Bee smoker standard

01 · CONSTRUCTION

Welded, which is where the cheap ones fail

The sheet is 0.4 mm galvanised and the body is welded, not merely seamed. That is the difference with bottom-of-the-range smokers: seamed joints open up with the heat-and-cold cycles, and the draught escapes through that seam. A smoker that leaks along its seam takes twice as long to light and goes out the moment you set it down.

02 · HANDLING

Cool smoke, and not much of it

What settles a colony is white, dense, cool smoke, not the amount of it. If the smoke comes out hot or throwing sparks, it is burning too fiercely: add fresh material on top and let it drop. Two or three puffs at the entrance, half a minute's wait and working calmly beats smoking non-stop through the whole inspection. It takes pellets, clean shavings, dry leaves or ink-free cardboard.

03 · MAINTENANCE

Creosote is what kills it

With use, the inside and the lid build up a dark, sticky tar that ends up stopping the lid closing and the air circulating. Scrape it off every few outings with the hive tool itself, cold, and never store it with embers inside. The wood and PVC bellows is the other part that tires: do not leave it folded under weight or near a heat source, as the PVC cracks along the fold.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY