beeswax candle wicks

[brooksbeefarm]

I melt cappings in a elc. pot,pour it through #8 hardware cloth with screen wire under it into 4x4 plastic containers i buy at the Dollar store and let it set up. I then remelt it, pour it through the big type coffee strainer onto doubled nylon curtain material into a clean plastic container. I don't separate the dark and light cappings when i melt them, so that may be the problem, but some of it does turn out a bright yellow??? Jack
PS. never tried using Bounty papertowels? do they stay together and not cake up before the wax sets up?

[apisbees]

River bee is filtering the wax thru the paper towel and cloth in the solar wax melter so the temp in it will keep the  wax molten while it is straining so she doesn't get the caking up that happens when filtering in a cooler place where the wax will solidify.
I have used a heat gun to keep heat on the wax to keep it liquid and flowing. You could do it in a oven turn to the lowest setting and the oven door cracked open a bit. An aluminum beer can will work to prop open the oven door.
Off topic But I encourage you to enter fairs and honey competitions. Preparing Wax
The Fair is coming up in 2 weeks and when preparing a bloke of wax to exhibit shrinking and cracks in the wax will result in lower marks. To reduce this from happening you want to slow down the solidification. When you have pored the wax into the mold place the wax in a preheated oven close the door and turn the oven off, the oven will allow the wax to slowly cool.

[brooksbeefarm]

Thanks apis, but i have been barred from the kitchen for making Fondant for several years now I keep thinking she will forget , but she hasn't yet . I see what your saying about constant heat, makes since. Thanks, Jack

[apisbees]

Thanks apis, but i have been barred from the kitchen for making Fondant for several years now I keep thinking she will forget , but she hasn't yet . I see what your saying about constant heat, makes since. Thanks, Jack

Still laughing! He talks so tough at times but now we know he is afraid of the little woman.
 I have to start when she not at home to protest and then get the it had better be clean when your done speech. I bought a 8 cup Pyrex measuring cup to use with/for my bees. It was new clean and the misses would use it. I needed to scoop some wax one day so I used it. Then I get into hot water because I wrecked her measuring cup. I had to remind her who's measuring cup it was and what it was bought for.

Still laughing!

Then I had to go out and by her a new one.

Not laughing quite so hard! Been there!

[brooksbeefarm]

Well i'm still the king and my home is a castle . who ever heard of the king cooking anyway.  Jack

[iddee]

A castle without a kitchen. That's a new one.   

[riverbee]

"I melt cappings in a elc. pot,pour it through #8 hardware cloth with screen wire under it into 4x4 plastic containers i buy at the Dollar store and let it set up. I then remelt it, pour it through the big type coffee strainer onto doubled nylon curtain material into a clean plastic container. I don't separate the dark and light cappings when i melt them, so that may be the problem, but some of it does turn out a bright yellow??? Jack
PS. never tried using Bounty papertowels? do they stay together and not cake up before the wax sets up?"

jack, it may just be the color of your wax, or you could try a 3rd straining. i do separate the light from the dark, and i also wash the wax clean.  i was recently given about 3 or 4 pounds of wax a beek friend of mine gave me.  all she does is throw it in a boiling pot of water.  it was pretty brown.  i sent it through the solar unit twice and it came out a pretty nice light yellow.  also, i do use the paper towel as i described for filtering small amounts of wax when i am not using the solar unit.  for you, with a lot of wax to filter, this probably isn't practical because it will cake up.  with the small amounts i sometimes have, the paper towel collects the fine brown gunk and filters through just fine, and if i have a little more, i just use another piece.  how much wax do you melt and filter at a time jack?

[brooksbeefarm]

I don't know how many pounds? After i extract, i take the cappings and scatter them out on a tray (a big flat square pan) and set it out for the girls to clean up, usually 3 or 4 days. Sometimes it rains on them and they will turn a gray looking color, i will then dry them out before i melt them. I will put all i can get in a crock pot at a time to melt down. I don't wash them after the bees clean them up, maybe thats what i'm doing wrong? Jack

[Lburou]

I've been using the solar melter and paper towel as well.  The wax goes into a flexible baking  pan like THIS.  I peel the pan away from the wax block.  It is easy, and  has worked well.  Amazon has these flexible pans in many sizes and shapes, one size or another is bound to make it easy for you too.  :-)

Apologies tedh, if I've helped hijack your thread.  :-)

[tedh]

No problems Lburou!  I'm learning alot!  My lack of experiance means I'm also unsure of what questions to ask.  I see now that wicks are just one part of the questions and solutions needing to be addressed when making candles.  Perhaps a change of title reflecting the "broader how to" of candle making would be appropriate. Other than that, I say, "hijack away!".  Ted

[tedh]

Here's some pics of what we have so far.











I didn't like the way the candles sat with the little wick holder on the bottom (wobbles) so originally omitted them.  Yeah, that's a mistake.  Without the little wick holders, when the candle is all a melted pool of wax, the wick just falls over!  So, after a few attempts, we ended up with a total of 8 candles.  Ted

[LazyBkpr]

Yep, need the little metal wick holders!

   I sometimes melt three or four times running the wax through the cheese cloth, the secret is scraping the stuff off the bottom of the cake of wax each time.
   I think the wife used a coffee filter for the final melt but I will have to ask her..
   In Maine now, happy to see we have internet out here at the camp.. moving UP in the world!
   Blueberry harvest is in full swing, and I have an IN for pollinating.........  But thats another story for a different thread!

[Perry]

Really nice looking candles Ted.
So you're in Maine LB? Wonder how close you are to me?

[riverbee]

nice lookin' candles ted!

[tedh]

Lit a candle last night and timed it.  Got a seven hour burn! For such a small candle I'm impressed!  We have one super and a few frames to extract, when Lazy returns, and hoping for more wax.  I have an Advent Wreath I like to use for the Christmas Season.  I'd like to be able to make four 1 1/2" X 9" pillar candles to put on it.

On a side note:  Everyone wants to know what scent I'm adding to my 100% pure beeswax candles!  I'm speechless!  Ted

[LazyBkpr]

Were in Blue Hill Maine Perry, I am thinking its still another four or five hours to the Canadian border from here.