>Michael, I DO realize this is a very old thread but it seems that after I conducted a search that it is apparently the only one on this topic. I recently purchased a 50 gallon stainless steel pot for Beverage Depot as well as about 200 lbs. of micro-crystalline and 240 lbs. of 130 degree paraffin wax from Aztec. I already have a Bayou Classic KAB6 Bayou Cooker 210,000 btu propane burner. I am going to try starting off with a 50/50 mix of the micro-crystalline and paraffin wax and adjust from there. I am going to eventually experiment with gradually adding bees wax in place of the paraffin once I use up the paraffin wax as I found out it has an approx. 147 degree melting point. In theory it should be a good fit with the micro-crystalline wax which as a 180 degree melt point.
>I guess my questions are, have you done any more wax dipping since back in 2007/2008?
Most every year since 2012.
> Before I purchased the wax dipping equipment/supplies, I tried buying some wax dipped woodware that was dipping in a mix of 130 degree paraffin wax and gum rosin. It felt greasy and I can already tell I will not like it once the temperatures are up in the 90's +. Hence why I purchased the micro-crystaline wax.
That is not NEARLY hot enough. I'm using beeswax and rosin, but anything below 250 F won't cook the wood which is what you need to do. Anything significantly over 250 F causes issues with boiling over. You need to cook them for 10 minutes. If the water isn't boiling in the wood you're not really accomplishing anything.
>I see you have had a number of questions asking you about how your wax dipped boxes are holding up so I won't add to them but I WILL ask now that you have gone the wax dipping route and have had a number of years of use and experience with it, what if anything would you do differently, change, NOT do, etc. ?
I'd love to have a slightly bigger tank and I'd love to make one that is heated by pressurized steam to 250 F and eliminate the open flame of my old gas stove. But so far I haven't got that done.
>With over 100 hives and plans to double that this season, I am soooooooo tired of painting boxes only to see them last maybe 4 or 5 years and in more than a few cases much less due to fire ants and other ants hollowing out the boxes building nests. I have 50 brand new 6 frame nucs that I want to start off with wax dipping and I hope to gradually phase in replacement boxes, etc. as my other woodware gets replaced.
I wouldn't say that cooking them is less work, but I think the wood lasts longer.
>I tried starting off on the smallest scale I could think of with the 50 gallon pot and may consider upgrading to the wax dipping tank that Ian G posted over on Beesource. He has over $5,000 tied up in that wax dipping tank and wax. That was just a bit more than I wanted to try starting off with being that I have never used wax dipped woodware until this year and as I am apparently observing unless you tell me otherwise, you have not wax dipped any woodware since 2007/2008??? That is a LOT of money tied up in a wax dipping tank that gets use only a few times in 5 years unless I decide to wax dip for other beekeepers and I am not even sure there is much if any demand for it.
Here we are dipping in 2016:
http://www.bushfarms.com/images/BeeCamp2016/DippingBoxes2.jpghttp://www.bushfarms.com/images/BeeCamp2016/DippingBoxes1.jpghttp://www.bushfarms.com/images/BeeCamp2016/DippingBoxes2.jpghttp://www.bushfarms.com/images/BeeCamp2016/DippingBoxes3.jpghttp://www.bushfarms.com/images/BeeCamp2016/DippingBoxes4.jpghttp://www.bushfarms.com/images/BeeCamp2016/DippingBoxes5.jpghttp://www.bushfarms.com/images/BeeCamp2016/DippingBoxes6.jpgHere we are dipping in 2018:
http://www.bushfarms.com/images/BeeCamp2018/WaxDippingBoxes.jpg