Green Wax

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SixFooter said:
My issue is that the wax I have recovered is a muddy green colour. I cut off a chunk and filtered it in stages finally through a paper towel; still green. Did I do something wrong? I used ordinary tap water in the burco boiler. I read about acidifying the water and/or using rain water, but too late. Is that what I did wrong?
Click to expand...

It's not too late!
Melt / liquify the wax again and add 2 or 3 drops of concentrated sulfuric acid, stir and it will turn yellow in a few seconds.
I have seen that demonstrated as a part of a beekeeping course in Germany in 1988. They said that the reason for the discolouration is a chemical reaction through contact of the liquid wax with corroded iron parts of the melting equipment. He dipped a rusty nail into the wax and it turned back to the green colour, then added the sulfuric acid and it became yellow again!

Regards
Reiner
P.S.: We are talking about an amount of 10kg of filtered and settled wax from a steam melter here, impurities or propolis in the wax are a different thing.
 
victor meldrew said:
Oy! I'm Victor Meldrew! Leave the belly aching to me thank you very much!
VM


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Sorry. Bad day at the office.
Inane, lame, sarcastic (and aggressive) remarks are usual on all forums, it's just we used to have a better class of member on this one :)
 
beekeeping4you said:
It's not too late!
Melt / liquify the wax again and add 2 or 3 drops of concentrated sulfuric acid, stir and it will turn yellow in a few seconds.
I have seen that demonstrated as a part of a beekeeping course in Germany in 1988. They said that the reason for the discolouration is a chemical reaction through contact of the liquid wax with corroded iron parts of the melting equipment. He dipped a rusty nail into the wax and it turned back to the green colour, then added the sulfuric acid and it became yellow again!

Regards
Reiner
P.S.: We are talking about an amount of 10kg of filtered and settled wax from a steam melter here, impurities or propolis in the wax are a different thing.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
Now this is interesting. I have ordered some battery acid. I'm guessing a little splurge very carefully added to hot wax will be exactly the same as a few drops of conc H2SO4. If not, I can always concentrate it
 
I wondered about battery acid and concluded that conc had probably been deliberately chosen to minimise the amount of added water ...
Be interesting to hear how it goes.
 
Erm, you could try and sell it as grafting wax...

8167.jpg
 
Ahhhh! Whilst climbing a tree as a lad, back in 1974, I happened upon an old abandoned honeybee nest in a hollow trunk. I reached in and knocked the combs down, then gathered them up into a bag & headed home for gran's old burco. Next day, I had in my hand a block of clean wax, of the greenish hue described above. It made excellent polish and I still use it to this day.

Seeing those brilliantly designed and engineered old combs, is what started me off with beekeeping. Shortly after that, I made my first catenary hive & started chasing swarms banging saucepans. :)
 
It worked!

I melted the wax again and added a splurge of battery acid. When it cooled, all the green colour seemed to be concentrated into the scum/propolis at the bottom, leaving the wax a tan colour - not golden, but definitely not green.

Thanks Beekeeping4You
 
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