DIY Steam Wax Extractor

[JamezF]

So, this morning I dug out a couple of solid floors, an ancient national (maybe) BB that I was never going to use, some varroa floor mesh and our wallpaper stripper which has been hidden away in the workshop, unused for years.

I propped one floor on some timber to tilt it towards the front and leave room underneath for a 1kg ice cream tub underneath, and cut some scrap timber to close the entrance down to 20mm. The varroa mesh went on top of that, then the BB with a full complement of old frames that I'd not managed to melt down in the solar extractor during the summer. Finally the second floor went on the top as a lid. I cut a hole in the top to let the steam in, made up a small piece of ply to act as a "socket" for the steam feed pipe, screwed that over the hole and strapped the whole lot together to tighten up the joints and prevent as much steam escaping as possible.

The steam took ten minutes or so to get going after I'd connected the stripper and fired it up, but shortly afterwards wax was pouring out of the "entrance" hole and I managed to fill the container and start on another before the flow stopped.

All in all I'm rather pleased. With brood frames I think I need to leave a few empty spaces in the box to allow the combs to collapse onto the mesh, but it's certainly going to let me get rid of a pile of boxes of used comb that I have uselessly taking up space in the barn, and pretty quickly at that.

I do wonder if the ply in the floors might delaminate in time, but if it does I shall just make a new top and bottom from solid wood.

James

 

[Ross]

I also have a DIY steam extractor, I run my wax out of the bottom into old 1 litre apple juice boxes/cartons. When the wax and dirty water (from condensed steam) settles out and the wax is set it can be a little difficult to remove the wax block from a solid box. With a carton the outside can be ripped off to remove the wax. Also because the boxes are quite long and thin, the "grubby" wax layer is smaller. I also run my wax through some old sheet (inside the steam box) to remove most of the dirt.

 

[JohnofBlagdon]

The positive spin-off from this process is that you're also prettywell sterilising the frames ready for re-use. If you can store them in something airtight over the winter, they should be ready for foundation in the Spring, without worrying about them being contaminated with wax moth or virus.

 

[For want of a better word]

Made one too... I will still torch the insides of the boxes, even if the steam got up to 106 degrees C for 45 minutes it takes to completely dewax and loosen the propilis I wonder if is high enough for long enough to kill virus.

Pasteurization takes 70 minutes at 80 degs C?

 

[fatshark]

I wonder if is high enough for long enough to kill virus.

Pasteurization takes 70 minutes at 80 degs C?

You almost certainly will kill viruses at that temperature ... pasteurisation uses high temps to kill bacterial spores which are resistant to elevated temperatures. In contrast, viruses are simple bags of proteins and nucleic acids and are much less tolerant. Poliovirus, which is a distant relative of Deformed Wing Virus (and so presumably has similar thermal stability properties), is pretty-much inactivated by temperatures above low fifties degrees centigrade for 5 minutes. "Pretty much" means at least 5 logs of virus are lost by heating under these conditions.

I'm almost certain no one has studied thermal stability of honeybee viruses but look forward to being corrected.

 

[chrismcd]

I wonder if is high enough for long enough to kill virus.
Pasteurization takes 70 minutes at 80 degs C?

I cannot find much on the tolerance of viruses to steam sterilisation, but I remember being taught that they do not have much in the way of a protective covering and are easy to kill by steam sterilisation.

 

[For want of a better word]

Made one too... I will still torch the insides of the boxes, even if the steam got up to 106 degrees C for 45 minutes it takes to completely dewax and loosen the propilis I wonder if is high enough for long enough to kill virus.

Pasteurization takes 70 minutes at 80 degs C?

seconds .. not minutes!!!
Not all virus are equal it seems.....
However...
Sterilization 121 degrees C for 15 minutes
Proper autoclave treatment will inactivate all fungi, bacteria, viruses and also bacterial spores, which can be quite resistant. It will not necessarily eliminate all prions.

Going to set up a thermometer next time I steam... don't thing temp will get high enough to kill 'em all !!