RANT on wax coated plastic foundation

[Bill Murray]

Normally I never buy prewaxed plastic foundation. But at one of the big box stores frames were on sale and I was in need. Frames with said foundation arrived, opened it up and it definitely needed another coat. But when I dipped them, something seemed I would say funky, wax wasnt sticking to the foundation like it should. after about 12 to 15 pieces I noticed an oil sheen on the top of the beeswax in the pot. I dipped about 250 and gave up. When the wax cake that was left in the pot cooled, I dont even have words to describe the color and or consistency.

I never understood why people were always complaining about not being able to get wax drawn, having problems, wax being stripped, etc. etc. I dont know what they are being coated with that people are PAYING for, but there is no way in my personal opinion that those foundations had even the slightest bit of BEESWAX on them.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Bill

 

[BeeMaster2]

Bill,
Did any of the frames end up with a wax coating?
I wonder if some company, now a beekeeper, decided to make the plastic frames and not knowing, used paraffin wax.
I wonder if you cleaned off the junk on top of the wax if it would coat them now that you melted what ever was on them.
Jim Altmiller

[Bill Murray]

Jim, the people selling this stuff know exactly whats on them. and I retract saying not the slightest bit. maybe 5% and 95% who knows. Happy 4th by the way

[Ben Framed]

Bill it would be highly improbable that you are the only one who has experienced this problem. Have you done any research seeking more information about this? And thanks for posting this important revelation.

[Bill Murray]

No, exactly none. And see no reason to. And being as im not the only one to experience this problem, I guess its not an important revelation. But I understand the problems people deal with a little more now. I find it almost a crime that they sell this stuff.

[Ben Framed]

I find it almost a crime that they sell this stuff.

If it?s not beeswax and they are advertising as it is, then it may very well be a crime. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Lesgold]

Was the foundation locally made or was it imported? Standards seem to vary from country to country.

[Bill Murray]

Les , it is what it is. and to be honest dont know. I just had to vent because I thought it would be saving time at the price. But as stated, I now realize some of the problems Im asked about, and probably really didnt totally understand due to not using pre-waxed.

[Ben Framed]

Last time I checked 'Don The Fat Bee Man' melts his wax from his combs which are from beeswax foundation frames, each year. After x number of years beekeeping, I am beginning to understand the reasoning as well as certain advantages of it..

(Nothing to do with plastic except we could buy plastic foundation wax-less and possibly dip or coat our own naked plastic frames ourselves; thus the added insurance of knowing 'exactly' what was on our frames. REAL-100 percent natural BEESWAX.


In his case he embosses the raw wax back into real bees wax foundation, starting fresh each season.

Phillip

[Lesgold]

I do the same. I would not want to buy beeswax foundation in the future due to the chemical build up that is likely to occur. I was told a couple of days ago that the market price for Australian beeswax is likely to crash due to the possibility of contamination. Our beeswax has been a popular commodity around the world as it has always been relatively clean and pure. The negative impact has been the high price beekeepers have to pay for foundation due to its value. I think that quite a few hobby beekeepers will transition to foundationless frames due to these facts. I do use some plastic foundation but have always dipped or rolled my own wax onto them. The commercial frames don?t have much of a coating anyway and unless you are in build up or are on a good flow, they can be problematic. I wonder if you could soak those frames in hot detergent water and then give them a quick blast with a pressure washer. I?m not sure that I?d want to put them into hives in their present condition.

[Bill Murray]

except we could buy plastic foundation wax-less and possibly dip or coat our own naked plastic frames ourselves

And that is what I have always done, and never had the issues I was always hearing about. The oil slick that came off those foundations was quite amazing though.

I have used medium beeswax coated frames from a different supplier for a long time, never had an issue, thats why I was kind of shocked.

I am thinking a plant-based wax though. If I really get motivated I may try one at different water temps and see when it releases. Probably not though I think I learned a lesson.

[Ben Framed]

Im disappointed that a bee supply company would sell what you described to beekeepers.