Hi ya'll and Walt,
 
The sun shines HOT in south Alabama so processing the salvaged wax from
old combs and cappings through a solar was melter is the natural choice
for my operation of about 75 hives.  Most of the wax runs through the
melter two times:
 
First time around I make no attempt to filter or clean the wax.  The goal
at this time is to get the volume down, a five gallon bucket of cappings
will yield enough wax to fill my catch pan, a plastic (rubbermaid) ice
cream freezer container.  The next morning when the wax has cooled the
flexibility of the container makes easy removal of the block. As the wax
collected in the catch pan 90% of the trash naturally settles to the
bottom.  Now I take the block and warm the bottom side in the sun, down
here 10 to 15 minutes is plenty.  My hive tool is the choice to 'cut' off
the bottom leaving the bulk of the wax.  The removed trash is collected
until I have a quantity and then all of it is returned to the beginning
of this process to reclaim any remaining wax.
 
The second trip through the solar melter is for cleaning.  The metal
sheet in the melter is covered with a piece of window screen to prevent
the block from sliding down and off as the bottom begins to melt.  The
filtering is done through 'panty hose' stretched over the catch pan,
don't stretch this filter too tight.  This second pass through the melter
isn't necessary if you are trading the wax to a supplier for foundation,
but it makes for a cleaner product.
 
Of course you can repeat the filtering process, each time producing a
cleaner and lighter color product.  The exposure to the sun light
bleaches the wax and reduces the fragrance.
 
Keep Watching the Bees,
 
Rick Leber, Beekeeping since 1987
Mobile, Alabama