Author Topic: My New Wax Melter!!!  (Read 7325 times)

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Offline riverbee

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My New Wax Melter!!!
« on: August 25, 2017, 06:28:00 pm »
i just picked this up last week! pretty cool! no more multiple double boilers on the stove top melting wax and my kitchen a mess of wax!  i thought about presto's but went with this stainless steel  unit. it holds 4 quarts. i wanted a 6 quart, but cha-ching, a custom build, another 100 bucks.  in reality, for the amount of wax i melt down in a day and molds i pour for candles in a day, this will work for me.







for you techie types on details (from the manufacturer):

"constructed with a multiple-circuit, blanket-type heating element which is uniformly applied around the crucible. The result is TOTALLY uniform heat – NO hot spots, cold spots or overheating.  Temperature controls start the heating element for a quick heat up.

 18 gauge stainless steel crucible
 20 gauge stainless steel shell
 Cover: loose; aluminum with heat-resistant knob
 2” fiberglass insulation
 Multiple-circuit, blanket-type heater for uniform heat
 Heated long-life, no-drip ball valve dispenser
 6’ power cord


also i chose 120 volt but can get with 240.  one can also add a digital electronic temperature control, but i did not need this (just tells you what the temp is on the inside). if i set to 160 dF this is what the unit will heat it to and no more.  can also check with a thermometer. 
i pour candles between 155 and 160 dF.

i have yet to melt wax in it yet, the only thing i am going to do is swap out the 3/4" elbow for  a 3/4" hose barb (or smaller) to reduce the flow otherwise i think i might be wearing wax or my floor will be............... :D

what do ya all think?
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Offline Wandering Man

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #1 on: August 25, 2017, 06:30:43 pm »
I think you'll miss those nice, freshly waxed floors.

But otherwise, way cool!   :yes:
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Offline tedh

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2017, 06:45:04 pm »
Where'd you get it and how much, if I may ask?
Share that which you have an abundance of.  In doing so both the giver and receiver are enriched.

Offline Perry

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #3 on: August 25, 2017, 06:56:38 pm »
My Presto came with an elbow as well, it was the first thing to go. You need to be able to get the flow started by inserting a skewer or something, and an elbow doesn't allow it.
Very nice! :)
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Offline riverbee

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2017, 09:41:38 pm »
wm, i will not miss cleaning the wax off the kitchen floor (tile) from double boiling wax on the stove. problem is, wax gets tracked throughout the house and onto the oak floors adjacent to the kitchen. and wherever else....... :D i have to clean up the kitchen and stove cuz i'm the one that is the chief cook, before i can prepare dinner if i need the stove. and clean up the floor. (i grill outdoors a lot to avoid cleaning kitchen when candle making)  i have used some sort of stuff on the floor to cover it, but still manage to get wax wherever......... :D  just a hazard of candle making........and i am not messy!........ :D

ted, these are made by riteheet, out of fridley, minnesota.  website: 

RiteHeet
mine is the vsr model of wax melters. no problem about cost, this was $534.00. no shipping, as i was able to pick it up.

perry, the elbow is GUARANTEED not to gum up with wax, and no skewer or poking around to get it to flow.  i am told once the unit heats up the ball valve does as well as does the elbow; something to do with how the unit heats up. i questioned the manufacturer on this.  said i would bring it back if it did.......lol.......

i just need to swap it out to reduce the flow of wax coming out.
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Offline CBT

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #5 on: August 25, 2017, 09:50:28 pm »
Looks great Riverbee. You will be a candle expert in no time.

Offline riverbee

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #6 on: August 25, 2017, 10:41:02 pm »
thanks cbt, been messing with candles for some years with double boilers on the stove, all 4 burners going..........

was getting tired of it and the mess.  go to fix dinner and a burner would crackle up on fire boiling tators or noodles or whatever!  and my better half did not like it if he was cooking on the stove and a burner lit up from some wax i missed ............. :D

btw, i am a former fire investigator....... :D :D :laugh: 
geez i would get some razzing about this!
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Offline apisbees

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #7 on: August 26, 2017, 01:15:10 pm »
The ball valve will control the wax flow only open it a little bit. whether the wax will solidify next to the ball valve depends on heat transfer. This is influenced by the heat of wax above the melting point. You get the wax hot enough it will keep the wax next to the ball liquid When holding the wax a just a few deg. above melting point the wax can solidify next to the cooler valve. I use a heat gun to apply heat to the valve melting the wax next to the valve before pouring. This allows me to have full control of the wax flow, not having the flow speed up as the hot wax melts the solid wax at the valve.
Honey Judge, Beekeeping Display Coordinator, Armstrong Fair and Rodeo.
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Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #8 on: August 26, 2017, 07:07:15 pm »
riverbee, that's a thing of beauty!
So, do you have to wash the wax, filter it and then put in the wax melter?
What are you going to make first?

