# Lighting a smoker with wood pellets



## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

My approach is similar except I use pine straw to start. I light a bed of pine straw and once it has gotten a good start I add pellets and then a layer of pine straw on top...to keep pellets from rolling out.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

beemandan said:


> My approach is similar except I use pine straw to start. I light a bed of pine straw and once it has gotten a good start I add pellets and then a layer of pine straw on top...to keep pellets from rolling out.


Ahh yes, the Dan variation. Used it a few times myself. Should have mentioned pine straw along with grass as being a good option as a transition fuel.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

You never tried a roll of cardboard Jim? It won't last as long because the cardboard takes up space so you won't get as many pellets in but backyard beeks don't need 6-8 hours of run time like you professionals do. Cardboard by itself can go 30 min. I use sawdust on top of cardboard if I want to go longer. Pellets you have to buy and I like to dump the smoker if I am done before the fuel runs out.


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

jim lyon said:


> Ahh yes, the Dan variation.


Yep...but the Dan variation doesn't come with an instructional video.
I never cared for the smell of burning pellets but once lit they will burn all day and produce relatively cool smoke. Which reminds me.....with the onset of cool weather they ought to be on the shelves of several hardware stores....so I'd better stock up.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Acebird said:


> You never tried a roll of cardboard Jim? It won't last as long because the cardboard takes up space so you won't get as many pellets in but backyard beeks don't need 6-8 hours of run time like you professionals do. Cardboard by itself can go 30 min. I use sawdust on top of cardboard if I want to go longer. Pellets you have to buy and I like to dump the smoker if I am done before the fuel runs out.


I have experimented with about everything through the years, sometimes out of curiosity, sometimes out of desperation. Cardboard works pretty well for awhile but tends to get hot and throw sparks too soon for me. The thing I like about pellets is you can get so much smoke out of it for the volume. I've never liked tall smokers because they are a bit bulky and tip over too easily. Also they don't fit into our under bed smoker boxes. A shorter pellet fed smoker pretty much makes them obsolete in my mind.


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

jim lyon said:


> I've never liked tall smokers because they are a bit bulky and tip over too easily.


So I guess this isn't on your Christmas list? http://georgiabees.blogspot.com/2012/02/brazilian-smoker-fumigador-brazil-south.html


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## Santa Caras (Aug 14, 2013)

AstroBee said:


> So I guess this isn't on your Christmas list? http://georgiabees.blogspot.com/2012/02/brazilian-smoker-fumigador-brazil-south.html


man..that thing is huge! A two handed smoker..who da thunk!


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## Juhani Lunden (Oct 3, 2013)

Does the relighting go faster(than 3min on the video) once you turned it of for transportation? (We have vans, not open bed trucks.)


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

jim lyon said:


> Cardboard works pretty well for awhile but tends to get hot and throw sparks too soon for me.


Yes you wouldn't want to pump it aggressively like you were doing if it was just cardboard. If you used your grass filter it wouldn't throw sparks. Sawdust does the same thing. I will caution people about using sawdust though. It can be explosive. You don't want to sift it into a lit smoker you want to dump it into the smoker as a lump so air doesn't get around each particle.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Jim, use your left hand to pump the bellows and you won't have to reach across that open flame. I was expecting to see you get burned.

That was a good, well produced, instructional video. Thanks for Posting it.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

sqkcrk said:


> Jim, use your left hand to pump the bellows and you won't have to reach across that open flame. I was expecting to see you get burned.
> 
> That was a good, well produced, instructional video. Thanks for Posting it.


Ha ha, no kidding. Well I'm left handed, so I'm a "right puffer" I guess. I just propped my camera on a box and didn't think it out ahead of time. I usually keep the hair burned off the back of my left hand most of the summer.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I see you wear Dickies shirts too. You must be an oldtime beekeeper.


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## Mike Gillmore (Feb 25, 2006)

Jim,
Thanks for sharing the video. I switched over to using pellets this year and have struggled at times getting them lit properly. I think you just solved my problem. :thumbsup:


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## TalonRedding (Jul 19, 2013)

I see that you used matches......Me thinks that was the most valuable portion of the video for me. 

http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...xploding-Smoker!!!&highlight=Exploding+smoker


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Ha ha! I'd forgotten about that thread. Yes there is a right way and a wrong way to use a propane lighter.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

I grab a hand full of grass to top off the fuel keeping the fuel from rolling out. Caught a yard on fire one time when my smoker dropped ... Yikes


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Hey Jim your video made it to my wife's FB feed as a BeeSouce ad. How does that happen? Anyway you are famous now.


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## enjambres (Jun 30, 2013)

Are there any issues using various brands of wood pellet fuel? Some have additives in them. 

