Each beekeeper has a whole arsenal of tools to facilitate his work. One such device is a smoker for bees, which is purchased at specialized stores or do it yourself at home. It is especially useful when you have to work closely with bees and there is a danger of their attack.

The importance of smoker in beekeeping

The main task of the smoker is to fumigate the space around the evidence and the beekeeper. It is used as a bee repellent when it is time to collect honey or clean out insect homes. Smoke has the ability to calm honey workers through a simple reflex action.

In ancient times, wild bees lived in the forest; their worst enemy was fire. In order to be ready for an urgent evacuation, the insects collected full crops of honey, calmed down and no longer had the opportunity to sting someone.

When using the device, follow some rules:

• if the bees behave peacefully, it is not necessary to light a fire and use a tool;
• It is better to direct the smoke specifically to the frames that need to be processed;
• it is forbidden to smoke the swarm nest;
• adjusting the amount of smoke should depend on the behavior of the bees;
• a hot smoke screen can harm insects, so it is recommended to keep the tool away from them;
• It is possible to slow down the combustion of fuel by placing it on side part: this will reduce the draft, while the smoker will remain in working order;
• upon completion of work, all holes are tightly closed and left outside until completely cooled; Hot or working tools should not be brought into a dry room, nor should they be placed outside near the hives.

Scheme for making a fur smoker

The opportunity to buy a store-bought smoker is not always suitable for a beekeeper, because craftsmen We learned how to make this device ourselves at home. There are many varieties of it, but the most common and easiest to use is fur. It is created from improvised means that are minimally modified.

To make a smoker for bees with furs, prepare 2 cylindrical glasses: a large one and a smaller one, the diameter of one is approximately 10 cm, the second is 6-8 cm, height is 20-25 cm. The large glass will become the outer body, and the small one, with holes in the bottom and partially in the lower part of the walls - a fuel tank. Low legs (2-4 cm) are welded to the smaller cylinder to ensure a good flow of oxygen to the burning fuel. A hole is made at the bottom of the outer glass to allow air to enter. You need to attach the tank inside the housing using a plate, leaving open entrance for fuel through which the device can be refilled.

A lid with a long watering can-like spout is built on top. It will provide maximum convenient control smoke stream and will allow the release of the repellent substance in a thin stream. A fine metal mesh is attached to the bottom of the lid to prevent heat from accidentally spilling onto flammable surfaces.

The bellows are made from 2 small planks, one of which has a hole in the lower part for air injection, and the second is attached at an angle of 45° to the first. A reverse spring is installed between them. The wooden parts of the furs are fastened with leather, leatherette or other dense material using a construction stapler. Finished design is attached to the main outer part of the instrument so that the air exchange holes are opposite each other. This method will allow air to be pumped into the device at the right time.

The procedure for making an electric smoker

Making a smoker with your own hands that operates on an electrical basis is practical in that you do not need to check the level of fuel combustion or expect that the smoke flow will stop flowing at the wrong time. The fur part is replaced by a battery-powered fan.

The manufacturing procedure for this device is not particularly different from the design of its fur analogue:

• external and indoor units made in the same order, the lid also has no differences;
• the fan is placed in the handle of the smoker for bees, opposite the air injection hole;
• a block with batteries that supply energy to operate the fan motor is also placed in the handle of the smoker, but a little higher;
• Be sure to install a special motor power regulator to control the amount of smoke.

Using smoker fuel

The main condition for using the device in the practice of a beekeeper should be its correct work. It depends not only on the design, but also on the fuel used to produce smoke. Materials that are flammable and produce a lot of heat are absolutely not suitable for smokers. The best fuel for a smoker is one that smolders and produces a minimum of heat.

Before use, the beekeeping smoker is cleaned from the remains of burnt fuel that was used last time, from soot and soot, and resinous deposits. Make sure that the holes in the internal tank are not plugged and that the air passages are clear. If the design is ready for use, it’s time to start preparing it for use.

The procedure for adding fuel is as follows:

• Dry wood chips, straw, coal, pine and spruce needles, dry leaves or fine heat are placed at the bottom of a small glass, which are designed to ignite the main fuel;
• when the fire has sufficiently heated the combustible material, it is time to refuel the tool with the fuel necessary for work: pieces of rotten wood, a rotten stump or the body of a tinder fungus;
• make sure that the fuel smolders and produces a lot of smoke, but does not burn;
• if the anti-varroa effect of smoke is used, the device is filled with paper coated with amitraz.

