Refining beeswax

[DeepSouth]

Guys I found some beeswax today.I'm trying to refine it and i'm have a problem.I searched this subject and found a post about this.In the post it said to make a double boiler to melt the wax and then strain it to get the stuff out.Well when I strain the wax it solidifies instantly.I'm straining it through a clean shop rag.Anybody have a suggesting on how to strain this stuff?

[Blammer]

don't need a double boiler, put directly on the burner just heat it slowly.

go to the fabric store and get some cheese cloth. Put about two layers together and find something to stretch it over. Then pour the melted wax through the cheescloth and have it land in another pot.

If it's really really dirty, add some water and melt it all together, till it's all melted. then pour into a container and let cool undisturbed. The water will sink to the bottom with most of the trash and the wax will float to the top and cool. The next day when it's cool (don't cool artificially, this won't work then) you can pull off the top wax and dump the water, don't dump down the drain, not good for it.

You may have a small layer of 'slum gum' on the bottom of your wax. Let this dry, so no water is on it. Then take this and melt it and strain through the cheese cloth. Then you'llhave very clean wax.

[D Crockett]

I put my raw bees wax in a woman nylon stocking put it into a pot of water bring up to a boil let it boil for a few minutes then let cool over night or till it get hard take the cake out brake it up into a tea pot I got from a Chinese restaurant remelt then put a stocking over a pan strain it let it get hard then you have clean wax not food grade but you can make good lube with it D Crockett

[357maximum]

I do as Blammer does. Pay attention and melt it over direct heat. I recycle old CLEAN cotton pillowcases and bedsheets for filter material. Just make sure your "filter" is well secured before you pour.

[No_1]

Does not take but one time to figure that one out eh? Good thing it is pretty easy to scrape off the counter when it hardens.....

R.

Just make sure your "filter" is well secured before you pour.

[Beekeeper]

Having done it for many years the method I have always used is to put the dirty wax in a large pan and weight it down with a piece of window screen , pour watter in to cover the complete mess and heat until the wax melts out and rises to the surface. Allow it to cool and remove the cake of wax.
I did it on a much larger scale than described above but used the above when I first started out.

Word of warning,"Do not use SWMBO 's pan" as it will never be the same again and unless you want to buy a complete new set of cookware for her "Don't"

The above will get at least 90% of the gunk out of the wax.
If you want it cleaner you need to do the pan and hot water trick a couple of more times.
It will get a little cleaner each time. or you could trade your clean wax to a beekeeping supply house for refined wax..


Jim

[The Double D]

I'll champion the use of a double boiler. I melted bees wax on the stove in a pan and in the microwave for many years. Very careful monitoring of the temperature melting on the stove is required to avoid scorching the wax. Microwave and on the stove are very slow.

Couple years ago while in south Africa if found a cheap spun aluminum double boiler for R20 ($3) at Hypermart. Decided to try it. Works quick and clean. A lot faster than melting on the stove and definitely faster than the microwave. Worked great and I won't go back.

Try all these ideas and use what works for you, but heed the very important warning issued by beekeeper. DONOT mess with SWMBO's stuff. Get you own burner and pots.

[Blammer]

yea, once you melt beeswax NOTHING will get it off the pan,

I tried cleaning one in the dishwasher, all I did was make all the other dishes have beeswax on them.

[powderburnerr]

a fry daddy , a nylon sock and a cottage cheese container....
cut the bottom out of the cottage cheeze container, stretch the sock over it, melt the wax in the fry daddy , and pour through ther container sock funnel , nothing gets through the nylon. then if you are feeling rich use the silicone bakeing dishes for moulds , wax does not stick to them.... way clean way simple... I just did 150 pounds in one day with this method.... to minimize the spillage set pan against the pot. and pour from over the pot leaving the bottom of the dipper over the melted wax.

[Dale53]

I would like to caution all who are thinking about using direct heat to take really good care to not overheat the beeswax. Overheating can destroy the lubricating qualities. Further, direct heat always holds the possibility of igniting the beeswax and THAT is a VERY bad thing.

I got a LARGE aluminum pot with my turkey/fish fryer (that I use for smelting). I'm never going to use it for cooking so that was my choice as the base for a double boiler. Then get another big pot that will just fit inside the bigger one. Now you have a double boiler that will really hold some wax. You can use various racks or frames to hold the inner pot off the bottom of the large pot.

The advantage of the double boiler is that you GUARANTEE that you will not overheat the wax. The fire hazard is minimized, also. You can use your turkey/fish fryer that you smelt with (with the flame turned down, of course) to operate the outfit in the yard. That way, you won't be spilling the wax on the floor, etc. Just set up a portable table in the yard next to it and you are "good to go". I have about a hundred pounds of "dirty" wax to clean in a couple of large balls. I use the cheesecloth method and have excellent results.

FWIW
Dale53

[buck1]

I put my raw bees wax in a woman nylon stocking put it into a pot of water bring up to a boil let it boil for a few minutes then let cool over night or till it get hard take the cake out brake it up into a tea pot I got from a Chinese restaurant remelt then put a stocking over a pan strain it let it get hard then you have clean wax not food grade but you can make good lube with it D Crockett

ME too. Heat slowly DO NOT LET BOIL , or stir. works well.

[DeepSouth]

Guys thanks for the advice.I used the pot of water method.Worked well.The wax is not perfectly clean,but I think it will work for boolit lube.It looks sorta like coffee with a lot of milk in it.Ended up with about 1/2lb.Went back today and scrounged up what was left.Thanks again!

[zuke]

O.K. I gotta ask, who's SWMBO 's ?

[cajun shooter]

You must be a single man Mr. zuke. After many years of training I can answer that. It stands for SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED!!

[Blammer]

or do like me, I'm a member of a beeclub (I have honeybees) and get a bunch of wax and just borrow the clubs wax melter, after I get about 100lbs of wax I need to render.

[zuke]

Yep I'm single! But I re-met a girl I went to high school with.
She cook's,clean's, is an Insurance Broker and her kid's are 14 and 16 so they'll be gone soon!
To top it all off she want's to get back into hunting and fishing!
Not to mention she's VERY good in other activities!
She own's her own tool's and isn't afraid to use them!
She's slowly coming round but from what I heard the kind of mind game's the last guy did, I'm taking my time with her.
Think I'll keep her!

[Greenhorn44]

Happy Paddy's Day.
An Irish priest is driving down to New York and gets stopped for speeding in Connecticut . The state trooper smells alcohol on the priest's breath and then sees an empty wine bottle on the floor of the car.

He says, 'Sir, have you been drinking?'

'Just water,' says the priest.

The trooper says, 'Then why do I smell wine?'

The priest looks at the bottle and says, 'Good Lord! He's done it again!'

[Dannix]

^ OT, but I can't help but post a "Not Recommended" Response:

Trooper: "Your eyes look red. Have you been drinking?"
Response: "Your eyes look glazed. Have you been eating donuts?"

[cajun shooter]

Blammer, I did the same on a pot one day and could not clean it of the residue left by the BW. My wife came home and asked what I was doing and I told her. She said to not worry that she coud do it. She makes candles out of BW. She put a whistle pot full of water on the stove and after it let loose she took everything into the back yard and poured that hot water into the pot which removed the BW. Wife's are preety handy with the kitchen tricks.