Author Topic: Processing large amounts of beeswax  (Read 2116 times)

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Offline TheFuzz

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Processing large amounts of beeswax
« on: July 27, 2021, 07:09:15 pm »
Hello, I have 21 buckets of unprocessed beeswax back from the days I did crush and strain method. Here's a photo of two of them:

https://postimg.cc/rzWj2Lv1

I have three buckets like the one on the left, I had cooked that down in the past and let it set in the bucket. I don't know how I can get that wax out since it's pretty solid and stuck in the bucket. Most of the buckets are like the one on the right. One of the buckets currently has live wax moth living inside it.

I don't have any equipment to process this beeswax, I'm going to need to buy some things.

I'm a bit confused when reading about it, it seems like people have different methods to processing beeswax.

Can anyone provide a good method on how to go about processing such a large amount of beeswax, and what instruments I'll need to buy. I can't seem to buy very large second hand pots and then brand new large stainless steel pots are quite expensive.

Offline iddee

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Re: Processing large amounts of beeswax
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2021, 05:11:04 am »
I would build a solar wax melter like one of these.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Plans+for+a+solar+wax+melter&t=brave&ia=web
You didn't collect all that in one or two days, and I wouldn't try tp melt them all that quickly.
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Offline Zweefer

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Processing large amounts of beeswax
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2021, 06:06:35 pm »
Agreed with iddee on the wax melter.
To get the wax out of the buckets, I would boil some water and pour it in to melt the wax. As a bonus it should also kill the wax moth. The wax and water will separate, leaving the water on the bottom to cool. Once cooled, the wax cake should be a bit smaller and with the water underneath it, much easier to pop out of the bucket.
Good luck!


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« Last Edit: July 28, 2021, 06:08:32 pm by Zweefer »
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Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: Processing large amounts of beeswax
« Reply #3 on: July 29, 2021, 09:51:17 am »
I think Zweefer might be on the right track by boiling water.  It looks like there is a lot of honey still in that wax so you may have to do the boiling water repeatedly.  I am not sure you are going to be able to melt the entire bucket in one try.  You may have to divide and conquer.  What ever you do, remember wax is highly flammable.