Melting Wax

[MuswellMetro]

Absolutely nothing at all.

You can do it in one pot with water too, although a bain-marie is better.
Once the wax has melted, let it cool and remove the "disk", scrape the crud off the bottom and repeat.

Where are you in Suffolk ?

if you are in a hardwater areea it needs to be rainwater, otherwise the alkali water soaps the bees wax

alternative is to add lemon juice to acidfy the hardwater

 

[Erichalfbee]

I just put the old wax into a muslin lined sieve suspended over a silicone baking dish and into the slow Rayburn oven overnight.

 

[Brian Bush]

Ban Marie

Silly question, but here goes.

What is to stop me going to a charity shop and buying a couple of old saucepans to make a bain-marie to melt my scrap wax (I have loads thanks to losing two hives to wasps in the the late summer, where the wasps have trashed the combs) rather than waiting for the summer and buying/building a solar wax extractor?

Nothing at all. I use a metal bucket to hold the wax in my Burco boiler.
The first melting I use about 2/3 of the bucket with rain water(nice and soft) and strain out the dead bees and large rubbish with a kitchen strainer as I pour the water and wax into plastic buckets to cool.
The wax cakes I then return to the metal bucket and re-melt with about 20% water fill and strain again into cooling buckets. When I am satisfied I clean the dirt off the bottom of the wax .
I got the idea from watching a u tube video by the fat beekeeper. (not me you fools, the one in the USA!!!!)

 

[mrloba]

i use a Juice Steamer Pot
perfect for cleaning small amounts of wax

Michael

 

[Hivemaker.]

I just put the lot into a water boiler, along with some water, heat up, and ladle the wax off into plastic honey buckets.

 

[itma]

I just put the lot into a water boiler, along with some water, heat up, and ladle the wax off into plastic honey buckets.

I haven't tried this yet (not least fearing the mess made of the water boiler!)

However, isn't one of the important details that you tie up your 'raw' comb/wax in a bag, and then somehow sink it to the bottom of the boiler - so that what you ladle off the top is just clean wax?
What to use for the bag? Another nylon stocking?

 

[Hivemaker.]

I use an old deep chip basket, with nylon strainer on the outside, this is pushed down into the boiler, and the wax ladled out from inside the basket.

 

[itma]

I use an old deep chip basket, with nylon strainer on the outside, this is pushed down into the boiler, and the wax ladled out from inside the basket.

Neatly turning things inside out!
Thanks!

 

[whoosling]

I use brood combs as firelighters