Is my melter too hot?

[Pete Nicholson]

Best day so far for my home made solar wax extractor. Sugar thermometer registered 120°C inside ....BUT is this too hot for the wax (almost double the melting point) Not worried but I want to trade this product in for foundation and if if is 'Not up to standard' then I may need to put some regulation in. Any comments most welcome. This is september so at the height of summer I reckon at least another 10°C - and its not even painted black! The bees come to it within seconds when I open up to get the wax.
P.
ps. posted before but most said the hotter the better - but there must be a limit as I have read that too high a temperature can discolour the wax and make it unsuitable. Have googled but cannot get any relevant info.

 

[VEG]

If the melted wax in the collecting container looked ok then all is good.

 

[itma]

Pete, was the thermometer actually in the molten wax?


And yes, I've been told that if wax gets too hot, it discolours. But I too don't know at what wax temperature that would occur. Or how quickly at any particular temperature.

Wouldn't a good extractor design allow the wax to end up for collection in its coolest area?

 

[oliver90owner]

in its coolest area?

Like a receptacle actually below and outside the melting area?

 

[Pete Nicholson]

ITMA - no - thermometer in melting area ie. in tray
Oliver - I collect in receptacle below melting area - will post photos tomorrow if I have time.
Cheers guys for your interest.
P.

 

[itma]

in its coolest area?

Like a receptacle actually below and outside the melting area?

Yep, below is a given , but outside the hotbox should be much better than some of the boxes I've seen.

 

[drstitson]

pete - have you actually SEEN the stuff that gets traded in???????

 

[george]

Agreed , wax has to be pretty foul to be rejected . I saw a stack in our local branch in Windsor that made me cringe .
G

 

[Luminos]

At first, I read this as:
"Is my mentor too hot?"

 

[drstitson]

there was a US study (no link i'm afraid) that showed that pesticide residues accumulate through each round of wax processing.

hence why people like ron hoskins have TBHs to provide virgin wax for their traditional hives.

 

[Skyhook]

there was a US study (no link i'm afraid) that showed that pesticide residues accumulate through each round of wax processing.

hence why people like ron hoskins have TBHs to provide virgin wax for their traditional hives.

Given that that wax will only be in the foundation, ie midrib of the comb; and that it will be coated with propolis, I wonder how much of a problem that would be?

 

[drstitson]

"Given that that wax will only be in the foundation, ie midrib of the comb; and that it will be coated with propolis, I wonder how much of a problem that would be?"

bees chew away at foundation, remodel comb etc etc - presumably very low level chronic exposure but who knows what long term effects on colony health are?

like the various nasties in plastic containers contaminating food and drink - we're not talking appearance of millions of sex-change individuals overnight but rather subtle decreases in general fertility.

 

[Pete Nicholson]

hi Dr.
have attatched photo of the wax I have produced so far - the darkest is from a set of brood frames that were 'black' - they were my starter NUC!
I think I would reject these but would value a comment.
Totally agree with the TBH approach for wax foundation production. I worked for a big pharma company on the environmental side (I was an electronics engineer) but could see bioaccumulation of ALL nasties even at very low levels when called in to tune mass specs and GC/MS.
P.

 

[PaleoPerson]

No, all of that wax 'looks good'.

I have been experimenting with wax over the past few months and deliberately made some awful black stuff, well mixed up with propolis and general junk just to see what can be done with rendering. It is amazing what you can pull back from.

However! chemical residues are another matter, I have some wax that is contaminated with Apiguard, it actually makes me feel ill if I am in the same room as the stuff for only a short period of time. Yet the appearance of the wax looks very good.

 

[Pete Nicholson]

Hi Paleo,
maybe we should all collaborate and create a 'potboiler' to subsidise the forum.
A good title might be "50 shades of beeswax"?
P.

 

[VEG]

nowt wrong with that wax if you were trading it in. I have seen some terrible wax traded in.