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Author Topic: Favorite smoker fuel  (Read 80581 times)

Offline robk23678

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Re: Favorite smoker fuel
« Reply #120 on: June 28, 2013, 12:07:21 pm »
I've been using a combination of timothy hay and pine bedding together in the smoker.

Offline njfl

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Re: Favorite smoker fuel
« Reply #121 on: June 28, 2013, 02:18:59 pm »
Pine needles work very well, thought burn quickly.  Dry cow patties are the best smoker fuel I've ever tried.

Offline divemaster1963

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Re: Favorite smoker fuel
« Reply #122 on: June 28, 2013, 08:16:31 pm »
Best fuel I have found to date is cedar dog bedding. you get a 2Cubic foot bag for 6.00. lasts for ever and burns slow with a pleasent aroma that does not hurt my eyes and does not leave a bad odor.

john

Offline Better.to.Bee.than.not

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Re: Favorite smoker fuel
« Reply #123 on: June 28, 2013, 09:41:09 pm »
I use grapevines, pine needles and grass usually.

Offline olbow

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Re: Favorite smoker fuel
« Reply #124 on: June 29, 2013, 06:55:51 pm »
I use corb cobs. Break them up with a hammer so they light better and let the smoke roll.

Offline bhaktibees

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Re: Favorite smoker fuel
« Reply #125 on: August 08, 2013, 12:53:22 am »
Hi folks. I'm a newbie (newbee?) To the buzz biz but have had horses for a few years. In reference to the suggestions to using bailing twine (from hay); please bear in mind that most bailing twine, even the jute or hemp, may be impregnated with a rodenticide (to discourage mice from opening your freshly bailed hay)
So ask questions before using it.
"If you didn't learn anything today, you just weren't paying attention" ~ My Dad. :-)

Offline hiram.ga.bee.man

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Re: Favorite smoker fuel
« Reply #126 on: August 09, 2013, 10:21:19 pm »
I have used pine shavings, cotton rags, dadant smoker fuel, hardwood leaves, combinations of all of the above and by far my favorite is pine straw. I bought two bales of pine straw at home depot, placed them in an old garbage can next to my beehives so i always have a readily available source of very dry smoker fuel. For me it works great. The trick is to get a good source of real hot pine straw coals so to speak, then pack it with dry straw, puff it till hot again and it will produce smoke for hours.
You ever notice that prices are inflating, but wages are deflating?

Offline Oblio13

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Re: Favorite smoker fuel
« Reply #127 on: August 10, 2013, 01:22:23 pm »
Lately I've been getting a raging inferno going with birch bark and pine cones, then I pack in some dried horse poop and/or sumac seed heads, and top it off with a wad of green grass to cool the smoke off. Works great, lasts a long time.

Offline forrestcav

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Re: Favorite smoker fuel
« Reply #128 on: August 10, 2013, 01:43:58 pm »
when I can get it going horse manure works great and is plentiful. I need to find some pine cones.
Just a beek trying to get ready for winter.

Offline capt44

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Re: Favorite smoker fuel
« Reply #129 on: August 10, 2013, 11:57:27 pm »
When I'm going to work a few hives I use wood shavings from my wood plane.
But when I'm going to work a lot of hives I use wood pellets for they will keep a smoke going for 4 hours or so.
The only draw back of wood pellets is it takes longer to get them smouldering.
Richard Vardaman (capt44)

Offline forrestcav

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Re: Favorite smoker fuel
« Reply #130 on: August 11, 2013, 08:14:20 am »
plus I bet it's a real pain to fit a pallet into your smoker, unless you have a really BIG smoker.  :-D
Just a beek trying to get ready for winter.