API-CLOUD smoker fuel 60 litres

01 · WHY IT DOES NOT BITE

The resin was taken out before bagging

Untreated pine burns with its resin, and that resin is the smoke that stings the eyes and the black crust that builds up on the lid and the grate. Here the ground branches spend three hours in a flow of steam that carries the volatiles away, then dry in the sun: what comes out of the sack is needles and chips, straw-coloured to brown. The smoke it gives is white, plentiful and cool, which is the smoke that calms; hot, bluish smoke agitates. And it does not put bees to sleep: it distracts them and makes them fill their crops for a few minutes, so you dose it in two or three puffs at the entrance and under the crown board, not as a continuous cloud.

02 · HOW TO LIGHT IT

A handful, the flame and little else

A handful in the bottom, pressed down a little, and the flame on top: it starts on its own, with no tinder or tablet, though a dry sheet of paper helps on a damp day. That is the difference from pellet fuel, which needs an ember underneath. Top up little by little and the burn lasts the whole inspection. The material comes ground in two sizes: fine needles catch sooner and coarse chips last longer, so start with the fine and top up with the coarse. The old hand’s trick the maker recommends: a plug of green grass on top of the charge, which acts as a filter and sends the smoke out cooler and spark-free.

03 · IN ORGANIC BEEKEEPING

Declared usable, but your certifier is the one who validates it

The maker declares it a 100 % natural product, obtained only by distillation and drying, and usable in organic beekeeping. If you work under certification, check with your control body before entering it in the log: the body validates the input, not the label. Keep it closed: damp, it takes twice as long to light.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

A 60-litre sack weighs 11 kg and suits any bellows smoker, whether stainless, copper or galvanised. It needs no tinder but accepts it: in wind or damp, the jute or the cotton fire-starter is still the fastest way.

⚠ PRECAUTIONS

Check that the smoke comes out cool and spark-free before bringing it near the bees. In summer and in dry country, light it away from dry grass and carry the smoker extinguished or in a closed metal box: no fuel removes the risk of fire.