Offline CBT

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #9 on: August 26, 2017, 07:13:27 pm »
That reminds me of when our soap and candle making shop caught fire. That was really hard on the firefighters. And a mess to boot.

Offline riverbee

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #10 on: August 27, 2017, 12:20:43 pm »
"The ball valve will control the wax flow only open it a little bit. whether the wax will solidify next to the ball valve depends on heat transfer. This is influenced by the heat of wax above the melting point. You get the wax hot enough it will keep the wax next to the ball liquid When holding the wax a just a few deg. above melting point the wax can solidify next to the cooler valve. I use a heat gun to apply heat to the valve melting the wax next to the valve before pouring. This allows me to have full control of the wax flow, not having the flow speed up as the hot wax melts the solid wax at the valve."

keith thanks. the wax in the melter for pouring candles will not be heated above 160 dF(71 c). ideal temps i pour wax are between 159-160 dF. the only time i might heat a little bit higher is to filter dirty wax so that it runs through filtering material without solidifying on top of the material. (and not beyond 180) i don't want discoloration of the wax because of high heat.
i was told by the manufacturer that the valve is heated or stays heated, and they advertise as such.  i do have a heat gun.   i guess i will find out when i run wax through it and thank you very much for the info.

i have some questions, keith or anyone, i don't do plumbing and i am not a 'flow engineer'.......

the valve is 3/4" as is the right angle brass elbow (the pour spout) and a little flared at the bottom:





i ran water through it, i realize water is not wax, but it is liquid and will follow the same path?
this is with the valve open a little:



open half way:



fully open, it gushes, not practical for hot wax:



either goes from funky trickles to gushing out.  the manufacturer said i could swap the right elbow out for a 3/4" right angle hose barb, (smaller at the end).

what i am looking for is a smoother consistent flow, how would i achieve this? or just remove the r angle and forget the hose barb?

baker's when i get the flow thing figured out i am going to melt some wax and filter it off that i didn't have time to run through the solar melter, then candles.  i wash all my wax in the spring (5 gallon pail; paint strainer and garden hose) then run through the solar unit to filter off junk. i get pretty clean wax. so now i will just throw the clean bricks/chunks in the melter. i will use a large candle pitcher to pour the wax into and final filter with fine nylon material over the pitcher. then set that on the stove (double boiler) style, then pour candles.  i like to final filter with the fine material, because i don't like problems with candle wicks not burning properly.  ;D

cbt a wax fire? holy smokes, no pun intended....... ;D
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Offline apisbees

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #11 on: August 27, 2017, 01:06:01 pm »
Hot wax is lighter than water and is thinner and will be worse than water for spraying out.
As the valve opens the way it is situated, it channels the wax towards the top of the elbow
to control it to a smaller more defined stream I would thread in a brass (3/4" MIP to 1/2" Pex adapter) in the end of the elbow
Honey Judge, Beekeeping Display Coordinator, Armstrong Fair and Rodeo.
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Offline riverbee

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #12 on: August 27, 2017, 10:03:53 pm »
keith thanks, what if i were to just remove the right angle elbow/faucet altogether and replace it ) with the 3/4" MIP to 1/2" Pex adapter (to screw into the ball valve)?

i had to look this up, and pix of this, and what your are saying makes sense!

i did not know hot wax was lighter than water? thanks! also as you said the water is being channeled towards the top of the elbow, makes sense! thanks!
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Offline apisbees

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #13 on: August 28, 2017, 07:14:12 am »
Which floats on top water or wax? You knew this It is just you never thought of it in this way. I posted drawing of how the valve opens and how the wax has to exit out the ball valve when it is partially opened. If you remove the elbow and connect the MIT to PEX adapter to the valve, you will have wax stay in the outlet side of the valve.

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Offline riverbee

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #14 on: August 29, 2017, 12:22:31 am »
keith you are the best in the west!!! 

"Which floats on top water or wax? You knew this It is just you never thought of it in this way."

lol, i are a beekeeper and i are college edjucated................ :D :D :D  yes, you are right and i didn't think about it as you said!.......DOH!!!....... :P
too funny!

thanks for the drawing!  lol, when i first looked up the adapter, i came across pex r elbow adapters and couldn't figure out why you would have me connect this...........then i realized, doh, i was looking at the wrong adapter! 

lol, anyway off to the hardware store this afternoon and purchased the adapter you suggested.........WOOT!!!!  this is what i was looking for as far as reducing/controlling the flow with a more defined stream.  thank you very much! 

the hardware guys (they know me....lol!) also gave me parts/option to remove the existing elbow and replace to reduce the flow to 1/2 ".  they were quite interested in the melter, and i sold some honey in the process!

thank you very much keith and will post pix when i get a chance!
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Offline riverbee

