I am getting ready to clean my capping's. I am thinking about using either a double boiler or a crock pot set on low to melt the wax. The let it cool and retrieve the last of the honey when it cools.
Remelting the wax and running it through a filter to clean the wax should finish the job. Comments? Improvements? Thanks.
I use a crock pot with about 2 cups water. Just fill it heat till melted. Cool overnight and remove in morning then repeat .
Have you drained the honey yet from cappings? Do that first then melt cappings.
John
The capping are as drained as I can get them.
If you add water are you then not trying to recover any of the honey?
There should bee very little honey left. Did you put cappings in the strainer and crushed them to get as much of the honey out as you can. Let it sit in the strainer over night on the counter. Then do as above.
John
I've had them in the strainer for three days but I did not press them.
Quote from: Caribou on August 06, 2016, 09:11:12 PM
I've had them in the strainer for three days but I did not press them.
Honey will get stuck in little wells facing up. Crush them..squeeze them in your gloved hand and make small balls of wax.
I put the cappings on a tray or plate and put them on top of the inner cover (just don't cover the center hole - you can put a couple of spacer sticks under the tray) with an empty super on top covered with a telescoping cover. The bees will have them clean and dry in a day or so, and then they are easy to melt down in hot water - no cleaning necessary and the bees get the extra honey back. I actually store them in plastic containers or bags afterwards until later when I have enough wax worth taking the time to render.
I let the bees clean the cappings after they have drained for a couple days. Then they go into the solar wax melter.
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I strain my cappings for a couple of days and then put them in large pretzel containers and store in the basement. As you can see the honey goes to the bottom and the wax stays to the top. My honey will also crystalize. This can be fed to the bees in the spring when they need it most and at the same time it cleans the wax perfectly for melting down. Bees don?t drown on crystallized honey. You can put the biggest gob on top of the inner cover that will fit and not lose one bee because it got stuck.
Thanks! Plenty of options.
The crocpot works well because you can use the disposable liner melt the wax and pour it through a filter. If you ever want to use it again make sure to use the liner...
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I am leaning towards the crock pot. I will stop by a second hand store and pick one up. It won't matter about some residual wax as it will be dedicated for melting wax. Using the wife's for wax would be a life changing experience. :shocked:
If you want to have caribou roast this winter. I would find a good used crockpot. Get two if you can. Use first for ruff melting then the second for block forming for storage.
Caribou steaks! Making my mouth water.
John
Quote from: divemaster1963 on August 07, 2016, 11:11:13 PM
If you want to have caribou roast this winter. I would find a good used crockpot. Get two if you can. Use first for ruff melting then the second for block forming for storage.
Caribou steaks! Making my mouth water.
John
First of all, don't even think about it. I'm too old an tough.
Second, why not just use the same pot for both?
I was lucky two pickup two real cheap. 5.00 for both. What I found is over time you get a hard line on the pot . I get lazy and figure to clean up later and that line becomes almost as hard as the crock. Plus having the second I can batch different grades of wax.
You can never have enough crocks on hand.
John
Put a piece of chees cloth in first. When the wax is melted pick up the cheese cloth a wring the wax out of it. It'll collect all the unwanted material out of the melted wax.
Can you explain what you mean by a "liner". I have a crock pot but no liner.
Quote from: Eric Bosworth on August 07, 2016, 09:13:12 PM
The crocpot works well because you can use the disposable liner melt the wax and pour it through a filter. If you ever want to use it again make sure to use the liner...
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Quote from: Barhopper on August 08, 2016, 07:57:21 AM
Put a piece of chees cloth in first. When the wax is melted pick up the cheese cloth a wring the wax out of it. It'll collect all the unwanted material out of the melted wax.
That's a good idea, barhopper. But how do you ring out the wax without burning your hands? Do you use gloves?
I've been melting mine like I saw Don the fat beeman do. Take a big old pot, fill half way with water and melt all your wax into it. Once melted, you pour that whole goo through a fine strainer into a big plastic bucket. Spray the bucket with a little vegetable oil first. The wax hardens into a cake on the top and all the other water settles to the bottom. Once dry, you just remove the cake, let dry some more and then you just scrape that other stuff off the bottom. I think that's pollen, but I'm not sure yet. Haven't tried to feed it to them yet. It's generally still a little dirty so I remelt the cake in a crock pot and then strain it through some panty hose into my beeswax tea kettle. I pour that into a silicon mold I bought and make cute little blocks of wax. I bought one of those honey cake molds off ebay for $11 and it makes perfect little 1oz hexagons of wax.
Yes gloves and two pieces of wood to squeeze it
Ah. Ok. Makes sense. Thanks!
My process - for what it's worth:
Drain cappings though course mesh in cappings tank for whatever period between extractions (2 weeks in season)
Press in a home made "wine Press"
Solar wax melter - place a queen exluder in the bottom of the melter to catch all the "junk" with a disposable cleaning cloth (Chux brand here) across the outlet to strain the fines. Wax comes out pretty clean on top of any residual honey
Final clean in a water bath - I have made one from an old kitchen boiler about 18" x 18" - put a 3/4" stop bleep about 6" up from the bottom - fill with water to the bottom of the stopcock opening, add wax, bring to the boil when wax is melted open stop bleep and drain wax (floating on water which is below opening) into suitable container/moulds
Thought a picture of the queen excluder holding back the junk would help
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Can you explain what you mean by a "liner". I have a crock pot but no liner.
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They sell cheap plastic disposable liners for crocpots. I got mine at wally world but I'm sure that you can get them at any grocery store.
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