clean, raw beeswax wanted!

[pjb120]

Hi, I'm looking for some locally produced beeswax - about 5lbs initially, but am likely to require more in the future. If anyone has any for sale, please PM/ email me! Thanks!

 

[Hombre]

Clean raw beeswax? You will be aware that raw beeswax comes as comb made by the bees and so will occupy a large volume as drawn comb?

Perhaps if you were to suggest your end user application you might be more likely to find someone to successfully supply you.

I suggest that you are looking for wax produced from cappings and doubtless you would like it in a block or blocks?

 

[oliver90owner]

I suggest that you are looking for wax produced from cappings

Wot, fork handles! That'd be about two and a quarter kilos, then?

Welcome to the forum, btw.

(added): You may be far better served by circulating your local BKAs or finding contact by checking addy's on honey for sale, per eg, in your local shops. Beats me why local, though. Wax as long as not imported will be wax all through.

 

[pjb120]

Hi, any raw wax would be welcome, as I can easily clean/ filter it myself.

I would prefer local so I could pick up, and defintely want uk wax.

It is for adding to skin creams/ moisturisers etc.

Thanks.

 

[mbc]

Hi, any raw wax would be welcome, as I can easily clean/ filter it myself.

I would prefer local so I could pick up, and defintely want uk wax.

It is for adding to skin creams/ moisturisers etc.

Thanks.

Beeswax absorbs chemical contaminants like a sponge so for skin creams and moisturisers you'll want to source some clean organic beeswax. Most commercialy available organic beeswax comes from Africa but if you want to use local products it would be best if you are very clear about what treatments the beekeeper has used before using their wax. Many British beekeepers strive to be as organic as possible so it shouldnt be too much of a problem getting residue free local beeswax but do expect to pay quite a bit more for it than the run of the mill fluvalinate contaminated wax only really good for candles

 

[For want of a better word]

the run of the mill fluvalinate contaminated wax only really good for candles


or polish!

 

[Hivemaker.]

the run of the mill fluvalinate contaminated wax only really good for candles


or polish!

Or to trade in for, or make new foundation.

 

[For want of a better word]

Perhaps as the run of the mill fluvalinate contaminated wax only really good for candles and polish, you need to seek out a TBH beekie to get some real unpolluted wax... one who uses icing sugar for varroa control or possibly "natural Thymol" ????????????????

 

[Hivemaker.]

you need to seek out a TBH beekie to get some real unpolluted wax...

Which could be a real problem to find on this planet,but does exist in some places.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0009754

 

[Haughton Honey]

Hi, any raw wax would be welcome, as I can easily clean/ filter it myself.

I would prefer local so I could pick up, and defintely want uk wax.

It is for adding to skin creams/ moisturisers etc.

Thanks.

Please let me know how you melt, clean and filter your beeswax as it's a dilemma that I'm currently facing and I still haven't decided what piece of kit to buy to do this with the quantities I produce??!!

 

[For want of a better word]

Please let me know how you melt, clean and filter your beeswax as it's a dilemma that I'm currently facing and I still haven't decided what piece of kit to buy to do this with the quantities I produce??!!

Polly Hive has a brill vid on |YouTube|

And the wheels on the bus go round and round !

​

Wassail !

 

[Poly Hive]

At the Cumbrian show a lady arrived with an original tinplate one so there are still some around. she had brought it hoping someone could tell her how it worked, and she got the full demo instead...LOL

I got mine made for me by a firm in Arbroath who had the capability to roll stainless steel, and they also made me my tank at the same time.

PH

 

[OXFORDBEE]

Please let me know how you melt, clean and filter your beeswax as it's a dilemma that I'm currently facing and I still haven't decided what piece of kit to buy to do this with the quantities I produce??!!

I use one of these Wax Cleaner

It can 35kg of wax the volume is just over 2.5 honey buckets(32lb). The most useful thing about this device is you can put soft water in it put a load of wax in and go of and do something more interesting. It is made heavy duty stainless steel with an oil jacket. It has a 3kw and heats wax efficiently, however, I do believe Thomas make a similar device with a rockwool jacket which is cheaper to run. You do pay for the insulation though and I don't know how long it takes to recover the difference!

The Swienty melter works on the sedimentation principle; wax is left for a couple of hours (once molten) for bits in it to either float to the top or sink to the bottom before pouring out the wax. I don't know if Polyhive lets his settle or melts the wax and lets the strainer on the top do the work......

The Swienty one does not come with straining mesh which means crud which floats to the top of the molten wax will have to be removed using a stainless steel sieve. With Polyhives this does not matter as the mesh in the top traps it when you pour out the wax.

If you open the bottom tap with mine you can drain off a proportion of the water so when you open the top tap you get a stream of wax coming off with minimal impurites. However, along the line you will still end up with wax cake with crud on the bottom which needs to be scraped off.

The wax cleaner Polyhive uses has a strainer above the wax. Polyhives cleaner uses hydrostatic pressure to push wax through a material strainer.

His video can be found here, and photos of the wax cake here.

I've not used a wax melter like Polyhive's, so I don't know what the maximum beeswax capacity of his melter is.

Mine melter is oil filled and this has meant the heater has had to be tightened several times as there has been slight oil weepage due to extraction and contraction about fibre ring seals next to the heating element. The device came without the heater being attached which caused a few problems as the heater nut is 65mm in diameter and spanners this size are a bit expensive. I used a big hand held adjustable spanner to tighten it up. The oil was an extra few pounds (£100 approx) on top of the price of the cleaner.

Being oil filled and having a 3Kw heater enables mine to heat wax to above 100 degrees Centigrade. Heating the wax enables EFB and Nosema spores to be killed. I'm sure this is also the case with Polyhives too, although I don't know how much attention it needs when being run for extended periods.

As mine has a heated jacket, kitchen paper can be used to wipe crud of the inside of the melter after use while it is still warm.

Mine is expensive, but solidly made, its heavy without oil and heavier with. It's not the sort of thing you'd want to move about very often and you have to be careful of the taps which stick out if you do. If you want to put it in the loft you'd have to drain out all the oil. Poly's is much lighter and therefore easier to move about and put into storage.

Polyhives one should be cheaper to buy, even if you have to get one made to order.

I believe if you put the wax through the twice, (scraping the crud of the bottom) either of the devices mentioned will result in nice clean cakes of wax, and use of gas or electricity for heating is a personal choice.

Hope this helps...

 

[JamezF]

His video can be found here

Bah. I do not have permission to view that page, it says here

James

 

[OXFORDBEE]

Um.. I did check the links after posting to make sure they worked... They do for me in a popup window. Is your browser blocking popup windows from this site?

 

[JamezF]

No, I can't see any reason why it wouldn't be working. The new window opens and then I get the message about not being allowed to see it. Very odd. Perhaps I need to achieve some higher level of consciousness first or something. I'll have another glass of wine...

James

 

[Winker]

At the Cumbrian show a lady arrived with an original tinplate one so there are still some around. she had brought it hoping someone could tell her how it worked, and she got the full demo instead...LOL

I got mine made for me by a firm in Arbroath who had the capability to roll stainless steel, and they also made me my tank at the same time.

PH

Who made it in Arbroath PH?