A Unique Way To Render Wax.

[Ben Framed]

The following video shows a method or rendering wax that I have not seen or heard of. His method is so effective and worth while, that not only is good for honey super wax recovering, but brood wax is also effectively and efficiently recovered. Old brood cocoons come out almost dry! As an added bonus, he shows how wax may spill and catch on fire. Safety should always be considered and maintained. Enjoy.

Phillip Hall


https://youtu.be/0aM_F4pS5As

[Hops Brewster]

That one showed up in my YouTube feed as well.  It looks to me like they are running that system too hot with a big fire under the kettle, like right about flash temp, and they need to keep adding cold water to prevent flareups.  An adjustable propane burner might be in order here.  Otherwise, it looks like a rather fast method easily adaptable to equipment available in U.S.

[Ben Framed]

I think when it boiled over the wax hit the fire causing wax ignition. He quickly had it under control. I really like the rest of the system as demonstrated. The unique way the wax was poured through the gunny sack and then pressed to the point almost all moisture both wax and water was extracted and caught in the pan below. This is the most effective wax recovery that I have seen. There may be better ways but I have not been made aware of a more efficient way yet. Did you notice when he dumped the cocoons and leftover derbies, they looked to be dry? That means almost perfect wax recovery. 

[Hops Brewster]

Wax and slumgum doesn't have to be heated to the boiling point and boil overs can be easily avoided.
The rest of it does look to be very efficient.

[Ben Framed]

Yes very effective.

[Acebird]

It looks to me like they are running that system too hot with a big fire under the kettle, like right about flash temp, and they need to keep adding cold water to prevent flareups.

Adding water to the kettle only makes the problem worse.  He could have sprayed the fire with water and accomplished the same thing.  It would also make his wood fuel last longer.  Incorporating a thermometer would do wonders to keeping things under control.  Propane cost a lot of money compared to scrap wood.

[Hops Brewster]

propane, wood or volcanic magma, a smaller fire would prevent flareups and be easier to manage.  It would just take a little bit longer to melt the wax.

[Dabbler]

I "enjoyed" the combination of open fire, hot melted wax and bare feet. 
It must keep the operation hopping !

[Ben Framed]

I "enjoyed" the combination of open fire, hot melted wax and bare feet. 
It must keep the operation hopping !

Haa Haa I love the humor Dabbler!  lol.      I bet it does!

[CapnChkn]

I've rendered my wax by doing similar.  The old fashioned way was to wrap it in a bag of cheesecloth, and weigh it into a pot of water, which you then brought to a slow boil or simmer.  The cloth traps the Slumgum, the wax floats out.

Here's a clip showing the process of rendering wax using the process in the original poster's video, by a professional honey farm in Germany.  Using a wax press, a machine that pressed up to another half of the wax out of the goop that I find makes a good soil amendment for your plants.

https://youtu.be/uXtE3b7gUZI

[Ben Framed]

CapnChkn, I just finished watching the video. Very interesting and yes Sir, similar to what the Pacific folks are now doing. I am watching some of the spin off videos by the same Channel. I like seeing how things were done in the old countries. Thanks for posting this.

Phillip

[CapnChkn]

Yessir Ben!  If I ever get my bees straightened out, I might try another invention.  These are not like the bees I was catching in Murfreesboro.  They're really neurotic.  I caught a swarm with a solid black queen 2 months ago, a month ago, I put them in a bigger hive, and they absconded.  This is the new normal here.