Smoker

[ebee]

Looking for advice on cleaning my smoker.

[Jon]

I just scrape out the residue with whatever I have at hand, hive tool, screwdriver, that sort of thing.

[gavin]

... fingernails, teeth ......

From time to time, and when I have some unburnt fuel in a lit smoker which is no longer required, I blast the smoker to make it very hot and a lot of the gunk cooks and falls off.

[robin118]

I soak mine in hot water and washing soda

[Trog]

Hive tool!

[gavin]

Hive tool!

J-type or flat-edged silver Thornes type?! Cannae get the latter into the corners.

[Trog]

Do you have a square smoker, then, Gavin???? J-type, naturally!

[gavin]

No, I'm definitely in the square tool in the round smoker situation. Hence the other ways of dealing with a tarred smoker.

For my entire beekeeping career I've held a squarish silver hive tool (except when mislaid then a paint stripper of even screwdriver sufficed) in my left hand. Last summer I found out that the usual manoevres don't work for a polystyrene hive. Now I'm thinking that I should have spent some of that Awards for All cash on J-type tools. They lever against the next frame.

[Trog]

Yep! We've always had a J-type hive tool. It's red, too, so easy to find in the long grass!