Recycling brood wax?

[Ely]

No ... and it's really easy to make ...

Nice. I'll have to give it a go when I've got enough wax. Thanks

 

[pargyle]

Nice. I'll have to give it a go when I've got enough wax. Thanks

I sell it in this sort of aluminium screw top tin .. looks good with a nice round label on the top ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aluminum-S...5&sprefix=screw+top+tins,aps,103&sr=8-17&th=1

You just pour the melted polish straight in to the tin and let it set in the tin .. you can add a little lavender oil for a fragranced version or just leave it natural for a beeswax scent. There are lots of recipes about - you basically need a softening agent, as beeswax on it's own is too hard. There are variants that use chopping board oil, turpentine and boiled linseed oil - in various proportions - but don't use Linseed oil on its own with the beeswax as it tends to stay sticky for a long time. If you want a longer lasting shine you can also add a small percentage of Carnuba wax.

 

[Ely]

I sell it in this sort of aluminium screw top tin .. looks good with a nice round label on the top ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aluminum-Sopito-Containers-Candles-Cosmetics/dp/B08YK6Z6QC/ref=sr_1_17?crid=17DUCBQVXDU2F&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Aec2dp4GrMP-EQFgC9D2IPu0qFZ1qyLt73l7M_fu1qEM-PkYufE1D7J9Oo-l-KTyVsnFG4odszrpWzEp8Tw2u7A7GPfYoH6APr-Zepl1kPeYlbhg7auaW3vLQZ4R-mfweS9IvFDpSVqXbSQi2KiitZVAFHxQI78PGmj_sF8LaelPd7__rm1kG5s9kQhFIWeCnQOl8VfMTIbWzvui7999OyX_dwj1hbH-lv0nIER_TTHq-w1FA4ZLLrzAzeSWnMLgVg64cqhKNfBnh5m1Ip97v1Gt0U9kfrMlPftg0hgH5gA.MPhpXMAHYXmX9eppj-oMFyNRBE-Ag4BgEIP5ZAzkbfI&dib_tag=se&keywords=small+screw+top+tins&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1727701845&sprefix=screw+top+tins,aps,103&sr=8-17&th=1

You just pour the melted polish straight in to the tin and let it set in the tin .. you can add a little lavender oil for a fragranced version or just leave it natural for a beeswax scent. There are lots of recipes about - you basically need a softening agent, as beeswax on it's own is too hard. There are variants that use chopping board oil, turpentine and boiled linseed oil - in various proportions - but don't use Linseed oil on its own with the beeswax as it tends to stay sticky for a long time. If you want a longer lasting shine you can also add a small percentage of Carnuba wax.

Awesome. Thanks for the advice. Do you sell on Facebook marketplace?

 

[peterbees]

Would be useful to specify the pan metal when treating beeswax, Peter. Years ago I found an old copper pan and the result was an awful disaster.

I use a Thorne's Easy steamer for steaming wax out of brood frames; and a Thorne's stainless steel Bain Marie for melting wax prior to moulding the blocks.

 

[ericbeaumont]

stainless steel

I meant in the pdf, which at 6 mentions 'an old saucepan' and later 'a jug' without mentioning that iron & copper will alter wax.

Aluminium crops up in the same debate but seems safe to use, though certainty is elusive.

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/rendering-wax-in-an-aluminium-saucepan.46962/

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Aluminium crops up in the same debate but seems safe to use, though certainty is elusive.

I've used aluminium bain maries for the initial rendering and filtering of wax for years and it makes no difference to the wax.

 

[ericbeaumont]

I've used aluminium bain maries for the initial rendering and filtering of wax for years and it makes no difference to the wax.

Yes, your post in the link confirmed that it was OK; look further on the internet and the fog of conflicting opinion descends...

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Yes, your post in the link confirmed that it was OK; look further on the internet and the fog of conflicting opinion descends...

it's like the old chestnut about aluminium cooking utensils causing dementia - no evidence at all of it being true.

 

[Antipodes]

I found the Thorne's easisteam largely ineffective on brood comb, perhaps an indictment of just how dark and propolis I'd let them become but it barely melted 3 or 4 frames in the brood box I used, and even those were more collapsed than melted as such. Found it v frustrating and would take a lot of rerunning the steamer to get anything from it - I did it in my shed to conserve heat and deter bees - is there some hack I'm missing to make it more effective?

