Solar Wax Melter (raw)

[GSF]

I decided to give the solar wax melter thing a try. This is my design(lol); You'll need, two supers, enough screen wire to form a bowl about half as deep as a super, a piece of glass big enough to cover the top super, and a container with water in it that would be big enough to cover the area in the bottom super.

I took it out by the garden and set it up. Put the first super on the ground, sit the water container in it, sit the second super with screen on top of it. Put the wax on the screen and place the glass on top. I put a good bit of wax on the screen and it melted the heck out of it. After 3-4 days my wax pile has been melted. Every evening I'd refill and the next evening it would be melted. When I reached in to get the wax out of the water I was surprised just how hot the water was. The water will cool down at night making wax removal as simple as reaching down and picking it up.

The downsides; My wax didn't form a nice cake like it would when you melt it with gas heat. Also the sun tends to bleach the wax and turns it white.

[chester5731]

Photo?  I need to see the idea I am going to steal.

[GSF]

I'm away from home right now so it may be a couple of hours. It's a hoot! Basically something throwed together with some glass on top - and it works!

[divemaster1963]

Sun bleached wax gets a higher price from candle makers. I like the yellow wax for starter strips . I like tosun bleach the wax I use for lip balms and for dipping the cork tops of my wines and Mead bottles. Then press my seal into it. Have also used white wax for extra seal marker on my honey jars.

John

[mtnb]

That is a super great easy idea, gsf! I'm gonna try it that way. Thanks for sharing! Heck, THAT is why the wax I see come out of solar wax melters are so white?! The sun bleached it? I have been wondering why it turns out so white in one.

[GSF]

Chester, I went to grab my camera yesterday afternoon and the battery was dead. I'll try to get a picture this evening.

[Acebird]

If you were melting black brood comb it won't be so white.  I had a small quantity to do and I didn't use a screen.  I use heavy aluminum foil and push it down into a shallow funnel shape and poked a small hole in the center.  No water, just a ceramic bowl under the poked hole.  It melts fast but the wax forms a stalagmite in the bowl.

[GSF]

Here's my beauty queen, kinda brings a tear to my eye;

[cao]

Simple, yet effective.  Like it.

[chester5731]

That's an idea definitely worth stealing.

[mtnb]

I agree chester. Great idea and I like how emotional the whole thing gets ya, gsf. lol What do you do with your slum gum? I hear chickens like it but I don't have any chickens. I hear ir's a great lure for bait boxes but I tried to keep mine last time but it started molding. How can one keep that stuff for future use?

[Acebird]

Freeze

[GSF]

 What do you do with your slum gum?

Thanks Acebird for answering that, I've never had slum gum before other than what I strained out of boiling water. I just chunked that on the ground. When we would get stuck in the woods for a couple of weeks(military) we would make a meal called slum gun-yin. It was everything we could find thrown in a pot, it sure tasted good after a 16 hour day..,

I have chickens. I'll freeze it and see what happens.

[Beeboy01]

I'm using a stainless steel sink that sits in a deep super for a solar wax melter. The deep is a beat up older piece of equipment that has a piece of plywood closing off the bottom. Under the sink I have a round stainless steel bowl to catch the melted wax and  have some screen and a paper towel over the sink's drain hole to filter the crud out of the wax. The glass cover is a window from a storm door and just lays on top. Been able to process about 2lbs of wax a day when it's sunny out. I just bust out all the nasty old comb into the sink and let it cook for one or two days then toss the slumgum. Most of the wax is coming out yellow, not bleached out white from the sun.

[Rurification]

Great ideas!    I've got a couple of old windows we're taking out in a remodel that I was going to save for 'something' and now I know what to use them for.    The screen is a great idea.    I used some silk and some cheesecloth and I can use those for firestarters, but the screen just seems easier to me. 

[GSF]

I'm sure yall know this, that item in the blue container is the wax that I melted. I took it while it was still in the water and folded it over to keep it all together.

[Beeboy01]

One thing I like about using a round container to catch the melted wax is when it hardens the disk of wax will fit in a plastic 5 gallon bucket for storage. Already have one bucket filled with wax disks and am filling a second. Pulling a lot of old comb from the hives this year and cleaning up a lot of old frames. A big cleanup in my yard has been way overdue.

[divemaster1963]

I found some 100 and two micron stainless steel mesh at local machine shop that used it for a company in town. They gave me the left over scrap. It gets almost all junk just leaves honey and coloring in wax. Easy to clean by using a torch . then I use cookie sheets to bleach wax. It makes sheets 1/2 thick. Just thin enough to allow the sun to bleach thru to bottom. I keep it in the melter for week and it turns to a light pale white. Then  I melt them into two to five lb blocks. I sell them for five dollars for two lb and 10.00 for five lb.to candle makers and drafters.I even sell a bunch to high end custom furniture makers for finishes. They even use my apiary name in the brochure as supplier of high quality wax for their custom made wax finish.

John

[BeeMaster2]

My wife likes the white wax better than the yellow wax. After the wax has melted down into the pan, I scrape out the black remaining comb from the rectangular stainless steel pan that I use as the melting tray and run the wax through it again. One end has a slot cut in it for draining so I turn it around so that the wax stays in for a few days. Then I turn it around, put some fiber filter material in the slot and melt it one more time. It comes out nice and clean and white.
Jim

[rober]

I use a screened strainer but also put paper towels or restaurant grease filter paper on top of the screen. all the subgum stays on the towels. the wax drops onto a baking sheet & runs down to a stainless steam table pan. you can reheat & mold the wax afterwards.