We burn pellets in one of our stoves so I am used to reading pellet bag labels. Not all are 100% wood with nothing added.

I have been using the pellets marketed as small animal bedding, which are definitely all wood, but a bibt more expensive than premium stove pellets. Not a lot, but then I am not buying them by the ton, either. I also recycle, as smoker fuel, the used pine shavings from my quilt boxes. 

Enj.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Acebird said:


> Hey Jim your video made it to my wife's FB feed as a BeeSouce ad. How does that happen? Anyway you are famous now.


Barry must be behind it. I heard that he is best friends with the guy that invented the internet.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

enjambres said:


> Are there any issues using various brands of wood pellet fuel? Some have additives in them.
> 
> We burn pellets in one of our stoves so I am used to reading pellet bag labels. Not all are 100% wood with nothing added.
> 
> ...


I have never noticed any ill effects and I have used a lot of different kinds. Some are hardwood based and some are softwood. They both work well, hardwood pellets may be a tad bit harder to light but seem to last a little longer.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

jim lyon said:


> I heard that he is best friends with the guy that invented the internet.


LOL No way, friends with Al Gore.


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## Charlie B (May 20, 2011)

Great video Jim. I've never thought of placing the pellets to the side to get them ignited faster. I placed a circular piece of 1/8 inch hardware cloth inside the upper dome portion of my smoker to keep from throwing out fireballs. Works pretty well and the hardware cloth doesn't get clogged as much as I thought it would. It also acts as a spark arrester.


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## SWM (Nov 17, 2009)

Thanks for the video, Jim. I discovered wood pellets last year and they work great in my smoker. I bought a 40 lb. bag for $3.00. I use a combination of burlap and pine shavings (small animal bedding) as a transitional fuel before adding the pellets and finish it off with a thin layer of burlap to keep any pellets from blowing out. Since it almost never goes out, I plug it with a spent 12 ga. shotgun shell when I'm done.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Burlap is no doubt a great transition fuel. On a side note, I know of one large queen raising operation that has set up a pellet lighting station featuring an air compressor with a small air line that can be inserted in the bottom of the smoker so no puffing is required, one just needs to concentrate on building the fire. I bought a small portable air compressor with this in mind but decided it was noisy and too much of a hassle to drag out and plug in each morning. Besides, the morning light up ritual can be a kind of fun way to start the day.


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## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

Wholly smokes Batman, 

We would have half the state of Cali on fire by the time we got the smoker lit.   

nice video BTW, Jimmy, it was so bad out here we wouldn't light smokers all summer and relied on liquid smoke.


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## Flyer Jim (Apr 22, 2004)

Keith Jarrett said:


> Wholly smokes Batman,
> 
> We would have half the state of Cali on fire by the time we got the smoker lit.
> 
> nice video BTW, Jimmy, it was so bad out here we wouldn't light smokers all summer and relied on liquid smoke.


What's that green grass stuff that he is talking about, and where do you get it? :scratch:


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## Lburou (May 13, 2012)

Jim, are you sure there isn't a hole in the bottom of that smoker?


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Juhani Lunden said:


> Does the relighting go faster(than 3min on the video) once you turned it of for transportation? (We have vans, not open bed trucks.)


Yes, thats a problem. If you are talking about an enclosed dry van then we have found that an underbox mounted metal smoker box with a couple of vent holes drilled in it makes an ideal smoker carrier. The vent holes keep it from creosoting too much and allows enough air flow to keep the smoker from going out. If you dont have a custom carrier for your smoker and you have open bed space I would suggest strapping on an empty hive body with a metal bucket set inside and fashioning a smoker plug that has just enough wiggle room to still allow a small amount of air flow through it. But be very careful doing this! We have burned smoker bellows up more than once, if the airflow in the top becomes too great a "reverse burn" can occur and flames can begin to shoot out the bottom of the smoker directly into the wooden bellow. 
Sympathies to the "California guys" and their lack of green grass. Yes, you are quite right. Smoker safety becomes extremely important when you are working bees in a virtual desert. Been their and done that a few times myself. A good low cost fire extinguisher that we used to carry in such conditions is a 5 gallon bucket of water with a couple of burlap bags floating inside.


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## Juhani Lunden (Oct 3, 2013)

jim lyon said:


> Yes, thats a problem. If you are talking about an enclosed dry van ...


Here is my car and smoker lightning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09TNWo_t4mA&list=UUx4KBmolNYQdo1Xqx_9v3Gg


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## lazy shooter (Jun 3, 2011)

Juhani Lunden said:


> Here is my car and smoker lightning
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09TNWo_t4mA&list=UUx4KBmolNYQdo1Xqx_9v3Gg


The smoker lighting is way to easy, and the bees are too domestic. What do you do for misery with such simple practices?