Beekeeping Long Burning Smoker

How I heat a smoker, soft smoke for bees, apiary

Beekeeper smoker How to light it

Conclusion

The beekeeper's smoker is convenient and necessary equipment. His main feature is the safety of the effect on honey insects, but only if the safety rules are followed during use. This tool helps protect yourself from bee stings while working, and save your pets from various troubles: mites, varroa, etc.

Friends, good day to you! Here I sit and remember a conversation with a beekeeper about my age. We talked about who uses which beekeeper. Well, we started talking about smoker. He complained that he could not learn to light it quickly and that very soon all the fuel inside would burn out, that as soon as you started working, there you go: light it again. That it helps him little, and sometimes, on the contrary, it can do an evil service. As it turned out, not everything is so simple. So the idea was born to write an article about the beekeeping smoker.

Smoker design

A classic beekeeping smoker consists of an outer body and an inner glass with holes in the bottom, as well as a lid with a grate and a pipe, and bellows, which consist of two boards hermetically sealed with leather or leatherette, and a return spring located between them. The beekeeper puts fuel into the glass, which flares up as soon as the beekeeper begins to pump air using bellows. The smoke passes through the grille in the lid and exits in a stream through the hole. There's nothing particularly interesting about the design.

Using a smoker

Smokers were invented as a kind of sedative for bees, namely the smoke that comes out of the hole and enters the nest should calm the bees. According to scientists, this effect is based on bees’ natural fear of forest fires. Bees have lived in forests for centuries in the hollows of trees, and for them there was nothing worse than a fire (except maybe a bear).

Sensing the smell of smoke, bees strive to fill their crops with honey in order to successfully make a long flight in search of a new home or survive for a long time outside his nest. Many beekeepers claim that once the crop has collected nectar, it cannot bend to sting. I don’t know how true this statement is (in my opinion they still sting), but what bees become less angry when correct use smoker - fact.

Firstly, you should choose the right fuel for the smoker. Regular firewood, straw, sawdust and the like will not work. Such fuel produces almost no smoke, but the heat from it is enormous and sparks fly in different directions directly to our beloved bees, causing them a lot of trouble. You must always remember that this device is called “Smoke” for a reason. The fuel should smolder and produce smoke, not flames or sparks. And this smoke should be soft and not too hot.

Rotten stump is a source of fuel for the smoker

Ideal fuel for smoker are the so-called rotten ones. This is rotten wood or dust. As a rule, old stumps can serve as a reliable source of rotten stumps (just check the stump by kicking it - a rotten one will break), as well as fallen or cut down trees that have lain for a long time.

I once read that dried tinder fungus does an excellent job as fuel for a smoker. Surely everyone has seen hard growths on trees. Indeed, dried and chopped tinder fungus practically does not give off a flame, but burns with the release of a large amount of non-caustic and not too hot smoke. Another undoubted advantage in favor of this type of fuel is that dry and finely chopped tinder fungus smolders for quite a long time, at least twice as long as the rotten mushrooms mentioned above. All this is just right for us, so I made it a rule that every year at the end of winter - beginning of spring, while there is still no sap flow in the trees, to go with a bag into the forest to pick mushrooms and stock up on tinder fungi for the whole season. These are the “strange” people beekeepers are: everyone goes for mushrooms in the fall with buckets or baskets, but we carry bags in the winter)))

Tinder fungus - fuel for the smoker

I also read in the literature that oak bark is a good fuel. That it does not burn, but smolders and does not emit too acrid and hot smoke. I haven’t tested this myself in practice, so I can’t recommend it 100%. I'll try it and then I'll tell you what and how.

Thus, the first source of successful use of a smoker is high quality and suitable fuel!

Secondly, you need to use the smoker correctly and on time.

What do I mean? If a beekeeper works with a peace-loving breed of bees, for example Carpathian or Caucasian, then you can often get by with ordinary dewdrops, and sometimes even without all sorts of pacifying devices. It must be remembered that smoke is primarily an irritant, which means that excessive use of it can have the opposite effect.

For example, I never blow a puff of smoke into the hive before opening the hive. I don't understand why this needs to be done at all. If I'm not going to completely disassemble the nest, then this is completely unnecessary. Why bother all the bees? Having opened the hive, lifting the canvas only over those frames that I need, and not over the entire nest, I blow a couple of puffs of smoke just over the frames. But not in the middle of the nest. I look at how the bees behave and, based on this, I adjust the degree and intensity of the use of the smoker. I use it only when necessary. During operation, I keep the smoker away from the frames and from the bees themselves, since the smoke is hot and it is extremely unpleasant for the bees.

