Hello All,
My keyboard has been quiet for a while but I am still reading and enjoying
all the posts to the list.  I have been a member for the past 7 years.  To
any new members: Stick around you will surely learn a lot, and don't forget
to search the archives.  They are filled with a wealth of information on
just about any topic.

I process a fair amount of beeswax to be used for candles, ornaments, and
skin cream.  I melt well drained cappings in a solar wax melter (weather
permitting) or a Kelly wax melter.   Damaged or burr comb and some "older"
frames are also melted down in the solar wax melter.  These are first placed
in a nylon bag which will filter out some of the slumgum.  I don't try and
melt down old brood comb.  I just use them for fire starters.  Some will
argue this is a waste of wax, but with all the chemicals that have been used
in beekeeping for the past 10 years; I just don't want it.  After this first
pass the wax is somewhat clean but still may contain some honey and other
debris and needs filtering.

There are many different ways of filtering and preparing beeswax.  They all
require heating the beeswax so please be careful.  Hot splashing wax will
stick to your skin and cause a nasty burn or could come in contact with your
source of heat and cause a fire.  It is not necessary to get the wax very
hot.  You just want to melt it.

Some will filter the liquid wax through cotton cloth (old tee-shirt
material).  This probably works for small amounts but it maybe awkward and I
don't have that many old tee-shirts.  A fellow beekeeper and good friend
(Bill Mondjack, Whitehall, PA) put me on to a great method.  From a
restaurant equipment supply store I purchased a grease filter kit.  It
consists of a metal cone that holds disposable cone shaped filters.  It is
made to fit over container so it frees up your hands.  It will filter out
the smallest particles however hot honey will pass through.  The honey is in
the bottom of you melter along with most of the slum gum so I suggest using
a ladle to take the wax from the top to pour through the filter.  Depending
on how dirty the wax is to begin with the filter will clog with debris.  I
just let it cool and then remove any leftover unfiltered wax and throw it
back into the melter.  This will also happen if you go too slow and the wax
cools on the filter.  If there is a lot of wax in the filter, by placing it
in the melter you will be able to recover much of it.  I save the old  dirty
filters, they also make good firestarters.

The clean wax is then poured into bread loaf pans to cool.  I am left with
very clean wax bricks that are easy to handle.  The filter is a relative
inexpensive and quick way of filtering small batches (10 to 20 lbs.) and
works well in our system.

Good luck with the upcoming season, and to our friends on the southern side
of the big blue ball, I hope you supers are overflowing.

Ron Bogansky
Kutztown, (eastern) PA, USA



+