Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: Melting Wax  (Read 4451 times)

Offline downzzie

  • Brood
  • Posts: 2
  • Gender: Male
Melting Wax
« on: June 19, 2018, 02:22:04 am »
Hello just wondering what other peoples best ways of melting wax out of the frames now that its winter best time to do it  :rolleyes:

Online max2

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1187
  • Gender: Male
Re: Melting Wax
« Reply #1 on: June 19, 2018, 03:34:44 am »
I have been melting wax yesterday and today.

I use a wax melter from Quality Beekeeping now but in the past I have simply used a solar melter. Works OK.

In my experience, the wax from old frames is not worth worrying about - there is little actual wax and it is dark.

I use a knife to cut along the frames and wires and discard this muck. I then imerse the frames in the wax melter and basically steam clean the frames. They do come out quite clean. After this treatment I soak a bunch of frames in a bleach bath for a couple of hours. I wash and air-dry the frames and they are good to go.

To my surprise, often the SS wire is still in good enough shape to use the whole frames again - may need some crinping. After the steam and bleach treatment the frames should not carry any AFB - just in case.

Offline Bamboo

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 231
  • Gender: Male
Re: Melting Wax
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2018, 07:09:43 am »
After the steam and bleach treatment the frames should not carry any AFB - just in case.

Not sure that is the recommended treatment for AFB?

Online BeeMaster2

  • Administrator
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 13494
  • Gender: Male
Re: Melting Wax
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2018, 10:52:46 am »
I use a solar wax melter. Just put the wax in it, filter material in the drain opening and some water in the catchment tray and walk away. The sun does the rest.
If you like dark yellow wax, take it out and use it. If you like a lighter colored wax, put the wax back in and it will be a lighter color. Do this several times and you get white wax.
When my wife started making candles she liked the white wax. Now she likes the yellow wax.
Jim
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

Online max2

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1187
  • Gender: Male
Re: Melting Wax
« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2018, 06:57:06 pm »
"Not sure that is the recommended treatment for AFB?"

These are not frames with AFB - just to be on the safe side. I understand that steam treatment and bleach does kill AFB spores but I don't have the time to search for the info at the moment. Still dealing with wax.

Offline downzzie

  • Brood
  • Posts: 2
  • Gender: Male
Re: Melting Wax
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2018, 07:17:53 pm »
Thanks for the tips guys  i have been using an old copper and boiling water dipping the frames in melting the wax then you let it cool down change the water and put the dirty wax in a cloth bag and re boil all the crap stays in the bag and you end up with clean wax floating on top let it cool down again cut out and its right to be moved on. i also put the clean frames in a freezer for a couple of days just to make sure everything is gone. this is a slow process your ways sound much quicker this is the way my pop showed me how to do it. 

Online max2

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1187
  • Gender: Male
Re: Melting Wax
« Reply #6 on: June 20, 2018, 12:01:35 am »
Do as pop showed you:)

Offline Beeboy01

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 739
  • Gender: Male
  • Oh Look A Honey Bee !!!
Re: Melting Wax
« Reply #7 on: June 09, 2021, 10:48:50 am »
I have been using an stainless steel sink for a solar wax melter. It sits in an insulated box with a pan underneath to catch the melted wax. To filter the wax I lay a piece of paper towel on some screen and sit it over the hole in the sink. The entire thing gets covered  with a piece of glass from a screen door to keep the heat in. I run old nasty brood comb through it and get enough wax to make it worth while as long as I don't overload it. For older brood comb it only takes 2 pieces of deep comb at a time so it's a little slow but I'm still getting 3 or 4 ounces per run.  All the scrapings and burr comb get tossed in and processed. I've found that it's important to remove the old slumgum between runs, if there's too much built up the wax doesn't melt all the way.
   If I'm trying to melt a bigger block of wax I've found placing a small piece of metal that's been painted black on it really helps get the heat where it's needed.

Offline Skeggley

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 217
Re: Melting Wax
« Reply #8 on: June 09, 2021, 08:51:34 pm »
Not sure which state the OP is in but a solar heater will not work here in winter. Personally I will freeze all my wax accumulated after packing down the hives and wait until spring or summer to melt in my SWM but if clean wax is needed wintertime, which I think was the actual question, I have used the stove top with a large pot of water with a smaller pot with the wax inside it. I have heard bees wax should not be heated above 80?C which is easier to control on a stove top than a solar wax heater too.

Online BeeMaster2

  • Administrator
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 13494
  • Gender: Male
Re: Melting Wax
« Reply #9 on: June 09, 2021, 10:24:27 pm »
Skeggley,
One of the nice things about using a solar wax melter using a bottom filter dripping into a pan below is that once the wax is hot enough to melt, it drops into the pan below out of the sun, it starts to cool. You can tell this because the wax builds up in layers and does not melt to the point that the impurities separate out. They are locked in the middle. Also the bottom of wax is not flat, usually it is little balls stuck together.
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 Beelab

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 105
Re: Melting Wax
« Reply #10 on: September 15, 2021, 05:58:46 am »
The solar wax melter I use never goes above 72C. I measured.
It does work on sunny winter days too, I just prop it up to catch more sun. But it does take longer and attention to the sun angle.

 

anything