What should I do with my wax?

[jenkinsbrynmair]

roughly how big is 100 lbs of wax once rendered?

I use 1kg stork margarine tubs as moulds for my rendered wax - the wax weighs about a kilo too - so roughly 45 of those

 

[pargyle]

A 5 inch layer in a 30lb honey bucket is around 10- 12 lbs I think. It was quite a pile.
https://www.thorne.co.uk/frames-and-foundations/foundation/wax-conversion
I had a look at the receipt.
I got 1200 sheets of premier grade super foundation and 120 sheets of brood for around 100lbs of wax.
Paid around £257 for wiring fee + other charges.

Cost if purchased.
120 packs of premier super foundation = £1,014
12 packs of premier brood foundation = £165
Total if bought ( without discounts ) = £1179
So the wax was worth around £922

About 57p an oz ... not a bad return for bulk and very little effort ... your time with the number of hives you have probably best used elsewhere where you could save or make more money.

 

[Nige.Coll]

About 57p an oz ... not a bad return for bulk and very little effort ... your time with the number of hives you have probably best used elsewhere where you could save or make more money.

I have a konigin steam wax extractor is very little effort just costs about a tenner for electricity.
I do keep some back for 1 oz blocks that I sell for £1.50 and other for products like polish etc.
It was the best result for me as I had spent a large amount on kit and adding the price of foundation to that was a stretch this year.
Next year it may be different.

 

[bobba]

I have a konigin steam wax extractor is very little effort just costs about a tenner for electricity.
I do keep some back for 1 oz blocks that I sell for £1.50 and other for products like polish etc.
It was the best result for me as I had spent a large amount on kit and adding the price of foundation to that was a stretch this year.
Next year it may be different.

I cannot use electricity when a solar option is available, just cant do it..... Not because I am a "global warming", sorry I should say, "climate change" fanatic. But because I am just far too stingy.

"A tenner" - that's more than a jar of honey in my book.

I may feel differently if I had as much wax to process as you though.

 

[gmonag]

Fortunately I have solar panels installed, so using electricity during the day is a solar option.

 

[Antipodes]

A 5 inch layer in a 30lb honey bucket is around 10- 12 lbs I think. It was quite a pile.
https://www.thorne.co.uk/frames-and-foundations/foundation/wax-conversion
I had a look at the receipt.
I got 1200 sheets of premier grade super foundation and 120 sheets of brood for around 100lbs of wax.
Paid around £257 for wiring fee + other charges.

Cost if purchased.
120 packs of premier super foundation = £1,014
12 packs of premier brood foundation = £165
Total if bought ( without discounts ) = £1179
So the wax was worth around £922

I am wondering about the wiring fee. Do people usually have wiring done by others in the UK?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I am wondering about the wiring fee. Do people usually have wiring done by others in the UK?

It's another Brititish eccentricity, unlike the rest of the sane world where frames are wired and you just need to embed the wire into your wax sheet. The British national hive has unwired frames. Instead, the wire is embedded into each wax sheet at the point of production, the sheets are then fixed in the frame using grooves and a 'wedge'

 

[BeeJam]

It's another Brititish eccentricity, unlike the rest of the sane world where frames are wired and you just need to embed the wire into your wax sheet. The British national hive has unwired frames. Instead, the wire is embedded into each wax sheet at the point of production, the sheets are then fixed in the frame using grooves and a 'wedge'

Interesting - I never knew that - how does that work with getting foundation in then? Does the whole frame somehow get dipped into wax?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Interesting - I never knew that - how does that work with getting foundation in then? Does the whole frame somehow get dipped into wax?

no - there's a groove in each side bar, you buy the sheets pre wired, slide the sheet in and it's held in place with a wooden wedge on the top bar fixed with three nails

 

[BeeJam]

no - there's a groove in each side bar, you buy the sheets pre wired, slide the sheet in and it's held in place with a wooden wedge on the top bar fixed with three nails

Sorry - I use BS equipment so know how sheets of foundation work, I meant how does the alternative work

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Sorry - I use BS equipment so know how sheets of foundation work, I meant how does the alternative work

the frames are pre wired usually three or four horizontal strands of the one single unbroken wire (if that makes sense)
You lay the frame down flat, place your piece of unwired foundation over the wires then pass a 12 volt DC electrical current through the wires for a few seconds (a car battery charger is fine, just touch a crocodile clip to each end of the wire in the frame) the current heats the wire enough to heat it up and melt the wax foundation, gravity makes the foundation sheet settle on to the wire and thus the wire gets embedded.
You can also use an embedding wheel (looks a bit like a pizza wheel) which you can run along the wire resting on the foundation.

 

[BeeJam]

the frames are pre wired usually three or four horizontal strands of the one single unbroken wire (if that makes sense)
You lay the frame down flat, place your piece of unwired foundation over the wires then pass a 12 volt DC electrical current through the wires for a few seconds (a car battery charger is fine, just touch a crocodile clip to each end of the wire in the frame) the current heats the wire enough to heat it up and melt the wax foundation, gravity makes the foundation sheet settle on to the wire and thus the wire gets embedded.

Ah ok - so they still use foundation but melt the wires into it in place, unlike us who use wired foundation. Not sure "our" system isn't easier/simpler but not having tried it I can't really say.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Ah ok - so they still use foundation but melt the wires into it in place, unlike us who use wired foundation. Not sure "our" system isn't easier/simpler but not having tried it I can't really say.

You don't have to pay a premium for prewired foundation, less faff and bits to nail on the frame, and when you need to replace the wax, you just pop the lot in a boiler, melt the wax off then you have the wires still in place to attach the next sheet of foundation to thus making even more savings

 

[Boston Bees]

My wife has a horse and the blacksmith who shoes it can't get enough of our beeswax. He uses it as part of tempering the steel somehow (prevents rust perhaps?). So if you have a local blacksmith they might be very grateful for it. I can't be bothered rendering the stuff down myself, so he is welcome to it and does us the odd favour in return.

 

[beeno]

Fortunately I have solar panels installed, so using electricity during the day is a solar option.

I was toying with the idea of solar panels for charging an electric car and running a bee extraction shed anyone done that!

 

[Swn58]

[QUOTE="bobba, post: 729783, member: 1840


I am leaning towards just doing some tea-light candles, maybe some scented ones. I think that will provide me with a reasonable faff:return in the short term.

I bought some cheap silicon candle molds and related equipment from Amazon and have made some candles. It's fun but fiddly and slow going. Whether it is profitable I'm not sure. Molds from Thorne's are quite expensive, but are maybe of better quality. I sent my partner off with the kit, plus about 2 kg of clean wax for her to play with!

 

[pargyle]

[QUOTE="bobba, post: 729783, member: 1840


I sent my partner off with the kit, plus about 2 kg of clean wax for her to play with!

Free labour and at least you won't get blamed for the mess left behind !