Do-it-yourself smoker for bees features types

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

One of the most important tools of any beekeeper is a smoker, without which a beekeeper simply cannot do in his daily 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 there is a smoker that calms them and enables the beekeeper to do the necessary work.

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

The history of the smoker

The first prototype of this device was found in ancient Egypt. And before that, bees were scared away by smoke from an ordinary torch. According to the design, the invented device was an earthen vessel, which had two holes at both ends. In one of them, a larger one, a person simply blew. Another hole served as an outlet for smoke from the manure that burned inside, which inthose ancient times served as fuel. Such a simple device is still used in many underdeveloped countries.

And only in 1870, the American beekeeper Hamet developed a design using furs. Such a device greatly improved the capabilities of the beekeeper, 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 that, the smoker for bees became much easier and more convenient to use, but the furs combined with the firebox quickly failed. And soon a compatriot of Quinby - Bingham - developed an apparatus with a separate firebox. The use of the principle of direct thrust is applied to the present. Of course, then there were many changes in the design of the device, but the principle of its operation has not changed.

Device design

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

1. Two containers inserted into each other (most often aluminum). They are a double-sided cylinder or a glass with a blank bottom.
2. Furs, which make up the air supply system, and also act as a regulator of the amount of smoke emitted.
3. Cap with conical nozzle (nozzle).
4. Hinged grille.

Types of smokers

There are not many types of devices forwork in the apiary, and they differ mainly in the nature of the air supply to the furnace. The main types of bee smokers are:

• Manual. It is considered the most widely available and common among beekeepers. In operation, such a device has been used for several centuries and is distinguished by its unpretentiousness.
• Electric smoker for bees. This is a more modern device, inside of which a fan is mounted. The blades are rotated by an electric motor. Such a device is more expensive and more difficult to repair.
• Clockwork mechanical. It represents a device that constructively combines the properties of a manual and electric smoker. To rotate the fan, you have to start its system manually. It has a removable bottom that is easy to clean. At the bottom of the housing there is a regulator that controls the intensity of smoke output.

Self-made device

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

The manufacturing process is as follows:

1. Pick up two cylindrical containers. The large one should be up to 0.1 m in diameter and about 0.25 m high. It will later serve as the body of the device. The smaller diameter cylinder must fit freely in the body.
2. To increase the air flow in a smaller container, severalholes.
3. Holes are also being drilled on the side of the case for attaching bellows.
4. Next, a lid is made, which should have a conical shape. The tightness of the cover to the body must be observed.
5. Be sure to insert a metal mesh inside the lid to prevent sparks.

Fur Making

The most important element of a do-it-yourself smoker for bees is furs. Despite the fact that the appearance of this part of the smoker seems unpretentious, nevertheless, its device must be taken with all responsibility. To make you need:

1. Take two 15x15mm boards.
2. To the lower plane, nail a few compression springs.
3. Similar springs are attached to the second board, located at an angle of 45° relative to the first one.
4. Then, with the help of small brackets, the skin is fixed on the cheeks of the furs.

The final step in making a smoker for bees will be connecting the two main parts together.

Fuel and ignition of the smoker

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

There isThere are many opinions on how to light a smoker for bees, but the most popular to this day is the simple way - using crumpled paper. It is set on fire and placed in a smoker's glass. Small squeezes of the bellows help the fuel ignite. When dense thick smoke has gone, the smoker is ready to go.

Some advice from experienced beekeepers

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:

• In order not to anger the bees, it is not necessary to blow smoke into the entrance unnecessarily.
• Control the temperature of the smoke, it should not be too high.
• When the smoker is temporarily suspended, it is better to put it on its side. It will not go out and will be ready to go.
• Do not touch the bezels with a hot device.
• Keep a close eye on the behavior of the bees 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 tips, the bees will remain he althy, and the owner himself will not suffer. When finished, place the still smoldering smoker in the iron bucket to avoid igniting the hive.