I steam brood combs with no issue with a standard wallpaper steamer, but my brood frames and the box are smaller (box 144mm). It works brilliantly even in the roaring forties. Perhaps with the bigger box/frames you might need to use two steamer pipes? I would have thought wallpaper steamers are a common find over there as wallpaper seems to be! It's rife in the UK

 

[pargyle]

Awesome. Thanks for the advice. Do you sell on Facebook marketplace?

No ... I sell mostly to regular punters and through a retailer who is based in an antiques centre ...`can't fail if you can find somewhere selling antique furniture and wooden items. You are never going to retire on it but it gives you a better return than trading wax in for foundation.

If you want some ideas about packaging and pricing - do a search on Etsy for Beeswax Polish.

 

[judy12]

Some people put a Do Not Eat label on.No idea why. I love real beeswax polish with genuine turpentine the way the National Trust used to make it. It's by far the best for old, fragile wood.

 

[enrico]

Just took 5 kg of not very well filtered wax to thornes and for forty extra quid got 200 sheets of wired shallow and 50 sheets of wired brood.
So much easier.

 

[rolande]

Just took 5 kg of not very well filtered wax to thornes and for forty extra quid got 200 sheets of wired shallow and 50 sheets of wired brood.
So much easier.

That's a very good exchange rate based on their foundation pricing. It would take a bit of work to realise an equivalent cash return on wax products.

 

[enrico]

That's a very good exchange rate based on their foundation pricing. It would take a bit of work to realise an equivalent cash return on wax products.

You can only exchange for their processed wax foundation and not the top quality stuff just so you know!

 

[rolande]

You can only exchange for their processed wax foundation and not the top quality stuff just do you know!

Still works out at an exceptional rate.

 

[Mint Bee]

That's a very good exchange rate based on their foundation pricing. It would take a bit of work to realise an equivalent cash return on wax products.

even cheaper if you get unwired, so no wiring cost

 

[rolande]

...

 

[ericbeaumont]

just took ... 5 kg of not very well filtered wax to thorne

By car or courier? Cost ought to be included in the deal price.

 

[JamezF]

That's a very good exchange rate based on their foundation pricing. It would take a bit of work to realise an equivalent cash return on wax products.

By my calculations that works out at just over £200 for 5kg of wax. Is that correct? That's far better than I recall when I last looked at it.

Of course I don't really have a need for that much foundation these days. Where I want starter strips I just slice a sheet of unwired brood into six or even eight. Perhaps I should just go and exchange my 35kg of wax for foundation and then sell it on to local beekeepers at a small discount on the shop price

James

 

[Sutty]

I sell it in this sort of aluminium screw top tin .. looks good with a nice round label on the top ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aluminum-Sopito-Containers-Candles-Cosmetics/dp/B08YK6Z6QC/ref=sr_1_17?crid=17DUCBQVXDU2F&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Aec2dp4GrMP-EQFgC9D2IPu0qFZ1qyLt73l7M_fu1qEM-PkYufE1D7J9Oo-l-KTyVsnFG4odszrpWzEp8Tw2u7A7GPfYoH6APr-Zepl1kPeYlbhg7auaW3vLQZ4R-mfweS9IvFDpSVqXbSQi2KiitZVAFHxQI78PGmj_sF8LaelPd7__rm1kG5s9kQhFIWeCnQOl8VfMTIbWzvui7999OyX_dwj1hbH-lv0nIER_TTHq-w1FA4ZLLrzAzeSWnMLgVg64cqhKNfBnh5m1Ip97v1Gt0U9kfrMlPftg0hgH5gA.MPhpXMAHYXmX9eppj-oMFyNRBE-Ag4BgEIP5ZAzkbfI&dib_tag=se&keywords=small+screw+top+tins&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1727701845&sprefix=screw+top+tins,aps,103&sr=8-17&th=1

You just pour the melted polish straight in to the tin and let it set in the tin .. you can add a little lavender oil for a fragranced version or just leave it natural for a beeswax scent. There are lots of recipes about - you basically need a softening agent, as beeswax on it's own is too hard. There are variants that use chopping board oil, turpentine and boiled linseed oil - in various proportions - but don't use Linseed oil on its own with the beeswax as it tends to stay sticky for a long time. If you want a longer lasting shine you can also add a small percentage of Carnuba wax.

Those tins look like the ones I get air rifle pellets in - also useful to keep a crown-of-thorns/Baldock cage in.