To clean a bee smoker, first remove any leftover fuel or ashes from the fire chamber. Some beekeepers use a cork to smooth out the material, while others use Rutland Creosote Remover for easy removal. The smoker needs attention to prevent sticky sooty build-up, and regular scraping off the lid and body surfaces while the smoker is warm helps prevent gummed up creosote.
To clean a bee smoker effectively, follow these steps: disassemble the bee smoker by carefully disassembling the fire chamber, nozzle, and bellows. There are two common ways to clean a beehive smoker: one with fire and one with water. A smoker can be cleaned by soaking in a bucket of water and vinegar or by burning the creosote with a propane torch. Deep cleaning a bee smoker involves submerging it in a white vinegar and water solution, allowing it to soak for a few hours or overnight. Wipe away the grime, rinse thoroughly, and allow the smoker to dry completely before reassembling.
If rust is noticed on the bee smoker, gently scrub it using a mixture of equal parts vinegar or lemon juice and water. Fill a washing bowl with hot water and lots of washing soda, lay the smoker in the bowl with the bellows uppermost. After 6-10 hours of soaking, remove the smoker from the bucket and discard the water. Use a rag to wipe the smoker clean, both inside and out.
To clean accumulated creosote and tar, burn it with a hot torch and then clear it with a wire brush. Regularly scrape off the meeting surfaces of the lid and body while the smoker is warm to prevent gummed up creosote build-up.
| Article | Description | Site |
|---|---|---|
| Two Methods for Cleaning a Bee Smoker | For a deeper clean, you may find that you need to soak and scrub your smoker. To do this, remove the bellows and submerge your smoker in a white vinegar and … | betterbee.com |
| cleaning a smoker? | Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum | You don’t have to remove the bellows to soak a smoker in washing soda. Simply fill a washing bowl with hot water and lots of washing soda – … | beekeepingforum.co.uk |
| DEEP CLEANING YOUR BEE SMOKER IN 3 EASY STEPS | Pour a cup of white vinegar into the bottom of the bucket. Then fill the bucket with hot water (I used a combination of hot tap water and boiled … | beekeepinglikeagirl.com |
📹 How To Clean Your Bee Smoker AND remove Creosote, No Scrubbing
In this video I answer one submitted question. Do you have any advice on how to clean the resin from the inside of your smoker?
📹 Beekeeping Tip Of The Week No. 1 – Keeping The Smoker Clean
In the first of these beekeeping tips Chris shows us how to keep the smoker clean. If you are interested in knowing more about …
Hardwood burns hotter and creates less of it’s own residue than softwood. It looks like that product works as smoke, and won’t really clean the body of the smoker. A good hot burn will often burn most low temp combustibles down to ash, which is plenty “clean” enough. If you can find a way to boil it in water with a lot of baking soda in it, that should do the trick, if you can’t burn it clean. Also, you probably want to do another hot burn to make sure all of the chemicals are gone.
Hi Chris, thanks great tip mate, during the very hot days we sometimes get in our British summer i now use a water spray bottle with some weak sugar water to keep my bees carm I find it keeps them occupied lapping up the syrup so easier to get on with my inspections. Thank you for sharing your vlog with us Chris.