Filtering wax

[Erichalfbee]

I made this discovery quite "by accident", and had not known it previously. I found reference to the bleaching of wax by sunshine just very recently, and the article suggested flaking or grating the wax to expose a larger surface area of wax to the sunshine. It would seem that sheets of wax, formed on a wooden paddle as done by Tim Rowe, provide an easy way to produce a large surface area, with the added convenience that these sheets of wax are much easier to pick up than grated flakes of wax.
Dani, do you know exactly what the mechanism is by which beeswax is bleached by sunlight?
Is it possible that it is just the pigments from pollen that are being bleached?

Sorry no idea on the mechanism.
I successfully bleached a large amount of wax that had been overheated and turned brown. I simply melted it and poured it into a silicone baking dish very thinly then left the thin discs out in the garden for a few weeks.
I got lovely nearly white wax.

 

[ericbeaumont]

When giving any advice you have to cater for the lowest common denominator

Too true.

Never use a naked flame when heating wax; use one of these instead.

 

[North End Bees]

Dani, do you know exactly what the mechanism is by which beeswax is bleached by sunlight?
Is it possible that it is just the pigments from pollen that are being bleached?

Presumably it's just the same mechanism by which anything else is bleached by the sun. The UV rays (in normal daylight as well as strong sunlight) break down the chemical bonds on the surface of the object.
Colours which reflect more UV are slower to break down. So e.g red things, being at the other end of the light spectrum, break down more quickly while yellower things are slower to lighten. So don't leave red candles by the window!

 

[pargyle]

Too true.

Never use a naked flame when heating wax; use one of these instead.

Totally agree ... I have one and it also means you can do your wax work well away from the kitchen and I tend to do it outside on a pallet wiid bench that doesn't matter...

 

[victor meldrew]

Totally agree ... I have one and it also means you can do your wax work well away from the kitchen and I tend to do it outside on a pallet wiid bench that doesn't matter...

I have similar ! There’s a pic earlier on in the Thread .
I‘m barred from the kitchen for anything bee related .

 

[janetbee]

Cleaning combs is a smelly business (my husband hates the smell) so best done outdoors.
I agree with "Understanding bees" that cleaning beeswax by heating in boiling water does not discolour the wax. The books say it discolours at around 87 degrees C (from memory) but my wax that is boiled with water (100 degC) to clean has never discoloured. I let the water boil (slow cooker) as the movement "washes" the wax more thoroughly. I sometimes use some 'Hortag' in the water to act as a "boiling stick" (those who have studied chemistry will know what that is). Maybe there is something else going on here other than just the heat.
The flashpoint of beeswax is around 240-250 degrees C, so would never catch fire spontaneously in a pan of water, where it will not get much above 100 degrees C. (Pure water boils at 100 C but adding impurities may raise the BP a little- if you want to be pedantic).
Wax that is melted in a solar extractor does not become dark, if anything when it is left in the sun it may become lighter.
One of our members who usually takes the prizes for wax at the shows does the final filtrations for his wax in his gas oven! I think that that is certainly a bit risky as there is a naked flame but he has the heat low and nothing has gone wrong so far I would not advise this for anybody else.
Personally, I would not try and recover the wax from the filter cloths as described in another post and recommended by "Understanding bees". Although it can be done, it seems to be very time consuming and uses quite a bit of energy in the process and be careful you don't spoil your washing machine. Excess wax can be scraped from the cloth but I wouldn't go further and would use them as firelighters.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The flashpoint of beeswax is around 240-250 degrees C, so would never catch fire spontaneously in a pan of water,

noone said it would, but, to be pedantic, more than once on this forum in the last few months, ambiguous (and sometimes, not so ambiguous) statements could lead some to believe that it's normal practice to leave neat wax boiling away on the hob - or even on an open campfire.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I agree with "Understanding bees" that cleaning beeswax by heating in boiling water does not discolour the wax. The books say it discolours at around 87 degrees C (from memory) but my wax that is boiled with water (100 degC) to clean has never discoloured.

That might be but it does discolour in my oven at 80 degrees. That’s why I know you can bleach it in the sun.

 

[Repwoc]

it does discolour in my oven at 80 degrees

Perhaps it doesn't discolour when heated in a steam atmosphere. Discolouration likely involves reaction with oxygen, producing water and unsaturated hydrocarbons (double bonds). An atmosphere of steam (water) will limit exposure to oxygen and will suppress the reaction producing water (Le Châtelier's principle for the chemists).

Pure conjecture on my part.

 

[understanding_bees]

Personally, I would not try and recover the wax from the filter cloths as described in another post and recommended by "Understanding bees". Although it can be done, it seems to be very time consuming and uses quite a bit of energy in the process and be careful you don't spoil your washing machine. Excess wax can be scraped from the cloth but I wouldn't go further and would use them as firelighters.

Thank you Janet for your response. You said, "be careful you don't spoil your washing machine". I would suggest that washing machines should be used for washing clothes - and not for waxy filter cloths! I agree with all those who caution / warn against processing wax inside the home, and who have pointed out that utensils or equipment which have been used for molten wax should be dedicated to wax processing.

I was not recommending the recovery of wax from filter cloths. I agree that wax could be recovered from filter cloths by weighting them down in boiling water, and then allowing the water to cool before collecting the wax, and removing the cloths. My recommendation is that I have found a very practical way of obtaining clean wax with just a single melting, and without the use of any cleaning cloths. Please pardon my repeated message.

I have no problem with people using filter cloths if they are content to lose the wax which is retained by the cloth. I realise also that for products which require very clean wax, that filtering is a helpful procedure.

Perhaps the point which I really wanted to make is that it is possible to refine wax to a quite clean condition, suitable for making foundation sheets, with just a single rendering, and without the need for filter cloths.
As I explained, I have been able to remove all of the major debris, such as dead bees and old silk from cocoons, by scooping through the melted beeswax and boiling water mixture with a fine wire mesh sieve. This sieve has an aperture size of about 1.5mm.

I have since made a sieve from some very fine stainless steel wire mesh, which has enabled me to remove finer particles from the mixture. For those who are interested, this mesh is made of stainless steel wire which is about 0.10mm thick, and the apertures between the wires are about 0.20mm. The most important point, that I would emphasize, is that the secret to getting any remaining dross to settle out of the wax is to enable the wax to cool VERY SLOWLY.

Let me also say that I agree with all those who have warned how dangerous a wax fire could be. I continue to believe, though, that the danger of a pot of melted wax and boiling water is similar to that of a pot of boiling water. By all means, be careful, because burns from boiling water or steam can be very dangerous too. Leaving a saucepan of boiling water to boil dry may cause the destruction of your saucepan. By comparison, leaving a saucepan of melted beeswax and boiling water to boil dry and catch fire would be disastrous, and could cause the destruction of your home.