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Author Topic: Bush fire risk management  (Read 3825 times)

Offline TheFuzz

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Bush fire risk management
« on: April 18, 2019, 02:23:36 am »
What kind of precautions do you guys take to minimise bush fires?

I myself, bring two fire extinguishers with me, and a 20 liter drum of water. I also have a steel bucket that I'm learning to drop the smoker in when not using it.

Is this sufficient? Might it be worthwhile and important to find myself some sort of large, think durable cloth, that I can keep saturated with water, to be able to use it to beat a fire down if it catches? What about some sort of cloth tarp, to put around a hive before I open it, to mitigate the chance of a flame shooting out the back of the smoker and lightening something up around me?

Offline eltalia

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Re: Bush fire risk management
« Reply #1 on: April 18, 2019, 05:34:54 am »
We here do not work on those declared high risk days not only
because of "the rules" but for the fact there is an inherant
symbotic(word?) between hot windy days and cranky bees
all staying indoors with a "Do Not Disturb" flag flying.

Your CFS would be the best source of advice for both warnings
and small fire containment.
Teams here use the old potatobag with a clod of dirt inside
as a ground fire tool. On your own I'd be very carefull using
anything else than misted water.

Cheers...

Bill

-- https://www.cfs.sa.gov.au/site/bans_and_ratings.jsp

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Bush fire risk management
« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2019, 06:20:15 am »
If you have flames shooting out the back of your smoker, there is something wrong with the bottom plate. Either it is missing or the center has burned through.
I had 3 of my smokers doing that. I made up 3 new bottom plates out of stainless steel and it stopped it.
Jim Altmiller
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline TheFuzz

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Re: Bush fire risk management
« Reply #3 on: April 18, 2019, 09:48:55 am »
I do look at CFS for warning but never fire containment practice. I'll check it out thanks.

Good to know about that Jim, I did cause a fire once due to flame shooting out the back, I falsely assumed since that all smokers could do that.

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Bush fire risk management
« Reply #4 on: April 18, 2019, 09:52:27 am »
If you do not have access to equipment or make new bottoms, just drill holes in a tin can that fits in your smoker and put it in the smoker. That is what Michael Bush does.
Jim Altmiller
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline TheFuzz

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Re: Bush fire risk management
« Reply #5 on: April 18, 2019, 10:01:41 am »
I don't need to build legs for it to stand on?

Offline eltalia

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Re: Bush fire risk management
« Reply #6 on: April 18, 2019, 10:10:38 am »
If you do not have access to equipment or make new bottoms, just drill holes in a tin can that
fits in your smoker and put it in the smoker. That is what Michael Bush does.
Jim Altmiller
Yup Jim, usually the bottom plate  - and in realtively new smokers it has been 'squished'.
Putting a 90degree set on around 12mm (1/2") of a 2.5mm arc welding rod to use that
to pull the griddle back up fixes the problem, till next time.
I mod a new smoker in fixing in a short length of stainless tube (12mm NB) to the
bellows outlet in reducing backfire at the cost of stiffening the bellows operation a
little... no problem for a bloke with big hands. ;-))

Cheers....

Bill

Online Michael Bush

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Re: Bush fire risk management
« Reply #7 on: April 18, 2019, 10:12:20 am »
When there is a high fire danger I don't light the smoker... I might use alternatives such as liquid smoke mixed with water spritzed in the air, but it's too easy to start a fire with a smoker if things are really dry and the wind is blowing.
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
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"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

Offline Skeggley

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Re: Bush fire risk management
« Reply #8 on: April 18, 2019, 12:32:55 pm »
Risk management. If there's a chance you could start a fire and/or it's a high fire danger day, don't light the smoker. Simple. Any signs of fire here during late Spring, Summer and nowadays early Autumn and the Firerys will be knocking at the door, not ideal during swarming season but we can't always have it good.

Liquid smoke?

Offline eltalia

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Re: Bush fire risk management
« Reply #9 on: April 18, 2019, 12:51:18 pm »
Liquid smoke?
... one of Michael's mantras, try it an' see how ya go.
/chortles/
Ditto on fire days.. lots of phone cameras around all hooked into 000
emergency services.

