wax proceesing question

[rober]

even after running wax thru my solar melter multiple times there was always some honey still left in the wax. bought a conical grease filter rack that can sit on a bucket. I run the wax thru a paper filter in the rack & the wax falls into a bucket of water. sometimes though there are still some slight traces of honey or some unnamed substance. any tips on getting wax clean without having to use so many steps?

[CBT]

The more times you filter the better it gets

[efmesch]

When melting the wax in a solar wax extractor, you should always have some water in the collecting container.  That way, as the melted wax drips into the water, the honey that comes with it dissolves in the water and separates from the wax.  If left in the extractor for a long time, the water evaporates and the honey gets reconcentrated beneath the wax. [The "honey water" can be fed to the bees if you wish.]  Scrape off the bottom of the wax cake (where it rested on the water) to remove particles of dirt that have accumulated there. This wax can be run through the extractor again.  One or two cycles should be enough to get a nice clean wax, but even if not enough. running wax through a solar wax extractor a few more times still isn't too much of an effort. Besides, exposure to the sun's rays helps to bleach the wax and you get a nice light colored wax.

[rober]

in my solar  melter the wax sits in a stainless strainer with a filter in it. the wax falls onto an angled stainless baking sheet & runs down into a stainless pan full of water. even after 4 times i'm still getting traces of honey. so now after running it thru the solar melter twice I heat it in a pan & pour it thru the conical grease filter in the photo where it drops into a bucket of water. at that point it is 99% clean so I run it thru that process a 2nd time. I was just wondering if there was a 1 or 2 step process that would work. I have one buyer that wants clean wax.

[efmesch]

It sounds like you're doing everything right. I'm sorry to say that I don't have any suggestions that would improve your results.  Maybe your customer is looking for a level of purity that can't be attained without laboratory equipment and techniques.

[rober]

I have gotten it as clean as they need it to be. as I said I'm hoping to find a way to shorten the process. this is a herbal shop. they have lemon grass oil for 14.00 an ounce. 2 years ago it 15.00 for 2 ounces. I think being discovered by beekeepers ( I did not tell them ) created a new market that they took advantage of. there are 3 places locally that sell it that are getting 19.00- 37.00 per ounce. the 37.00 source is a beekeeping supply shop.
back in the 70's there was a real live herbal apothecary here in St Louis. you went in for a consultation & he'd mix a an herbal remedy. I was harvesting some herbs & selling them to him.

[riverbee]

rober,
the paper filter is too course to remove honey or other small debris.
you will have to use a 5 micron filter bag, and probably for a final filter a 1 micron bag.

i too use a solar wax melter, but late in the season can't use it and if i have to supplement my own wax, sometimes purchased wax is not always debris/honey free. because i make candles dirty wax causes a lot headaches and messing around.  the best advice i received from a chandler was to filter wax initially through a 5 micron filter bag and then final filter through a 1 micron bag.  you may not need the 1 micron.

i did purchase a wax melter this past fall, i also want to purchase a turkey fryer, if i can find one, masterbuilt surf and turf.  if anyone comes across one of these please let me know.

i had to purchase wax from my supplier this year and it was full of honey. i was not happy. i did the old fashioned method on the stove top. what a pita.
i came across a video that was helpful plus the advice from the chandler. i took the wax melter i purchased, put the wax in, poured water over it, til the base was about 1/4 full i guess, then heated, and strained like this video shows. i want the turkey fryer so i am not doing this on the stove (these folks made their own pot) and the fryer would hold more wax than my unit does and i can use my unit for a final filter through 1 micron. the filters are a bit spendy, but worth the result.

[efmesch]

Riverbee says: "i too use a solar wax melter, but late in the season can't use it."

Ef adds:   I discovered a neat way to extend the solar wax melter season---prop up mirrors around the melter and direct the sunlight into it.  As the sun moves across the sky you may have to adjust the mirrors' directions, but they can do a good job increasing the heat and the melting that goes on inside.   

[riverbee]

thank you ef!

i think for myself by the end of the season i am done messing with the solar unit and the sun is too low. it gets too chilly here and temps fluctuate up and down and cloud cover does not help. not sure that mirrors would help me..........you have more energy and ingenuity than me to figure this out!..........