>
> 1.) In the first case, let's assume that the object is to save as much of
> the wax in as clean a form as possible, but that any honey is going to be
> lost.
>

If you have access to a steam make a steam chest from three 44 gal (200
litre) drums laying on their side. I will describe one I have seen. The wax
is left in good condition but of course any honey is lost.

Cut the tops and two of the bottoms from three 44 gal (200 litre) drums.
Weld them together end to end to form a long pipe with one end blocked.
Whack a crowbar through the end left on near the top to let a bit of steam
go.
Make a hinged door for the other end out of one of the tops removed.
A gap is left at the bottom of the door to let melted wax drain into a
mould.
Weld some legs on so the hinged end is lower than the blocked end to allow
the melted wax to run.
Make a rack the length of the three drums to slip inside the three drums
that will hold the frames.
Any design will do for the rack. It just makes it easier to load / unload.
Grating (old excluders) to catch most of the old pollen and cocoons on the
bottom of the rack helps cleaning and draining.
Make a hole in the door end to put a steam pipe in.
Just a hole big enough to slide the pipe in a little does the trick.

Load it with old brood frames etc. stuff the steam hose in and turn it on.
In 10-15 minutes when the wax stops running turn the steam off.
BEWARE OF STEAM BURNS AND TOUCHING THE SIDE OF THE DRUMS.
The frames are best scraped as soon as they are cool enough to work with if
they are to be reused.

As you may realise this type of steam chest will not be suitable for a lot
of locations as bees are attracted to it. But it can handle a lot of frames
easily and the quality of the wax is very good as it is drained immediately.
If outside better used when the bees are not flying.

I have seen a bank of three of these steam chests that are used in rotation
for large jobs, one cooling, one loading, one steaming.

I have even used one removable topped drum on end, sat on concrete building
blocks with a crowbar hole in the bottom for a wax drain and a crowbar hole
through the lid for the steam hose. Put one excluder inside a few inches
from the bottom and thrown in as many frames as would fit.
A little condensation runs out the bottom with the wax so allow for this by
having a larger mould or several moulds on hand to swap mid job.

Kevin Gibbs
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New Zealand