Rick Green fumed:

> Why is it so difficult to get a smoker started but
> you often find it still producing a steady stream
> of smoke the next morning!

"Modern" smokers are a very obtuse mix of engineering
compromises, but it should be blindingly obvious to
anyone who can spell "Bernoulli" that no actual engineers
or physicists have ever participated in the design of any
variation on "the bee smoker".

If you look at your smoker, you will see that the bellows
air feed is at the bottom of the smoker.  "Why?" Is the
appropriate question for the astute student.  The more
experienced folks with sheepskins on the wall might go
further, and conclude that the designer of the smoker
was himself smoking something unusual himself when making
the design sketches.

Forcing air into the bottom of the smoker is not a very
good approach, in that it "blows out" many of the glowing
embers like birthday candles, while turning some into
little flame throwers.  In contrast, letting the smoker
"sit" reduces the air intake to what the fire "needs".
The smoldering heats air, which rises due to convection,
goes out the smoker spout, drawing fresh air in through
the bottom hole at a much slower rate, more appropriate
to "smoldering".

The physical limits on the problem are:

  - Actual flames make for LESS smoke.
  - More air makes more flames.
  - Less air makes more smoke.

Thermodynamics - what fun!  :)

There used to be a style of smoker known as the "cool blast"
smoker, where the bellows air-feed was nearer the top of the
smoker body.  This "top" versus "bottom" feed was a big
difference, since the "top" style does not feed enough air to
get the initial fire "going" at the bottom of the smoker, but
it does reduce the chances of shooting flames (or super-heated
smoke) at one's bees.  I'd guess that the "cool blast" smokers
died out due to problems with "getting them lit".

But the "modern" smoker with the bottom air intake ALSO
actually works against you every time you pump the bellows:

a)  You want to "blow some smoke" on a specific point.

b)  So, you pump the bellows once or twice.  Big mistake.

c)  The bellows forces lots of air into the combustion
    process, turning smoldering stuff into flaming stuff.

d)  Whatever smoke was in the top part of the smoker is forced
    out, but if you look, you will see a "thicker" stream of
    smoke easing out of the spout AFTER you pump the bellows.

e)  The problem is that the smoke passively wafting from the
    spout has no force behind it, and goes any way the wind
    blows, rather than where you want it to go.

f)  So, you pump the bellows again, hoping that your actions
    will somehow result in a "different, better" result than
    it did the last time.

g)  It won't.

h)  Lather, rinse, repeat.

i)  Repeating the same actions again and again, hoping for a
    different outcome is the working definition of insanity
    (and a serious obsessive-compulsive disorder).

The result of letting the smoker "sit" is that the fire may
die out, or may build up over a seemingly random period of time.
If the fire was "going good", and still has sufficient unburnt
fuel, letting it "sit" is similar to what happens when you
load up a woodstove, and "damper it" before you go to bed.
The fuel will not burn so rapidly due to reduced oxygen flow,
but likely will not die.  Even the act of picking it up after
a period of sitting might get it "started" again.

While the odds of "dying out" should be 50/50, I'd guess
that one would tend to recall the cases when the smoker kept
going, and ignore the cases when the smoker went out, so
your impression may be more selective memory than an actual
trend.  On the other hand, the basic physics of the situation
tend to support your observation.

Another significant issue is the use of the "little" 7-inch
smokers by most beekeepers.  These things are a cruel joke.
The smaller size fuel chamber is combined with a spout,
bellows, and air intake almost EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE as the
larger smokers.

The result is similar to what happens when I floor the pedal
on my '72 MG Midget, which is has dual Webber carbs (and only
a 1.2 liter mill, bored out to 1.4). The operative phrase here
is "more throat than engine".  Like my MG, the smaller smokers
have an "oversized" air intake relative to the size of the
combustion chamber.  Now, if your goal is to combust all the
fuel as quickly as possible and smoke a balding baby boomer
with a pony tail, a terminal case of testosterone poisoning,
and a Porsche in "stoplight drag racing", this is a Good Thing(TM).

But you want to smoke bees, not baby boomers, so you DON'T
want things to burn much at all.  You want smoldering.  You
want smoke, and very little fire, if any.  But the smaller
smokers will burn all their fuel very quickly if pumped with
vigor by a beekeeper trying to "get it going".  So, first you
light it and get it smoking, and then you must load more fuel
before you can actually use the darned thing.  Kind of like
the old F-14s, that used so much fuel taking off and "getting
there", that a mid-air tanker refueling was often required
simply to reach mission targets.

So, what to do?

1) Get a bigger smoker, and use your little one as an attractive
   hive tool and pencil holder.  Wives love such "decorative"
   touches, and a smoker goes nicely with any decor.  :)

2) Save wine corks, whittle one end down a bit, and stick it in
   the spout to "snuff" the smoker when you are done with it.

3) Start the fire with a small amount of fuel, and "load up"
   the combustion chamber only after the fire is going.

4) Take up a collection, send me the money, and I will design
   the first smoker that not only obeys, but exploits the laws
   of physics currently being fought by existing and historical
   designs, and hand the design to the EAS for licensing to
   who ever makes smokers.  (Who actually makes these things?
   Tinsmiths transported by time machine from the 15th century?
   The guys who did Jack Haley's costume for "The Wizard of Oz"?
   The sheet metal shop that used to make fenders for Hudsons?)

5) Or, keep your existing smoker, and simply light it the day
   BEFORE you need it.  As you have apparently stumbled upon
   a methodology that works consistently, why complain?  :)


                jim  (Who generates more heat than light,
                  and produces much smoke about many
                  subjects for your enjoyment.)

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