Yay! So glad that you like the mug.

Just scrolled through your videos to look for something on smokers. I fit the description of someone whose smoker fails when I need it most. I was so glad to find yours. As always, you seem to go over precisely what I have needed to know! Thank you !

Hi David, I loved your split video! I tried your favorite split this fall & it worked like a charm! Now, instead of one good hive I have 2 very good hives! The older hive raised their own new Queen & she is laying a beautiful new pattern of brood. Thank you so much for all you do for us! :)

My burlap just arrived last week. It is was larger than expected to my surprise. Smoker instructions... a lesson I definitely needed. Thanks.

Hi David! New beekeeper here. Tried the burlap and man did it work well! It kept going for a LONG time, too! Love your videos, thanks for the great tips!

Thanks Dave! Nothing worse than having testy ladies and when I pick up my smoker...NOTHIN'! Love your videos! Keep them coming!

Thank you so much for your time and advice!!! I am brand new to new to this and you’re my #1 source for the best information! I’d love to buy equipment from you in the near future

The adjoining parcel has a large old pine, plenty of free fuel. As well, there is a specialty bean roaster on my delivery route. I get all the organic burlap a boy could need! Check with your local coffee shop but watch for the truly organic tags sewn on as most coffee plantations use a great deal of chemicals which may be hard on the girls~

Good tips on the smoker and keeping it smoking through the inspection. I see what I was doing wrong.

Hi David, very good smoker advice. I did want to share a burlap story. I have for several years obtained burlap organic Coffee bags (free, my favorite word) and they always worked great. However last summer I noticed my smoker was acting funny. I did not notice a different smell but when I opened it there was a blob of what appeared to be molten plastic on the bottom screen. Yikes !!! Anyway I found that some coffee bags, with larger, corse threads, then regular burlap, had some plastic of other chemical added. Now, I cut off a little piece and burn it to make sure it is Ok before loading my smoker. Also, I tried wood pellets in the past. They worked,Ok, but you have to be careful about laying/pumping the smoker parallel to the top of the boxes. I had a pellet roll out and melted a little on the top of a plastic frame....Yikes again.... I use 15 Mil rubber type gloves, like dishwashing gloves, (Gemplers) if you do get stung a quick pull of the glove will release the stinger with very little effect. 88 degrees today In Vermont (USA) dandelions, apple blossoms etc. Nature has come Alive !!!,

Thanks for your videos I am a second year beekeeper and hoping to get my bees through this coming winter!😗

Definitely needed this! Thank you!

Nice job. The advantage of your burlap is that it burns a long time. My mentor from Del. Val. College in Pennsylvania used burlap. I like to use cardboard or pine needles to get a good fire going and then gradually add wood pellets to the smoker. Once the smoker is going with pellets, I've gone in the hives all day and then the next morning there was still a small smoldering fire to fire it back up. With wood pellets I can go hours and hours working the hives. It's all about preference and availability.

Thank you David. Great smoker tip. Thank you for your videos. 🇺🇸

Thanks for being detailed. You answered my question about the smoker grate right off the bat. Love the videos and knowledge.

Thank you for again reading my mind and making this video!!!!!

Very helpful, thank you!

thank you. My wife never bent the legs out on the grate. Now the smoker works much better. So many videos don't talk about the grate.

Good tips, thanks. My smoker starts with paper & small wood chips. When I have a hot bed of coals after many minutes, I pack the smoker tight with pine needles. Cool dense smoke lasts a long time.

Working with African Honey Bees here in south Africa ..I through away my leather gloves and went straight to plastic. Lol plumbing gloves or kitchen gloves tried them all.I agree with you they can't really sting through..Not the examination ones though..I wear cotton gloves undet them now..No stings..love all your videos. Melville

Great video! Thanks for taking the ti,e to help

Thanks Perfessor for the smoker info! I been a waitin on you!😊It appears I been being too stingy with the burlap and not getting the material hot enough to slow burn....and my smoker is the same one in your demo here today. Hopefully my frustrations are past history now! Many Thanks!

new beek this week! I have been using old dry leaves, and pine shavings I have on hand from my chicken coop! The burlap looks cool too!

This is so funny I literally just ordered that stetson style veil yesterday before I watched this video today. Can't stand the basket style hood my jacket came with. Glad to know it was a solid investment and I'm looking forward to its arrival even more now!

You nailed my problem of not taking the time to get it going right. Need to retire to have more time with my small farm chores 👍🐝

My mentor, who started beekeeping in 1974 and has 700 colonies, uses newspaper and wood shavings from a local cabinet maker. The wood is hardwood, and makes great smoke. He also puts some green grass on top of the shavings to keep the heat from hurting the bees.

