> > I've been rendering some of my bees wax lately, and making
> >candles, lip balm etc. Some of the wax is nice and light colored while
> >some is really fairly dark i.e. dirt colored. I use Hydrogen Peroxide to
> >help purify and settle some of the contaminates. This works well but
> >doesn't really bleach it...like the color of cappings during a strong
> >flow. Does any one know of a good home remedy to bleach bees wax?
> >
> > Ann
>
> In my first attempt to render cappings last year I used boiling water.
> This left me with brown wax and a nearly imposible cleanup job. The brown
> wax also lost that wonderfull beeswax arroma.
>
> This year I'm using a solar melter to render the cappings. The cappings
> were washed in cold water to remove the honey. About 3/4ths of the
> cappings broke up into individual wax scales which were separated from the
> wash with a 1/6 inch nylon mesh. (1/4 inch mesh may be preferable) The
> non-cap wax including burr comb and chewed wax was left in larger pieces
> that didn't pass through ther mesh. I drained and air dried the scales and
> loaded them in the top of the solar melter. The sugars and contaminates
> still attached to the wax carmelized and stuck in the top of the melter
> while the clear wax flowed off. The wax still has it's natural yellow
> color and arroma.
>
>
> -- Dan Oetting <[log in to unmask]>
>
WaxCleaning 6sep95 <beeswax>
FOR LIGHT BEESWAX:
use cappings only from
newly-drawn comb.
The easiest way to clean cappings. ,
(If there is an easier way,
please send cable.)
1. Feed the cappings back to the bees
immediately.
I use a large galv wash
tub placed on top of a beehive (I have
21 hives as of the moment). Forget
about the boogey of robbing. W/in
24 hrs the caps will B bone dry.
2. Pick out all the dark caps
by hand. Pour the remainder into
a clean used nylon stocking.
Method: stretch the open end
over a #10 can (restaurant
size), which has both ends
removed.
3. Use bread wrapper ties
to close both ends. Cut
off the closed-end surplus.
4. Agitate the stuffed
nylon in a five-gal pail
of cold water, repeatedly
until the water comes out
clear.
5. Suspend nylon until
it drip dries (I help
by squeezing it first).
By the next day, it
shud B done.
6. Place nylon in
Solar Wax Melter -
the only way to purify
wax easily, simply,
mess-free, fast.
7. SWM preparation:
whole prodecure must
B spotlessly clean.
8. The large resting
pan, spotless, is covered w/
a sheet of freezer
wrap (which end down
doesn't matter). Note:
hardware cloth is NOT
used: totally unec.
9. The drip end of the
resting pan takes several
commercial size coffee
filters, sufficient for the
nylon to rest on. (If not
avail, use reg size:
just takes more of them.)
10. A six-inch milk filter
is placed at the pan opening,
bent 1/4 way up, thru
which the melted wax
will drip into
11. A collecting pan -
usually a spotless
one-pound loaf aluminum
bread pan. Note: I level
it w/ water for show
purposes.
12. Result: guaranteed
beautiful light block
beeswax (mine always
come in first at the
fairs: this year Howard
County Fair and at
State Fair, just ended
two days ago). One
year--forgive the
bragadoccio--it came
in first at all
seven honey shows
entered, including
the Eastern Apicultural
Society.
13. Use block wax for
whatever purpose: candles,
face cream, Xmas tree
ornaments, etcetera.
13. For pix and further
description, see
John Iannuzzi, "A Solar
Wax Melter for Backyard
Beekeepers: An easy &
inexpensive way of harvesting
honey when only a few
hives R involved" (Amer
BeeJournal (May '82,
324-326) and
John Iannuzzi, "Producing
Blue-Ribbon Wax: A dis-
cussion of the various
techniques use in purify-
ing beeswax--& the secret
behind winning," ABJ
(Jun '83, 438-439).
14. What have I missed?
Any queries?
Bonne chance!
Jack the B-man
in his 35th
consecutive year
*******************************
John Iannuzzi PhD *
Howard Honey Farms RR8 *
9772 Old Annapolis Rd *
Ellicott City (founded 1772) *
Maryland usa 21042 *
*******************************
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