Lazy


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## Juhani Lunden (Oct 3, 2013)

lazy shooter said:


> What do you do for misery with such simple practices?


I love crossword puzzles


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## camero7 (Sep 21, 2009)

Junani, looks like 2" styrofoam for your covers. Do you use these year round?


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

...Posted in the wrong topic...


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## Juhani Lunden (Oct 3, 2013)

camero7 said:


> Junani, looks like 2" styrofoam for your covers. Do you use these year round?


Yes. Handy, cheap, easy to make and relatively durable (birds and ants eat)


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Juhani,
How many bee suits do you have? You must have at least two, so one can be in the wash. I've hardly ever seen anyone w/ as clean a suit as yours. Not someone who has as many hives as you.


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## Juhani Lunden (Oct 3, 2013)

Mark:
I bought a new suit the day before. Of course I asked my son to make a video. I did not like this model though. Not good in car. Usually I use the helmet model, where the lower part of the veil is slipped over collar, which by the way is called "American" here. Somehow makes you look like a beekeeper too


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## TWall (May 19, 2010)

Jim,

Nice video, you look more like a fire tamer!

I got a tip from a post by Allen Dick. I use a full sheet of newspaper and then wait until it is fully engulfed before adding pellets. I them add charred pellets from the previous use. I don't need a 6-8 hr burn so I snuff the smoker when done. The charred pellets seem to catch faster. I then load more pellets on top and then some straw to keep them in.

Once the pellets are lit you don't have to worry about them going out.

Tom


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## crofter (May 5, 2011)

The wood pellets sure do hold the smoke a long time but the bag I picked up produced the most tear jerking smoke you could imagine. Maybe from a different source they would be nicer!


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## GoodyFarms (Jul 10, 2016)

That is way too much work for me. My hands hurt just watching that video!

I love using wood pellets, but there's a much easier solution to getting them lit without any other materials....propane blow torch. 
1. Fill it about halfway up with pellets
2. Tip it on its side (bellows side down) 
3. Torch away until it's good and lit. 
4. Leave it alone for 3-5 minutes (important) while you're doing something else. Tip upright and add some more pellets if you need smoke for a long time. 
5. Add a couple of handfuls of fresh ripped grass or other green plant matter to cool off the smoke and prevent the pellets from falling out the top. 

Super easy and no huge puffs of flame to deal with.


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## wareagle1776 (Feb 10, 2012)

Exactly the way I do it.....Propane torch is the easiest for me also but use a paper towel to prevent the pellets from falling out


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## Hillbillybees (Mar 3, 2016)

We use alfalfa pellets. Smoke is easy on the lungs and eyes. Lasts the same as wood we think and is $11.00 a 50 pound bag at any feed store. Light it pretty much the same way.


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## Charlestonbee (Mar 26, 2015)

I light cigar and smoker pellets w same torch. I like the video though. I never tried the transitional fuel thing and paper to pellets is no fun.


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## pdave (Jun 7, 2013)

I use paper from the shredder to get it started then add pellets on top. If I'm in a hurry, I will use a propane torch on top to get the pellets going quicker


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## tanksbees (Jun 16, 2014)

Charlie B said:


> Great video Jim. I've never thought of placing the pellets to the side to get them ignited faster. I placed a circular piece of 1/8 inch hardware cloth inside the upper dome portion of my smoker to keep from throwing out fireballs. Works pretty well and the hardware cloth doesn't get clogged as much as I thought it would. It also acts as a spark arrester.


Charlie, are you still using this? Seems like a great idea. You may one day become the Langstroth of our era with all of your inventions.


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## usngunr (Feb 21, 2013)

Ok.

Empty smoker.
Throw in sticks, twigs, some thumb sized branches. Corn cobs, what ever, some larger coal holding starter.
Light with Propane torch. Get burning well. 
Pour in pellets, food grade, I only use food grade BBQ pellet stove pellets, the rest have additives.
I tamp it down well and cover with raw cotton. (I bought a bale online for smoker fuel once).
Use smoker the rest of day.

Next trip, dump out any residual charcoal, use to get new tinder going, repeat.

Piece of cake.


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## Pooh Bear (Jun 19, 2015)

I've been using the wood shavings that I used last year for a quilt box. I start the fire using cardboard rolls then pack in the shavings. There are so many in there that it smolders for quite a while


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## Charlie B (May 20, 2011)

tanksbees said:


> Charlie, are you still using this? Seems like a great idea. You may one day become the Langstroth of our era with all of your inventions.


Thanks Tank. Another one of my great inventions that Ollie turns green with envy over!


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