/waves/

Bill

Online Michael Bush

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Re: Bush fire risk management
« Reply #10 on: April 18, 2019, 01:28:25 pm »
You can buy liquid smoke at the grocery store here.  People put it in marinades for meat to make it taste smoked.  If you mix it with water you can make a spray that has a smoke smell to it.  I don't like it, in general, because it smells like smoke for a very long time, but it's useful in dire circumstances.
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
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"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

Offline Skeggley

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Re: Bush fire risk management
« Reply #11 on: April 18, 2019, 08:41:15 pm »
Aah ok, I thought it was like a sky hook or long weight. I've not seen it here in the shops but there's not really an infatuation with smoked food as there is over there I suppose.
Smoke water is used here for native seed germination purposes but not publicly available.
Our fire ban (Total) lasts from November to April so an effective alternative would be great. Soooooo much easier working the bees with smoke.

Offline TheFuzz

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Re: Bush fire risk management
« Reply #12 on: April 20, 2019, 11:38:54 am »
Is this liquid smoke expensive? Might be worthwhile me using.

Skeggley, how do you manage your beehives when you can't use smoke for half the year? Problem is during Winter they're not that active, so that leaves us three months where we can be active with the bees. Should we only do a honey extraction once a year during this period, and mostly leave the bees alone for the rest of the year? I've been waiting for a cool day without much wind and not too dry to do beekeeping, which took four months to come up, by that time the bees ate themselves into a near starvation state and I still almost caused a bush fire...

Offline Skeggley

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Re: Bush fire risk management
« Reply #13 on: April 20, 2019, 08:15:48 pm »
Hey Fuzz, fortunately we don't have shb so inspections are only carried out during this period when the entrance shows issues and swarm prevention is carried out early. I try to keep out but not away. If I do see issues, like you I wait for a good day and calmly inspect in the morning. I see what I need to see, and close up. I use a tea towel to cover the section of the hive I'm not inspecting. Often I'll need to walk through bushes to escape the angry bees.  Honey in a squeeze bottle comes in handy to occupy their little minds and move them away from the edges. :)
I have a couple of purchased queens and these colonys are rather placid and the local captured colonys can be a bit testy but on a good day during a flow they're all ok and during our summer dearth they are all like hell spawn.
I tried misting water and sugared water but you can't beat a good smoke....
I have only 10 colonys, all from different areas here in the hills all with different qualities, still looking for good ones. ;)
Honey wise, I used to wait for the bees to start building comb in the lid then add another super but now use the Flow system
It's been another bad season here, pretty much in line with the rest of the country, flowers but no nectar, plenty of new growth. I see Jarrah honey being sold at the markets but it's either old heat treated stock or bullsh# as Jarrah hasn't flowered this year. Again.
I'm in the Hills adjacent to National Park and am in an extreme fire danger area apparently, building codes have all changed as a result, we have just had a couple of rainy days and the fire ban has been extended to the end of the month. The park land used to be control burnt which gave the Firerys handy practice buuut new people have moved into the area, cut down all the trees on their block and complained about the smoke and tree huggers have complained about danger to the local fauna so it's stopped and now is a tinder box...
Metro area hobbyists still seem to use smoke I'm told.

Offline eltalia

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Re: Bush fire risk management
« Reply #14 on: April 20, 2019, 08:53:42 pm »
Butting in only to comment that there is a through 'essay' on local conditions Skeggs,
very similar to our own yet we are the "new" occupiers of a block first cleared by
refugees from Cairns seeking a tree change. Deevorse saw us pick up a bargain. ;-))

Yer onnit with genetics as it does make a hellava difference to working conditions.

Enjoy the egghunt with the nippers today.

Bill

Online Michael Bush

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Re: Bush fire risk management
« Reply #15 on: April 22, 2019, 09:36:39 am »
>Is this liquid smoke expensive?

It's been a long time since I looked at it.  It's in the grocery store in the "sauce" aisle.
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
-------------------
"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

 

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