# pellet fuel use



## adamant (Aug 9, 2011)

I see the adds in the catalogs on pellet fuel. is it the same as stove pellets ? Is the use pellets for guys that need there smoker to burn for a few hours like working in there big yards? I find that pine needles work fine for me because I only need mine to burn for a short period of time.


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## BjornBee (Jan 17, 2011)

Yes, it is the same stuff.

I like pine needles but they burn too fast and I use more than I collect.

I like buying a bale of pine shaving, and a bale of cedar chips, and mixing them in a big barrel. Both cost around 5 dollars per bale at the local farmer supply company. I use a couple bales per year. For someone with a couple hives you would probably have 10 years worth of fuel. But after factoring in shipping of fuel in the bee supply catalogs, this is still the way to go in my mind if you are not collecting what you need.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Mann Lake LTD pellet fuel.









I would suppose that the pellets are made for new bee keepers who don't have a place to scrounge smoker fuel or don't know about many of the fuel types you can use.
90% of our smoker fuel is sumac berries and the stems they are on. I read an article in the American Bee Journal many years ago, that it helps in the control of the Vorroa mite some how.
I collect mine in 5 gallon pails with lids in the fall. They are then dumped in a big card board box in my furnace room (wood burning furnace.) and dryed. Once dry I place them in 2 gallon pails with a sealable lid. A two gallon pail of them last us a long time as we tend to mist with syrup more than smoke the girls.

those in the picture above look different than the ones I have seen for pellet burning wood stoves but I am not so sure Ihave seen all the different pellets for stove burning. Mann Lake says these are designed to smolder and produce a cool smoke. You wouldn't want a smoldering fire in a wood burner, Well I don't any way I want the heat.

 Al


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## ChristopherReed (Jan 21, 2011)

I use the pellets from TSC. After the weather warmed, I got them for 2 dollars a bag or so last year, got about 10 bags. I keep a 5gallon bucket full in my tool box for doing inspections, etc.. In a smoker they work really well, cause they dont get enough air to really burn, I have a big soup can in my smoker with all kinds of holes drilled it. When they get low, I just dump more in. Lighting them can be a ***** sometimes, so I keep a small propane torch in there also... When you go thru a couple hundred hives these things kick the crap out of pine needles or just about most anything else.


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## rainesridgefarm (Dec 1, 2002)

it is all I use for my smoker. But i visit 5 yards+ a day sometimes. I start by lighting some paper then some pine straw on top of that then pour the pellets over the inferno to get a draft going. Lasts for about 3 hours until I need to add more. I strap it to my syrup tote inbtween yards but have to put some grass or a plug in the top so it does not turn into a blow torch between yards on the highway.


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## tom j (Apr 3, 2009)

I did the pellet thing , it worked , no complaints ,, but as I hear of other things , I want to give it a try , What I go back to is wood chips , not the bedding stuff , the big stuff you use in flowers ,, untreated .. I get it free , just spread it out to dry , put it in a pail and use , If you like something ,, use it if you don't like it try something else ,, but don't be afraid to try something new , you might run in to something better .. 
====ChristopherReed==== I tryed the big can inside thing but no luck ,,,
maybe I didn't have the right number of holes ,, what number ( just a guess ) did you go with and how big


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## Briarhill (Dec 30, 2011)

Burlap, pinestraw, and dryer lint is what I use


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

good use for dryer lint  . i am going to try the pine and cedar shavings----no matter what i do i just cant seem to keep it going


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

tom goggle it. I saw how it was done some place on the web once.

Mare you need to pratice more. I lite my smoker then plug it and put it in a smoke box to go to a different yard and not set the mat in the back of my truck on fire. Usally a couple pumps of the bellows and add a bit more fuel has the smoker going well for the trip to another yard. And we very rarely use it just have it on stand by. Like the mister much better.

 Al


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

Al i was wondering if i am over filling it to start, how much do you put in to start with?


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## ChristopherReed (Jan 21, 2011)

tom j said:


> ====ChristopherReed==== I tryed the big can inside thing but no luck ,,,
> maybe I didn't have the right number of holes ,, what number ( just a guess ) did you go with and how big


A ton of them... But they are small, it keeps all the ash in there. which helps keep it from choking off the air supply. I just light the can from the bottom, outside the smoker and get it going, drop it down in the smoker, pack it full of green grass. and it burns a good long time. It does create a bit of creosote that makes the lid hard to remove when cold.


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## tom j (Apr 3, 2009)

Al I did that found some sites but must not have put enough holes in it ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

'''' It does create a bit of creosote that makes the lid hard to remove when cold.''''' tell me about it ,, twice last year I had to get the torch lite to get the dang lid open ,, that was using big wood chips .. now when done I open it and just set it litely closed


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## ChristopherReed (Jan 21, 2011)

they use alot of pine in those pellets, makes real good smoke, and a sticky mess. I have used enough of the pellets, and had enough creosote that I actually simulated a chimny fire situation. It had a almost clear flame coming out the top, and you could hear it sucking air like a vacume, till it melted the lid. Though it was an older smoker, and had seen years of use.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Tom those pine bark mulch has a lot of moisture in them still and produces a tar that you need to scrape off the inside of the lid or it will glue shut. Sumac doesn't do it as much as cedar chips.

Mare I normally just fill the smoker with enought to do a yard inspection or honey super removal. I've been doing it so long that I am able to judge now.
Yard containing 3 hives usally gets a bit less than half full even when I use the smoker a lot as when pulling honey supers.

 Al


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## tom j (Apr 3, 2009)

Its not much pine ,, what I get is from tree service that go cut trees and then chip ,, they have a few places in mpls and one in forest lake were they dump them and any one can pick them up ,, I let it set spread out on a tarp in the sun for 4 - 5 weekends or more to dry , and then put the under cover in 2 gunny sacks but they are still open to the air , so they can still dry ,,, but its just like a wood stove ,, if its not burning hot then the stack builds up a lo of creosote , I burn the creosote out when it get's built up , I don't let it get to thick ... just one of those things ,, goes with bees ,, by the way I just lost my little girl (( the small hive , I called her my little girl )) ,, she did good cause I didn't think she would last til Dec ,,,the other 4 are heavy yet and doing good ....


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Sorry for your loss. Is always a sad time when you loose a hive. But One needs to learn when a hive is to small and should be married with another colony.

Still really warm here. A lot of the snow at the farm has melted too.
We signed the papers yesterday so my child hood home now belongs to another with no reqrets.
He is 18 so should build many memorys in his life there.

 Al


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## tom j (Apr 3, 2009)

Al yea ,, I knew it was small but thought I would try ,, I gave her a lot of honey, pollen , she was the size of a nuc ,, a small nuc ,, but thought give it a try ,, well I think she would have made it,, but I messed up:ashamed: when I put her to bed ,, when I looked after she passed ,, some way snow had blew in and got her wet ,, she was going good til she got wet ,, so I take the blame , but I did learn something so all was not lost .. and the other 4 are going . If the 4 make it we will go have a party next to the hives ..


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Well here is hopeing you get to party.

 Al


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