P-O Gustafsson commenting on the Thomas Fondoir mentioned that whilst
having a similar piece of apparatus, the double skinned heating
container did not use oil as a temperature of more than 100°C was not
needed.

>From my experience, an oil temperature of 85°C is sufficient to cause
separation of wax and honey - with the mix reaching around 45°C.

Also, using oil, there is no problem with water vapour drifting around
the honey house.
Oil also reduces problems of liquid expansion.

Alan,
comments relating to debris from comb:
It must be realised that this "fondoir" is designed for honey/wax
separation during comb honey extraction.
The amount of debris is minimal, and that which does occur is easily
removed with a fine sieve like spoon.
I agree, melting down old wax from frames would not be sensible.

Since the apparatus was never designed for such use, any resulting claim
against fire/damage would not be covered by building insurance.

Sure, spinners remove honey from wax in a clean way, but one is left
with the wax to deal with.
Also, on the Canola crop, when the honey is starting to crystallize, as
it often does under certain flow conditions, this is removed from the
wax efficiently.

As for start up time - one removes most of the honey at the end of the
extracting period, then the oil is left to run at a temperature of 40°C.

Heat loss is minimal due to the insulation.

Agreed, it is not perfect, but what is?

Would be interesting to see how it would run with slabs of uncapped
material rather than the hash that results from the chain flail
uncapper!

Peter