# bees wax ?



## SunnyBee (Oct 21, 2011)

i now have 5 lbs. of bees wax that i have refined 2 times. the first i just hand dipped out the crud. and let sit over night making 2 cakes about 1" thick. the 2nt thim i put them back in the pot to melt. brought it to a small boil then lowered the heat for about 5 min. i then used a corse strainer with chees cloth under it and poured some in to 3 plastic paint buckets sitting in water so it would not melt thr little paint buckets 2 1/2 qt size. as they started cooling it looked like i had 3 colors of wax. it turned out that the 1st bucket got mosley wax, the 2nd a little less, and the 3rd mostley dirty water. i now want to refine ( clean ) it some more. 

can i melt it with out using water in the pot? i want to pour it in to 1/2 lbs. blocks and not have water under them. 


new question. i have some cut out comb from 2 jobs and some old comb on old frames that i want to melt. it is all dark and black . will i be able to cook it up slow and strain 2-3 times and get it yellow or maybe light brown?


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## SantaFeBeek (Jun 13, 2012)

If you search "bee blog" in google, the first entry is usually "Linda's Bees" or something like that. Her blog is a wealth of information and she has many posts on the trials and tribulations of refining beeswax. She uses a solar melter to start with, filtering it through paper towels a couple of times, then uses other equipment and techniques to get the wax to award winning condition. 

I don't have personal experience myself, but I would definitely suggest checking her site out. Good luck!!


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## rtoney (Apr 20, 2011)

I melt mine in a crock pot, it only took 3 renderings and it was clean wax that I am making hand salve and lip balm with. I used a painter net to strain the first 2 times and then I doubled the net for the last time I also used water each time.


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## Skinner Apiaries (Sep 1, 2009)

I usually just let it settle out then scrap the crud off the bottom. All the crap usually settles into the water. Also if it gets too hot it makes this spongy stuff that smells and burns like wax but wont form or hold that smooth shape anymore


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