Solar Wax Melter

[Mark Smith]

I am think of either buying or building a solar wax melter this year. Do any of you have recommendations for one to buy or plans of one you would recommend to build?

[SB-Russ]

I actually just spent a week on and off in my shed makng my own. It was a highly modified versin of this one http://www.michiganbees.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Solar-Wax-Melter_20100727.pdf using scrap plywood and perspex I already had for the lid. All I had to buy was black paint, and got a bargain of 4 litres for $20 here. Normal price would have been $80, and I now have enough black paint to last me For the rest of my life :)

We'd had days of over 35 degrees celcius here, and my small collection of wax from burr comb was completely process within 2 hours of putyting it in the melter, even though I wouldn't say my version is the most thermally insulated.

[cao]

Unless you are processing a ton of wax, there's not much to a solar wax melter.  I made on somewhat similar to the one SB-Russ posted.  But just about anything will do.  All you need is a box of some sort(cooler, old hive body or a few pieces of plywood nailed together), a piece of glass(I use an old storm window), and a pan that fits into the space provided.  If you a google search you will have plenty of ideas.

[divemaster1963]

Here is the one Imade. I need to rebuild it due to weather wear.


john


http://www.beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=39457.msg332303#msg332303

john

[SB-Russ]

Oh, I also forgot to mention. Before I made my wood one, I decided to prototype my idea with a cereal box and a plastic bag. I painted it black, put a plastic container inside an organaza bag, and put the wax on top.

While it was very slowly melting, and wouldn't have had enough heat to work completely, it does show that it doesn't take much to work. Of course we have fairly hot weather here, so those of you in colder areas may need more thermal insulation to be effective.

Russell

[Beeboy01]

Get a styrofoam cooler and a plastic tray that fits inside of it. Lay a piece of plexiglass over the top of the cooler, a metal screen over the plastic tray and put the wax on a piece of paper towel sitting on the screen. It's simple, cheap and easy to use. If you want to go high tech paint the inside of the cooler black and figure out a way to seal the plexiglass to the lid of the cooler. Don't over engineer it, a solar wax melter is just a hot box with the melted wax getting filtered.

[GSF]

I used two supers, a pan of water, glass, and a screen. It was laughable - but it worked.

[JConnolly]

I use an old ice chest and a piece of plexiglass.  I clothes pin a couple of coffee filters over a couple of disposable aluminum pans, load them up with a pile of cappings and salvaged wax and put them in the ice chest and just set it out in the yard in the morning with the plexiglass over it.  By dinner time I have clean wax and the coffee filters have all the slumgum that I can just throw away.

Late in the fall or early spring set a couple of 2x4s under the north side of the ice chest to angle it into the sun.  This decreases your ability to pile wax high on the coffee filters like you can in the summer.

Its not very sophisticated.  In fact, it is downright simple and uncomplicated, but it works really well.

[little john]

Here is the one Imade. I need to rebuild it due to weather wear.
john
http://www.beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=39457.msg332303#msg332303

Nice one.  That's pretty-much the size of the one I'm building right now - I'll be including a removable Hot Air Gun (for when the sun doesn't shine - which is most of the time over here) - and I'm planning 2 stages of filtration inside the box as well.  But then - I always tend to over-engineer things ...
LJ

[Acebird]

I used two supers, a pan of water, glass, and a screen. It was laughable - but it worked.

I had a small amount to do so I used one super put heavy duty foil over the top and pushed it down into a parabolic funnel then poked a small hole in the center.  Put brood comb and some wax bits on top and then a piece of glass and laid it flat on a table.  Underneath the hole was a dish.  It makes a stalagmite because it doesn't get as hot under the foil.  Most of the junk stays on top of the foil.  So basically you can make a more durable one using aluminum flashing or a wood structure lined with foil.

[Mark Smith]

Thank you for all the comments. I have a lot of wax to melt down as I regress my bees to small cell.

[stanisr]

I use an old cooler, a piece of plexiglass, and a Mr. coffee coffee maker. Spray paint the inside of the cooler black, place the coffee maker inside, fill the filter with a large ball of wax, place the plexiglas over the top, and place in the sun. Clean wax will filter into the carafe and simply pout into your mold.