics, so these comments on good fuel options are very useful.

What about the aerosol alternatives I've seen? "Liquid smoke" they're often called. Anybody have any experience with these? As I will only have one or two hives, I wonder if these are an okay alternative to a classic smoker.


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## GSkip (Dec 28, 2014)

I use pine needles, pine cones, wood shavings (non pressure treated), and cotton which is left in the fields after harvest. During harvest season (fall) you can find piles of cotton along the country roads which has fell for the harvesters and trucks.


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## ChuckReburn (Dec 17, 2013)

A single match, a crumpled piece of newspaper and oak.

500 Fires... thats the number.

It isn't about what you burn, it's about practice. 

You can burn anything organic and produce smoke. 

Keeping it lit and doing it well requires practice.


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## mharrell11 (Mar 18, 2014)

Ok, so I have to chime in here. I use the shredded paper from my paper shredder. Fill up the smoker, light the middle until I get a good flame and shut it and then it just burns slow. Last about an hour. 

Makes shredding those documents with personal information doubley safe.


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## MajorJC (Apr 13, 2013)

I keep the bottoms of all my pizza boxes. The grease from the cheese and pepperoni make lighting the smoker easy. I roll a strip into a spiral and light the center of the spiral and drop it into the smoker. When it is burning good and hot I pour in a bunch of the pine pellets from tractor supply that they sell for stall bedding. Then I wad up a piece of that brown paper that Mann Lake packs into all their boxes as filler, just to keep the pine pellets from rolling out the cone of the smoker. Once lit in the morning, this will still be smoking after the sun goes down.


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