We have been keeping bees in Hawaii and attempting to make good burning candles for over 30 years.  We have yet to be able to get the cappings wax clean enough so that the wicks (square weave cotton wicks or appropriate sizes) don't eventually clog with impurities to the extent that the wick drowns in melted wax.  The most extensive method we've used is (in order):  melting the cappings in a solar wax melter in which the wax filters through loose mesh cloth before going into a bucket where the wax forms a solid block on top of the honey; scraping the crud off the bottom of the solidified blocks of wax; melting the blocks of wax in large containers of almost boiling water to which we've added vinegar (to help precipitate out impurities); filtering the water bath melted wax through fine mesh/tight weave cloth; melting the wax again in a water bath and filtering it through filter paper using a filter cone.  Even after cleaning the wax in a water bath 3 or 4 times the wax still contains enough impurities (not visible) so that the candle wick eventually clogs.  Many other beekeepers tell us they use essentially the same wax cleaning method yet when we test their candles we find they have the same problem of the wick clogging with impurties.  Beeswax candles made by larger type commercial candles manufacturers don't seem to have this problem.  Does anyone have an economically efficient answer for our problem?
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