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #15 on: September 19, 2017, 12:01:12 am »
first run on this wax melter a couple weeks ago and with the modification pex adapter keith suggested (thanks keith!)

i melted down some cruddy wax in it and ran it through a milk carton filtered with old t-shirt material and paper towel on top:
pex adapter on, getting ready to run the wax through:



valve barely open (controlled just enough to allow wax to filter through the material to the carton) pretty cool!:



right angle adapter i might swap out ? not going to fix what ain't broke right now.......... :D



the wax melter is excellent! heats quickly to desired temp within 15-20 minutes and melts all the wax (depending on how much wax i place in it) within 20 to 30 to 40 minutes and at what temp i set. adding additional wax to melt is very fast!  i will be able to really kick out the candles now! and/or filter dirty wax quickly.

there is no clogging of hardened wax past the ball valve.......no wax past the outlet side of the valve! no need for a heat gun.

looking forward to getting candles made in less time and less mess in my kitchen! 

this melter is awesome! 

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Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #16 on: September 20, 2017, 05:34:38 am »
That's great, river!  I look forward to seeing pictures of your candles.   

Offline Mikey N.C.

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #17 on: September 24, 2017, 09:49:33 am »
River, maybe dumb Q, but how do you end up with so much wax ?

Offline apisbees

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #18 on: September 24, 2017, 06:41:36 pm »
OH,OH,OH... I can answer that! she only runs 8 frames in a 10 super hive so the wax and cells extend way out past the top bars.
On she buys wax also some of which needs additional cleaning. thus the need for a better way to melt wax. Move it out of the kitchen and onto the work bench.
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Offline riverbee

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Re: My New Wax Melter!!!
« Reply #19 on: September 25, 2017, 12:31:38 am »
"That's great, river!  I look forward to seeing pictures of your candles."   

thanks bakers, my candles cover a couple basics, tealights and votives. i also make dixie cup votives! lol, they are larger than the normal votive molds one can purchase from any beekeeping supply company. so easy and just the cost of a box of dixie cups and some wick pins.  i also have a beehive skep votive, and two beehive pillar type candles that sell well, and sometimes can't keep up with orders for these, so i am starting early. all of my molds are one piece silicone and are handmade in canada. well, except for the dixie cups!......... :D 
the skep/pillar molds are unlike any other molds one can purchase in the united states.  i thought i had posted pix of some of these finished candles, but think i posted them in packages, so will post pix of the finished candles when i get there!

last spring i asked him if he would be interested in producing a mold for me to 'reproduce' uco type candles to fit uco brand candle/candilier lantern; similar but not the same.  uco is a brand name better known in the camping, backpacking world for uco gear/brand candle lanterns.  the candles made for the lanterns can also be used as emergency candles.  i have used these lanterns/candles for years, for camping, travel, emergency lighting and on the deck. actually used a couple lanterns this weekend for a campfire on the river even though i love coleman lanterns . the uco gear beeswax candles sell for 12 bucks in a 3 pack. i thought i could maybe hit two markets with this.  i could sell these candles to folks who have these lanterns, cover the emergency candle buyers, and most of all keep my own supply on hand without paying amazon, cabellas or rei (outdoor supplier/outfitter)......... :D

he has made these molds for me and i will be receiving them this week!

"River, maybe dumb Q, but how do you end up with so much wax ?"

mikey, this is not a dumb question. for many years i harvested wax and did nothing with it. just hoarded it and stored it. when i became interested in what do i do with all this wax and making candles/lip balm i had a very generous supply of years worth of wax. lip balm takes very little wax, candles  a great deal of wax.  as i started making candles and selling them, the wax supply ran short and i supplemented/supplement my wax supply with trading with other keeps for something or purchasing wax.

"she only runs 8 frames in a 10 super hive so the wax and cells extend way out past the top bars.
On she buys wax also some of which needs additional cleaning. thus the need for a better way to melt wax. Move it out of the kitchen and onto the work bench."


keith is correct and astute as to how i super my hives!  i do run 8 frames instead of 10 frames in a honey super. these frames are very thick with wax/honey. i use a maxant plane when i uncap honey frames and in the past run the plane and uncapped wax to the level of the frame or equal to the frame face (hope this made sense?), like you would if using a knife, just follow the frame with the knife to uncap.  what i do now is to just barely run that maxant plane to uncap the honey (the plane depth is adjustable), so the result is less wax i harvest BUT less wax the bees have to rebuild/draw out and more time spent making honey. 

mikey, when my candle sales really took off, i knew i wouldn't have enough of my own wax to meet demand, and i didn't/don't want to lose sales or customers, so i purchase/have purchased wax to supplement what i do have from my own bees. i have run out of trades, all my trades are now hoarding wax for candle-making and lip balm recipes i have given them........... :D





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