On Fri, 19 May 1995, Jean-Marie Van Dyck wrote: > (...) Don't forget that the > thickness of the wood diminishes (about 1 mm). > Yes indeed the wood shrinks quite a bit after it is boiled in hot paraffin. It seems like it dries it. Is'nt paradoxal? I also noticed that if the wood contains too much humidity the paraffin solution swells rapidly and quickly boils out of the dipper. It is dangerous since paraffin is very flammable. Does anyone know a trick to prevent this problem. (Maple syrup producers here put a piece of animal fat in an overboiling pan of maple syrup to calm it down.) PARAFFIN DIPPERS For now I use a 45 gallon barrel as a dipper. It is not convenient. It holds only one super at a time. I plan to build a real wax dipper. I have on hand two papers with plans of two different dippers: one by Murray Reid and Andrew Matheson and the other one by Andrew Matheson (do you hear me Andrew?). I think the most recent plan is dated 1986. Does anyone know of improvements since then? Why reinvent what has been invented? ;) MICROWAX??? Jean-Marie, you refer to MICROWAX. What is it. Is this just a brand name or is it a special kind of paraffin. Personnally I have been using what is sold in Canada as grade 2 paraffin. PRICE OF PARAFFIN Here I paid the equivalent of 1.89$ US for my paraffin (500 kilos). I had a hard time to find a supplier. It would be nice to hear from other as far as price and suppliers. I got mine from a big hardware company (Rona) but I am sure there must be other suppliers. Thank you France Desjardins for initiating the discussion on this subject. _______________________________ ~ |_____JEAN-PIERRE CHAPLEAU______| ~ bee breeder |1282, rang 8, Saint-Adrien,| ~ | Quebec, Canada, J0A 1C0 | vice president of the Canadian Honey Council | phone: (819) 828-3396 | ~ ~ | fax: (819) 828-0357 | ~ ~ | [log in to unmask] | ~ ~ |______________________________~ ~