PINE NEEDLES are good especially from edge of road where cars have pulverised it a bit

I like burlap for consistent smoke but I already have tone of straw from the lambing barn. Every year I have a ton or so little used straw that the lambs were born in and once it dries out it burns slow and even. The bees seem to be okay with it….no ‘straw lung’ or cancer yet! And as a Scotsman it meets the most IMPORTANT requirement….IT’S FREE! I like the feel of those chem gloves but I really like the feel of the kid leather gloves mainly because I developed a serious sting allergy but am not willing to quit my bees. The leather is very thin and I can feel well through them but the bees can’t get through.

I used wood shavings or pin straw if I can. The pine straw is 8 bucks at tractor supply and lasts me all season plus

Thanks!

I really need this information

I’m going to start using some burlap in my smoker. I usually use pine needles started with some plain brown paper but it does have a habit of going out on me sooner than I’d like

I love using pine needles because I got alot pine trees around my neighborhood. But your videos are so useful tho.

I usually use pine straw but like the idea of the burlap sac

I didn't know the grate had legs! 🙂 And yes, I have trouble getting my smoker going!

I use pine needles. Free and plentiful. If we've had a rainy week and I don't have dry material I'll start with paper, then cardboard, then wood smoking pellets from my meat smoker.

David, oftentimes coffee roasters will give away burlap bags to use for smoker fuel. We use a sharp box cutter for cutting it into strips.

Wow, didn't realize the legs on the bottom plate needed to be bent down. Reminds me of pressing in the tabs on a roll of foil so it won't come out when you pull. Haha.

The yellow sleeve gloves .. I used those and got a pair from.a lobster fishing store and they can sting thur them ..

Hey David, I'm always looking for a good glove. Can you please post a link to the ones you showed? Thanks.

David, how do you clean your smoker?

David, how many hives will the burlap smoker take care of? I have 2 hives and it would seem like over kill.

Is there a link fr the gloves you reccomend in this video?

Is it ok to use burlap bags that had coffee beans in them?

Do you have 1 from Maine?

Great review of protective gear! And here's a personal cautionary tale: If you have an allergy to bee venom, you should never "bee" around your hives without an epi-pen in your pocket, or very nearby, whether in full beekeeping regalia or not! I have been keeping bees for around 4 years and had never had a reaction to stings, other than the usual local inflammation and itching, until two years ago. I got stung on my hand, very thin skin, right over a vein! Within 10 minutes I was in full reaction mode and had to call an ambulance. I wasn't even near my hives...was watering some plants on the other side of the yard! I have since been stung, through my bee suit, so the stinger went into the (ample-LOL) fat on my thigh, and the stinger wasn't able to stay in my skin so not a big dose of venom. I had just a localized reaction and didn't have to use my pen. I do believe that the precipitating event that sent me to hospital was due to the location of the sting: on my hand and right over a vein and in an area of the body that has very dense capillary beds (hence the profuse bleeding on hand wounds). The stinger was left in my hand, continuing to pump venom until I managed to scrape it out. So, caution is the watch word if you have any issues along these lines. There is nothing heroic or more "professional" about approaching a hive full of bees with no protection, as I have seen in a great many videos. Allergies develop by repeated exposure to causative agents. You can never know when the next sting will be the one that gets you a lights-and-siren ride to the ER! Great video, by the way, and am now subscribed! Can't wait to try out your suggestions!

I bought the same cowboy hat you showed, clips at bottom of hat attached fell off, they weren't sewn well to mesh.

Don't see link for the Gloves.

Thank you so much for sharing!!! Do you have a mug from Florida? ✌️❤️

Just curious if you have ever used canvas in a smoker like a painters drop cloth

Use water spray with a little sugar

I was just telling my wife the other day I have not mastered keeping a smoker going yet.

The smoker’s instructions don’t say to bend the tabes down ; I didn’t notice and my smoker would not work very well . Thanks !!

What about the burlap sold at fabric stores? ie Joanns

Do you have a link to the yellow gloves as seen in this video? Thanks

are there other fuels to use besides burlap?

Why does my bee hat have holed on the sides of the mesh? I don't wear it because the big holes make me nervous.

For uk viewers burlap is hessian, as in coffee bags, natural not treated. Thanks

Also when adding more fuel don’t melt the screen of your veil lol

I need to work on lighting my smoker. I always forget and end up having to relight it

Great video David. I refuse to grow up, I’m still a little kid at heart. So my smoker is going strong after a few choo choo’s 🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃around the barn getting equipment and tools ready lol 😆 . Have a blessed day!

I just watched this video and was like wow I did my very first inspection Wednesday and my smoker would not stay lit. Now I know why. I loved your Trophy Husband shit . I have seen a few videos where it says to wear light colored clothes when playing with the bees but I see you wear what ever color. And one last thing you talk a lot about people who may be allergic to be and tell them to be careful should you be telling them not to keep bees? Once again love your videos and look forward to the next

Dow you have a on line store

I wonder if there are any bee keepers that are allergic to bee stings