When there is a break in work or you know that you will not need the smoker for a while, you can put it on its side. In this position, the thrust weakens and the smoldering of the fuel slows down, thereby saving it for a long time.

At the end of the work, you can simply plug the hole in the lid with some kind of improvised stopper and lay it on its side. In this position, due to the lack of oxygen flow, the fuel inside the glass will go out, and the next time we use it, we can always use what did not burn out last time. It must be remembered that in this case the body of the smoker will remain hot for a long time and always observe fire safety measures!

Lighting the smoker

Before igniting the smoker, I first clear the holes in the mesh of the lid from tar (by the way, using undried fuel leads to increased release of tar) with a chisel, then pour out the remaining fuel that has not burned out since the previous use, pour out the ash, and then fill the inner glass again, but only partially. I'll take it gas canister, which is used in portable stoves, and ignite the fuel at the bottom, periodically blowing the bellows. After the rotten things have caught fire, I remove the gas canister and, working with the bellows, gradually add fuel. Then, when it is already clear that the combustion is stable, I close the lid. That's it, our smoker is ready to work.

Gas cartridge for igniting a smoker

I light it with a torch. You can use paper, a prepared splinter, or dry birch bark - whatever suits you. The main thing is that the ignition does not take too long, since every minute is precious in the apiary.

You can also use a burner with a built-in piezoelectric element, as in this video:

Purchase and price of a smoker

At the moment, the choice of beekeepers is quite wide. It's a pity that it's only available in online stores. In traditional retail, the range of smokers is quite meager (at least here), but you always want to come and see and touch the “device” with your own eyes))

Well, in online stores you can buy a simple steel smoker for 200 rubles and an imported one made of stainless steel with an additional glass and plastic, more durable bellows for 1000 rubles. The choice doesn't end there. A lot has come to us from the West and this cannot but rejoice. Now there are mechanical and electric smokers and those that are generally hung on the beekeeper’s neck, while the hands are completely freed. In general, for every taste and color.

As for me personally, all the time before I worked with the cheapest steel smokers. Their service life is not long: the glasses burn out, the bellows tear, the plywood on the bellows delaminates. Last summer we had to re-tighten the bellows right at the point while pumping out honey. Extra fuss... A couple of years and that’s it, but it’s cheap. Now, of course, I want to buy one made of stainless steel with an increased internal volume. The price is more expensive, but the joy from work will undoubtedly be greater. Well, but here everyone decides for themselves, depending on their needs and capabilities. The main thing is that it performs its direct function well - smoke!

One of the most important tools of any beekeeper is a smoker, without which a beekeeper simply cannot do in everyday work. Any penetration into the hive becomes a great stress for the bees, so they become embittered and begin to attack the culprit, trying to sting him. It is to pacify irritated insects that a smoker exists, which calms them and allows the beekeeper to carry out the necessary work.

Therefore, any novice beekeeper should know the features, types and design of a smoker for bees, because this device will allow him to perform apiary maintenance work quickly and efficiently, without fear for his health.

The history of the smoker

The first prototype of this device was found in Ancient Egypt. Before this, bees were scared away with smoke from an ordinary torch. The design of the invented device was that it had two holes at both ends. In one of them, larger size, the man was simply blowing. Another hole served as an outlet for smoke from the manure burning inside, which in those ancient times served as fuel. This simple device is still used today in many underdeveloped countries.

It was only in 1870 that the American beekeeper Hamet developed a design using furs. This device greatly improved the beekeeper's capabilities, but it was very heavy, so it had to be held with two hands.

Already in 1883, Quinby, a beekeeper from America, improved this design. After which the smoker for bees became much lighter and more convenient to use, but the bellows combined with the firebox quickly failed. And soon Quinby’s compatriot, Bingham, developed an apparatus with a separate firebox. The direct traction principle is still used today. Of course, then many changes occurred in the design of the device, but the principle of its operation did not change.

Device design

It may seem to a novice beekeeper that the structure of the smoker for bees is complicated, but if you look at it, this is absolutely not the case. The following parts of this device can be named:

1. Two containers inserted into each other (most often aluminum). They are a double-sided cylinder or glass with a solid bottom.
2. Bellows that make up the air supply system and also act as a regulator of the volume of smoke emitted.
3. Cover with a conical pipe (nozzle).
4. Grill mounted on a hinge.

