I have built a wooden solar wax melter and decided to test it out yesterday. I have been reading all the posts on this subject and noticed some questions as to wether this type of a wax melter would work in low temperatures.
I am located in Massachusetts and yesterday the air temperature in the shade was 57 deg. F. I placed my almost completed wax melted on my driveway facing south. The melter has NOT been painted black as of yet. It is constructed of 7/8" pine, is 19"W X 30" L X 5" D. From the outside it is actually 11" D but the inside dimensions are less due to 1/2" of insulation.
The temperature directly on the pavement of the driveway was 64 deg. F when I started with the setup. A thermometer placed inside showed the temperature start to climb after approximately 15 minutes after placing the glass panel on top. By the time the temperature got up to 95 deg. F I noticed honey starting to flow into the container. Within 1/2 hour the temperature got up to 115 deg. and all the wax melted within an hour from start to finish.
I am sure that if the wax melter was painted black it would reach wax melting temperatures in cooler outside temps.
Hope this info helps. I might try experimenting again in the middle of the winter on a sunny day after I finish painting the melter black.