Melting wax

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Rock_Chick

House Bee
Joined
Jan 3, 2009
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Location
Lancs
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National
OK here's another one.
What are the different ways on melting all that wax that's been collected over the year.
:piggy:
 
Melt all together.

Then put in deep plastic container a little bit water in bottom. Pour melted wax through sieve into container and let it cool. Under the wax agaist water you have a little rubbish layer. Take it with knife away and you have clean wax block.
 
Small solar wax extractor,well sealed,so bee's cannot get in,and honey does not run out.Steam wax extractor, burco boiler,chip basket and pair of tights and carrot bag.
 
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then there is another way.

Water pressure.

PH
 
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I had, "in a PREVIOUS LIFE, as they say pics. I will attempt to expound tomorrow, but remind me.

PH
 
There was a machine invented some years ago, over 40 at least.

As the company was long gone I copied it but upped the scale.

Imagine. A stainless steel pot, some 2.5 ft tall with a rolled rim. Important that the rim is rolled for grip. Around the top but starting some half inch below the rim at the opposite side to the spout is a trough, which has a fall on it of roughly an inch or so and at the lowest point a spout.

Further through the side wall of the pot, penetrating at about 1/3d of the height is a tube which ends about an inch from the bottom. At the top end, which is about fifteen inches above the rim there is a funnel.

How it works.

It is partly filled with water and wax. Heated until said wax melts. Over the rim is stretched a filter material, which varies depending on the wax. For final filtering I used double surgical lint for instance. The filter medium is secured by a jubilee clip which is assisted by the fact the top edge is rolled over.

When the wax is molten a kettle of boiling water is poured down the funnel pipe emerging at the bottom of the pot. This ensures the pipe is clear.

Then cold water is poured down t he pipe. Wax floats on water, hot water is pushed up by cold. The height of the funnel gives a hydrostatic head, or a push, and lo, the wax has no option but to pass through the filter medium under gentle pressure, over flows into the trough, run round and out the spout into a bucket.

PH
 
melting wax

Sorry for not thanking you for replys laptop problems.
the burco boiler how do you melt wax in it? do you melt in boiling water or just put the wax in If you use water how do you then filter water from wax?
sorry for sounding thick on this one :confused:
 
you don't filter water from the wax, water and wax don't mix, wax is less dense than water and so floats on top.
John
 
What are you trying to achieve so I can point you in an appropriate direction?

Or are you just curious about the tights?

PH
 
What are you trying to achieve so I can point you in an appropriate direction?

Or are you just curious about the tights?

PH
lol.

I would like to know how to extract wax using the tights method basically?

I have some wax I want to melt.
I have read about putting it into a dish and melting that in a bain-marie.
I just was wondering what the tights method is and if it would be better?
 
Ok.

roughly.

Two baked bean tins.

Nip one, minus bottom and top, so it fits in the lower one. Tight material between. Rough wax in the top. Filters through the tights in gentle oven heat. Clean wax below. Or could use surgical gauze to better effect.

PH.
 
Another way that tights come in useful,if you have larger amounts of wax is..half fill burco boiler with water,boil water and add wax,this will then melt and float,heavy rubbish sinks. Use a old chip basket with tights over the outside,dip down into wax and use ladle to dip out clean wax from inside of basket into molds,i use 30lb buckets. If you have any really dirty stuff you can put inside of tights with a weight,then this will sink in the boiling water,and the wax will rise,minus the largest rubbish. This method makes large very clean blocks of wax,ready for exchange or whatever.
 
If you are using that method hive maker you need a loan of my wax melter. :)

PH
 
I have a steam one of those,and i find it,to slow.
 
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Another way that tights come in useful,if you have larger amounts of wax is..half fill burco boiler with water,boil water and add wax,this will then melt and float,heavy rubbish sinks. Use a old chip basket with tights over the outside,dip down into wax and use ladle to dip out clean wax from inside of basket into molds,i use 30lb buckets. If you have any really dirty stuff you can put inside of tights with a weight,then this will sink in the boiling water,and the wax will rise,minus the largest rubbish. This method makes large very clean blocks of wax,ready for exchange or whatever.
So the wax just floats on top above the water??
 
Ok.

roughly.

Two baked bean tins.

Nip one, minus bottom and top, so it fits in the lower one. Tight material between. Rough wax in the top. Filters through the tights in gentle oven heat. Clean wax below. Or could use surgical gauze to better effect.

PH.
Thanks Poly Hive.

So I just get two bean cans. Take out the bottom and top of one and sit it on the other. Spread my tights inbetween, dump my wax in there and then it all drips into the bottom bean can.

Could I also melt it in a dish or something in a bain-marie and then pour it through tights?

Which in beekeepers view is more efficient?
I don't have a burco or solar wax extractor, so only household objects for me.
 
Hive maker?

You do not have a steam one of mine as it works on water pressure alone.
It's the only one of it's kind in existence as I had it made for me. ;)
PH
 

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