Hi Jim & all

> Wow, that's getting fancy.  Next thing you know,
> someone will rig up a focused parabolic melter,
> and not only vaporize wax in seconds, but cause
> the frames to burst into flame!  :)

During my time as a bee equipment manufacturer I spent quite a bit of time
and energy trying to get some performance out of solar wax extractors... The
sun does not shine very strongly or very often where I live.

I had a project 'on the back burner' whereby there were nine pieces of
aluminium rainwater guttering that were highly polished inside the box. They
were cylindrical rather than parabollic in shape, but a focussing effect of
sorts existed. The melted wax running along the channels into a collector at
the bottom.

The idea was that even when the direct insolation was not enough for actual
melting the focussing would locally raise the temperature enough to cause
melting, but like many projects this one fell foul of the bankruptcy of Apex
Enterprises.

One useful tip is to make your double glazed top much wider than the box
that it fits on so that as the sun tracks across the sky the anlged rays at
the start and end of the day can still enter the box.


Best Regards & 73s, Dave Cushman... G8MZY
Beekeeping & Bee Breeding Website
Email: [log in to unmask] or  [log in to unmask]
http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman & http://www.dave-cushman.net

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