Types of smokers

There are not many types of devices for working in an apiary, and they differ mainly in the nature of the air supply to the firebox. The main types of smokers for bees are:

• Manual. It is considered the most accessible and widespread among beekeepers. This device has been used in operation for several centuries and is distinguished by its unpretentiousness.
• Electric smoker for bees. This is already more modern device, inside of which a fan is mounted. The rotation of the blades is carried out using an electric motor. This type of device is more expensive and more difficult to install. repair work.
• Wind-up mechanical. He presents a device that structurally combines the properties of a manual and electric smoker. To rotate the fan, you have to start the system manually. Has a removable bottom that is easy to clean. At the bottom of the housing there is a regulator that controls the intensity of the smoke output.

Self-production of the device

Before you make a smoker for bees with your own hands, you need to think carefully about the basic design features future product, as well as select and prepare the appropriate material.

The manufacturing process is as follows:

1. Select two cylindrical containers. The large one should have a diameter of up to 0.1 m and a height of about 0.25 m. It will subsequently serve as the body of the device. A cylinder with a smaller diameter should fit freely in the housing.
2. To increase air flow, several holes are made in smaller containers.
3. Holes are also drilled on the side of the body for attaching the bellows.
4. Next, a lid is made, which should have a cone shape. It is necessary to ensure that the lid fits tightly to the body.
5. Must be inserted inside the lid metal mesh to prevent sparks.

Making furs

The most important element The homemade smoker for bees is fur. Despite the fact that appearance This part of the smoker seems unpretentious, yet its design must be taken with full responsibility. To make it you need:

1. Take two boards measuring 15x15 mm.
2. Nail several compression springs onto the bottom plane.
3. Similar springs are attached to the second plank, located at an angle of 45° relative to the first.
4. Small staples are then used to secure the skin to the cheeks of the furs.

The final stage of making a smoker for bees will be connecting the two main parts to each other.

Fuel and ignition of the smoker

It is considered a big mistake, especially for novice beekeepers, to use wooden logs or straw as fuel for the smoker. Experienced beekeepers recommend using dry rotten trees or dust from an old stump. At the beginning of spring, many people collect the tinder fungus, which grows on trees. When burned, such a dried mushroom emits non-caustic and non-toxic smoke of appropriate density. The main thing is that the fuel does not burn, but simply smolders.

There are many opinions on how to light a smoker for bees, but the most popular to this day is considered to be a simple method - using crumpled paper. It is set on fire and placed in a smoker's glass. Squeezing the bellows slightly helps the fuel ignite. When thick, dense smoke comes out, the smoker is ready for work.

Every apiary owner should know how to make a smoker for bees and use it according to a strictly defined pattern. But experienced beekeepers also have some tricks:

• To avoid angering the bees, there is no need to blow smoke into the entrance unnecessarily.
• Control the smoke temperature, it should not be too high.
• When temporarily stopping work, it is better to place the smoker on its side. It will not go out and will be ready for use.
• Do not touch the frames with a hot device.
• Watch the bees closely to determine the intensity of the smoke.
• When working with peaceful bees, it is advisable not to use smoke to avoid unnecessary stress for them.

If you follow these simple rules and advice, the bees will remain healthy, and the owner himself will not suffer. When finished, place the still smoldering smoker in an iron bucket to prevent the hive from catching fire.

• 1. How smoke affects bees
• 2. Main components
• 3. How to do
• 4. How to light it
• 5. Terms of use

In the list of beekeeper's tools special place occupies a smoker for the bees. This device is used to tame honey insects. After fumigating the bees with smoke, they begin to hide deeper into the hive, without showing aggression towards humans. In addition, the smoker is used to treat bee colonies by supplying medications to the hive.

How does smoke affect bees?

Both a young, inexperienced beekeeper and a professional beekeeper should use a smoker when working with honey insects. With the help of this tool it is easy to tame the temper of bees, this is especially necessary when pumping out honey.

Experts note that the insects are relatively calm during the main feeding; they simply stock up on nectar and pollen, not paying attention to humans, but when inspecting the hive, you need to be very careful. The beekeeper's movements should be slow and confident.

When inspecting the frames, it is enough to pump the smoker a couple of times, blow a few streams, and the bees will calm down. It’s quite simple to explain - at the moment of smoke, the insects’ crops are filled with honey, so that in case of fire they leave the house with some reserve, as a result of which they lose the ability to bend and sting. In addition, odorous substances, which, when threatened, give a signal to the whole family, are neutralized.

Main components

The tool in question consists of the following parts:

• cylindrical body with a hinged lid (proboscis);
• inner metal cylinder with holes;
• accordion with a spring (bellows) for air supply.

