Melting and cleaning Beeswas

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Batcher

New Bee
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May 9, 2014
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Location
Old Radnor
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Hi
I have collected a bit of burr comb and general beeswax. A little is white but a lot is dirty. Using only everyday kitchen utensils, what is the best way to turn this into nice clean wax?
Or do I need to build a solar melter or a 'proper' melter?
 
Bain marie to melt the wax with a little water, allow to cool slowly, allow to set, remove when cold and scrape the dirty bits of the bottom, pop it back in a bain marie and when it has melted and pour it through a filter into a clean container.

There are other methods but thats what I use for small amounts
 
Use those utensils that can be solely dedicated to cleaning wax. You can empty bits of wax down the sink but probably shouldn't.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2Idl9pk28s

About 2 mins in - he says that grey stuff is propolis...
 
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You can melt it in the oven if you have good control of the temperature. Put it in a tallish (preferably sacrificial) container with equal parts rain water. Heat until it is melted, and leave to cool.

Most of the crap sinks leaving only a thin film on the bottom of the wax to cut off. The taller and narrower the container the less wax lost when you cut off the bottom bit.
 
Hi
I use a cheap slow cooker of ebay, Line with muslin cloth, inch of water and leave until melted. Lift cloth to strain. leave to cool. Nice clean disc of wax left when set.
 
As a new beekeeper I wonder what the chances of spreading diseases through reused wax are... any papers on that?
 
As a new beekeeper I wonder what the chances of spreading diseases through reused wax are... any papers on that?

If you reuse your own disease-free wax you won't spread disease, but also, apparently, the commercial processing destroys disease spores.

If AFB is found then the diseased colonies and their comb is burned and hive parts are either destroyed or sterilised under the watchful eye of the Inspectorate.
 
As a new beekeeper I wonder what the chances of spreading diseases through reused wax are... any papers on that?

I don't think it's diseases so much as chemical build up which people see as the issue. I'm happier knowing all the wax in my hives has been produced by my bees this year and next years spring build up will be in comb less than a year old.

Mike.
 
Remember beeswax is acidic and will eat away the lining of your oven after a few years.

Mike.

What ? Beeswax typically has a pH of around 6 (as it's insoluble in water and it's chemistry changes over time, 'acid value' is invariably used commercially as a measurement rather than pH) - but a pH of 6 is incredibly close to neutral anyway (remembering that pH is an inverse logarithmic scale ...).

So from where on earth did you get the idea that molten beeswax is dangerously acidic ?

LJ
 
Stick it in a glass bowl in the microwave, as soon as it is melted leave it and the wax will solidify on the top. Don't forget it is in there though!
 
What ?
So from where on earth did you get the idea that molten beeswax is dangerously acidic ?

LJ

I don't think I said 'molten beeswax is dangerously acidic'. I remember one of the first threads I saw here was about someone having to replace their oven because, after several years, the fumes from melting wax had corroded the lining. Someone else agreed and said they used an old one in the shed.

Sorry if the word fumes was omitted.

Mike.
 
Hi all,
after we have extracted some Honey, I am now sitting with the cappings and thought this would be a good time to try out my Bain Marie I bought last year.

Getting it out of the box, I realised that I have never used one before, nor have I ever melted wax yet so here comes my stupid question .... I know you pour the water into the outside wall, but do you actually also fill some aditional water inside the pot to make sure you get the bee wax out when it cooled down?

Second question, how much water do I pour into the outside of the pot?

I know, these questions sound really stupid, but wouldn't want to mess this up.... :rolleyes:
 
Not sure what yours looks like, my bain Marie is simple a bowl that sits on the rim of a pan which has boiling water in the bottom! You need enough water so that it doesn't boil dry but it condenses on the bowl and runs back into the pan so it doesn't need much! I have never used water in my wax but looking at earlier post on this thread others obviously do. Might try it next time!
E
 
Thanks for your input... about the water inside the pot, I have watched the Fat Bee Man on youtube, he heats the wax in a huge pot of water and if I understood him right then he pours the melted wax into a plastic pot which contains some water where it will get solid and the water makes it easy to get it out the next day.

My Bain Marie comes from the Big T Shop. The pot got a small filling hole in the side with a lit, probably about 2/3 up the pot. I would not be able to refill for sure, if there would not be enough water, because I would have to turn it to the side to fill it up....

Do you get your wax out easy when it cooled down?
 
Thanks for your input... about the water inside the pot, I have watched the Fat Bee Man on youtube, he heats the wax in a huge pot of water and if I understood him right then he pours the melted wax into a plastic pot which contains some water where it will get solid and the water makes it easy to get it out the next day.

My Bain Marie comes from the Big T Shop. The pot got a small filling hole in the side with a lit, probably about 2/3 up the pot. I would not be able to refill for sure, if there would not be enough water, because I would have to turn it to the side to fill it up....

Do you get your wax out easy when it cooled down?

have also just bought one of those, if you read the instructions on that site, it says fill with water until it reaches the top, so that answers your first question, you can then tip to the left, as the filler spout will always be higher than the water content, I personally will not be leaving it to cool in this, as that will waste to much time, simply melt, pour through a cloth into a jug/container, and then leave to set, repeating a few times will get the wax cleaner
 

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