RENDERING DOWN THE BEESWAX

[Lissa]

After collecting the honey I end up with a large amount of bees wax intermixed with honey and other stuff (the odd dead bee etc) which I don't want to waste.

I am currently using a messy method to render it down to pure beeswax on the stove top in a big pot. I melt it down gently (to avoid it bursting into flames!), remove it and scrape away as much sediment as I can, add it back to the pot with water and repeat the process until it's relatively pure and then sieve it through cheese type cloth.

My honey extractor looks like this:

I eventually end up with a nice looking product but the time it takes to achieve it is very off putting.

Sydney gardening friend Jeff has found this video showing how to use a solar oven (SOS Sports Oven specifically) to do the job neatly and easily.

Here is the video, only 6.5mins long and well worth a watch.

MELTING, PROCESSING & CLEANING BEESWAX CAPPINGS THE EASY WAY

 

[Elaine de Saxe]

What a ripper idea!

[Susanne]

Thanks Lissa,

I use the pictured caps melter to extract the last of my honey, this honey I only use for home..

It was made up from a purchased metal sheet with a bend and an orange shaped hole that I screwed into an old bee box then found a picture frame with glass to cover the box.

Then I take the wax inside and render it down removing the impurities through a paper towel. Was advised to use good quality paper towel so I do.

Now I'll look for a way to retain the heat underneath the cappings melter so I can use this box to second pass the wax, presently the wax is melting and dripping through but solidifying before passing through the stainless sieve.

Nothing is wasted as I now have a jar of leftover beeswaxed paper that make great fire starters for camp fires when my grandsons are over ;)

[Susanne]

Smaller photo

[Juggsy]

Oh wow this is brilliant. Like you, been doing the melt and seive (cheese strainer helps with this) but this method sounds interesting.

[Lissa]

I never did get around to building one. House and bees now a thing of my past :(

Hope you manage to make one for yourself and test it out.