Solar Wax Extractors

A solar wax extractor is one of the finest items ever devised for the beekeeper's use but as these are not listed in supply catalogues they must be home or locally made. The size will depend largely on the glass available. For a beekeeper with 25 colonies or less probably a 20 x 48 inch piece of double strength glass would be a good starting point but if you have a discarded window or door sash use it even though it may not be quite as efficient due to the wider rim and separating pieces.

A solar wax extractor is the best means of saving your wax. Make a rectangular box 6 or 8 inches deep with a solid bottom and make a pan with 3 or 4 inch sides out of corrugated roofing, then paint it black. Bend the metal at the lower end an equal amount and then cut out an 8 width for the wax to escape. Over this opening place a screen to hold back the debris and build a tight box below with a door to hold a pail to catch the wax. Build a shallow frame for a cover and fit it with glass and hinge at the back. Be sure to make it bee tight and keep it bee tight. This will produce the finest grade of wax obtainable.

A solar wax extractor is the best means of saving your wax. Make a rectangular box 6 or 8 inches deep with a solid bottom and make a pan with 3 or 4 inch sides out of corrugated roofing, then paint it black. Bend the metal at the lower end an equal amount and then cut out an 8" width for the wax to escape. Over this opening place a screen to hold back the debris and build a tight box below with a door to hold a pail to catch the wax. Build a shallow frame for a cover and fit it with glass and hinge at the back. Be sure to make it bee tight and keep it bee tight. This will produce the finest grade of wax obtainable.

The cheapest and best metal to construct the base of the wax extractor to put the comb on is either steel or aluminum corrugated roofing which comes in regular 26 inch widths and various lengths. If new roofing is used it should be mopped over with a weak vinegar water solution and left to dry and then whether new or old, painted black to absorb the heat. The sides and one end should be turned up three inches or more to prevent run off and at the bottom a screen of some kind should be placed to hold back the slum gum but through which the melted wax can run. A galvanized wash tub will be found to be a good container to let the wax drip into.

Build this unit into a bee tight box. It is best to place this unit on the south side of a building which is open to the sun all day long. Hinge the frame into which the glass fits and attach a small rope on the free end of the frame then run the rope through a pulley with a weight at the other end which will just about counter balance the weight of the cover so that the danger of dropping and breaking the glass will be eliminated. Paint all the parts exposed to the sun black except the top glass so that it will absorb most of the heat.

Cast your wax in a flared container, so it will come out easily and scrape the bottom of the cakes until you get down to hard wax.

Cast your wax in a flared container, so it will come out easily and scrape the bottom of the cakes until you get down to hard wax.

Fill the tub about 1/4 full of water so the wax can be picked out in chunks. Early morning, before the bees start to work, is the best time to load, clean and remove the wax. If only cappings and burr combs are put in it there will be but little slum gum but soon you will be putting in black combs and as these are largely slum you will have considerable cleaning to do.

Naturally a solar melter is of no value in the Northern States during the winter months and their value increases as you go south but they will be found to be a fine investment for summer use wherever bees are kept. The sun bleaches the wax as it is melted in these extractors and it is of the finest quality obtainable.

How To Render Old Brood Combs

The solar wax extractor is of little value in rendering brood combs because there are too many cocoons and slum gum and the process is slow even in a large solar extractor. Beekeepers with a small amount of brood comb can render it by placing it in a burlap bag which is then put in a tub or barrel and covered with 3 or 4 inches of water and boiled slowly for 2 or 3 hours, pressure being applied intermittently with a pole or leverage arrangement to flush the wax out of the bag, so it will rise to the surface where it will harden when cold.

In any form of rendering, the honey should be extracted and the combs washed clean of honey and allowed to soak in clean water for several days to loosen the cocoons, pollen, etc., and then this water is thrown out and the combs boiled in clean soft water.

In any form of rendering, the honey should be extracted and the combs washed clean of honey and allowed to soak in clean water for several days to loosen the cocoons, pollen, etc., and then this water is thrown out and the combs boiled in clean soft water.

Larger beekeepers having a considerable amount of brood comb to render annually will find it profitable to build a wax press along the lines of the Hersheiser press pictured here. I would suggest using an empty steel drum, preferably the type with the removable ends because they are made of heavier metal. The wooden grids or slat separators can be made of 1" rough lumber with galvanized hardware cloth nailed on each side. Make a suitable form for the cheese and lay in a burlap bag cut wide open and jam the comb in tight with a 2" x 4" and then fold the bag together and pin with 7-d nails. Put a slat separator on the bottom and between each cheese and under the heavy header. Pressure can be supplied with a 1 1/2" Acme screw, truck jack, hydraulic or air cylinder or a leverage arrangement. Cover with fresh, soft water and boil slowly for several hours, first without any pressure, then with moderate pressure for 15 minutes and then relieve all of the pressure for 15 minutes and press again and repeat so as to give a flushing action to force the wax out of the cheeses.

Skim the wax off the surface from time to time and strain into a casting container and when hard scrape the dirt off the bottom of the cakes.