Worldwide Beekeeping
Beekeeping => Beekeeping 101 => Topic started by: ledifni on November 11, 2014, 08:04:54 pm
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Here's what I did this weekend :)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs28.postimg.cc%2Fe6esz5rnt%2F20141111_184301.jpg&hash=2407f5f1dbe38250da915820ccf15b282f5f6de2) (http://postimg.cc/image/e6esz5rnt/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs30.postimg.cc%2F4pw938jsd%2F20141111_184315.jpg&hash=e5fbb671b43542f582274139b474d118e3c995e0) (http://postimg.cc/image/4pw938jsd/)
I know it's nothing new to most of you, but I'm pretty excited about my first rendered beeswax and I thought I'd post up pics. This is from all the spare comb I couldn't use from the hive I just combined with my original hive. It's been melted and strained twice and it looks nearly pure.
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Looks good. You did a good job getting clean wax
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I have a bunch of wax in the freezer, some of it is real dirty, like bees still stuck in it. Maybe I'll make it a winter project :)
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looks great led!
what was your method to melt and strain?
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looks good!
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Well, first step was to pack all the wax down into a saucepan and add enough water to cover the wax. I boiled it for about an hour, then poured the whole mess through four layers of window screening, which filtered out all the big chunks of crud. Once the liquid cooled I had some (very dirty) water and a semi-clean wax patty.
The second round, I replaced the dirty water with fresh water, boiled it just until the wax melted, then poured it through the window screening again. At that point the only non-wax material left in the water was fine dirt which seemed to naturally sink to the bottom of the wax layer, so I kept it over low heat for about fifteen minutes just to let it settle, then let the whole thing cool again.
The final wax patty was just like you see except there was a thin layer of settled dirt on the underside, which I scraped off with a knife. What was left was nice and clean.
I hear that a lot of people use pantyhose or old t-shirts for the final straining, but I didn't see the need. Melting it in water twice was enough to get the pure wax to rise to the top without impurities. I'm sure it could be a bit more pure but it doesn't *look* dirty which is really all I care about :)
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I will take a photo of tshirt strained wax to show you what it does.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs27.postimg.cc%2F5bnk62mwf%2FIMG_20141112_01004.jpg&hash=9272b5542dc4a30e02b7bba53393ba1408221366) (http://postimg.cc/image/5bnk62mwf/)
solar wax melter, thru window screen then tshirt, drops into metal bowl of water. melter: old Deep hive spray painted black, storm window on top, screen from a dead flatscreen underneath, set it in the garden and forget about it...I think there is a grill or something over the bowl of water, will have to bring mine in in the next few days.
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Hey Led! What are you going to do with your wax?
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Wax my mustache, of course :)
If I have any left over after that, I suppose I'll make candles with it.
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pretty neat idea! I don't have a moustache so I think I might make candles or lip balm with mine.
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I burn candles a lot so that's the route for me ~
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I buy candles and forget to burn them. Got the lip balm kit from Dadant for that miraculous but yet to arrive day when I have time to do something creative.
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I love candles in the winter, helps with seasonal thing. I forget to blow them out, so I get candles that are in the jar, or votives in a clear bowl so if I forget they just burn down. I would make voltive candles for me. I love the scent of burning beeswax candles.