The inner cylinder is a kind of combustion chamber; smoke is generated in it; this element is penetrated with holes for injecting fuel. The body is also metal, a hole is drilled in the back to supply oxygen, and at the top of the body there is a lid (proboscis) for supplying smoke.

How to do

Before you start constructing a smoker with your own hands, you need to select two cylinders with a bottom, but without a top, and one should be slightly smaller than the other. Focus on these dimensions: diameter about 10 cm, height 20-25 cm.

First, let's disassemble the inner cylinder; remember, it is necessary that it fits freely into the outer (casing). We make holes in it, both at the bottom and on the sides. In addition, this component must be on so-called legs; you can simply weld metal plates (rods) to the bottom. This is done so that between the bottom of the inner and outer cylinder there is a space of 2-4 cm for air supply.

You need to make a small hole in the body in the lower rear part to inject fuel (you can use a tall tin can as the body of the smoker). Here we also arrange a mount for the bellows; we attach it using special aluminum rivets, similar fasteners used to secure the proboscis.

Smoker device

The smoker cover (proboscis) in the lower part has the form of a cylinder, which should fit onto the base of the body without forming cracks. Upper part made like a watering can. There is a sieve installed inside (welded metal plate) to extinguish sparks so that they do not fly out. For convenience, you can fix this part of the smoker to the body to make it easier to open and close.

After installing the watering can, we begin installing the bellows with our own hands. To create this structural element You will need two thin planks, a spring, a piece of leather or leatherette, and a stapler. First you need to cut the planks so that they match the size of the body (you can use the smoker's drawings). Now all that remains is to cut out the leather for the fur, insert the spring and fasten the materials with a stapler. In the lower part of the bellows, a hole is provided opposite the hole in the housing for air supply; the distance between them should be about 1-2 cm.

How to kindle

Lighting a homemade smoker is quite simple, the main thing is to choose the right fuel. You should not use anything that produces little smoke, for example, straw, firewood, sawdust, they will only produce sparks, and this can harm insects. We need something that will smolder. Rotten wood, dust from a stump, for example, is perfect. Some people use the tinder fungus, which grows on trees, only in dry form. It smolders very well and emits non-caustic and non-toxic smoke. This mushroom should be collected in early spring.

It is a rare novice beekeeper who, when inspecting bee colonies, manages at least for the first time without such a tool as a smoker. And sometimes it is simply necessary to pacify dissatisfied bees every now and then with powerful jets of smoke.

The design of the smoker is simple and consists of a tin body that opens from the top, in which there is a lattice glass, and bellows, which simultaneously pump in the air necessary for the smoldering of rotten mushrooms in the glass and release streams of smoke through the upper hole. To ensure normal and comfortable work, the smoker requires fuel that can ignite quickly and produce stable, non-hot smoke for a sufficiently long time.

What is the best way to light a smoker?

First of all, you should not use fresh wood to put into the smoker. The smoke from it will be very hot, sometimes even with a flame, which will burn and anger the bees. It is better to stock up on dried rotten wood, which can be easily ignited with dry wood chips or birch bark. It’s also a good idea to prepare it in advance and keep it on hand. Sometimes the smoker goes out at the most inopportune moment, to prevent this, I put in it a few pieces of waste from, called beekeepers dead. This sticky mass of dark brown color usually remains at the bottom of the wax mill after processing old sushi. Several small lumps of dry, non-moldy merva, smoldering in a smoker, produce stable and not hot smoke for a long time. Some beekeepers advise putting a sprig of tansy in the smoker; the smoke from it is a good prevention of bee varroa.

When visiting bees, you should not overuse smoke. Often, it is enough to release a couple of streams along the entrance and onto the bed so that the bees’ instinct to fill their crops with honey immediately kicks in. After this, it becomes more difficult for them to sting the beekeeper. Bees crawling onto the upper slats can also be slightly driven away with smoke. It should be remembered that if the family does not have honey reserves, then the smoke will not bring great benefit, but will only anger the bees.

Smoker repair and care

I would like to say a few words about caring for the smoker. Firstly, when lighting, you need to make sure that the flame in the wind does not scorch the fur. If the smoker constantly goes out even with good fuel, then perhaps it does not have enough air draft from below. This happens when it burns out substrate between the bottom and the glass. Instead, you can use a steel spring or something similar made of thick wire. It is also worth cleaning the traction holes from any soot that has formed. If you have shuffled a little and the furs are torn, or mice have chewed them, then the holes can be sealed with bicycle patches from soft rubber or similar material.