# Processing Beeswax



## Smoyer (Oct 28, 2003)

I was visiting with Bjornbee over the past weekend. Don't let his forum persona mislead you, he is a warm and generous person. As an example he gave me about 20 pounds of unprocessed beeswax (still containing some honey, proprolis, etc). 

My question is what is the best way to purify this wax? I have already melted it with water over a double boiler. After this stage, I have about 10 pounds of wax. I removed about 10 pounds of sludge. I still have some flecks of black on the top and sides of my wax blocks, and a thin layer of black on the bottom surface.

What do I do next? 

Sincerely,

Smoyer


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## Tia (Nov 19, 2003)

I'm a newbie and have only done it twice, but at this point, I melt it down again and strain it through a double layer of painter's mesh into old half-gallon wax-lined cardboard orange juice or milk boxes. After it's cooled, just tear the box off. My finish beeswax got oooohs and aaaaahs at the county beekeepers' monthly meeting.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I'm always looking for improvments on my methods. What do you mean by painter's mesh?

Here's what I do. I melt it with some water in it, and strain it once through a screen sieve (the bigger ones of the kind you see in the grocery store) to get the big stuff out. I have an old board on the ground (I prefer to do this outside) and I pound the sieve a couple of times to knock out the course debris. If there are a lot of cocoons you may want to try to press the cocoons to get some more of the wax out.

Then I strain it again through some cheescloth that I put in the same sieve. This time I try not to press anything or you'll force more of the dirt through. I keep the cheescloth for firestarters. It works great for charcol or campfires.

I put the wax in a container I can get it out of. If I have 20 or 30 pounds I use a square rubbermaid pan like Walter Kelly sells. The principle here is (within reason) to get the thickness and the width about the same. In otherwords, the bottom is always going to have sediment in it, so you want to minimize the surface of the bottom so the layer of sediment is thicker and the layer of clean wax on the top is thicker. The milk cartons do this very well. The other issue of what to put the wax in is getting it out. Again the milk cartons do this very well. The rubber maid tub has some give so you can pop it loose too. I try to have some of the water in the bottom so the bottom won't be stuck. After the wax gets hard there is always sediment that has to be scraped off. Scrape it clean. If you had a wax press all of that sludge (slumgum) and cocoons and sediment could be salvaged to get much more wax out. But with just pots and pans there isn't much you can do with it except use it for fire starter.


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## Curry (Sep 22, 2003)

If you have a solar wax melter (and have the patience to wait til summer)- I've got a great one-step method for the cleanest wax ever. After washing, compress the wax/slumgum into balls and put them into coffee filters in the solar wax melter. Use 8 mess wire screen, formed in a cicle, to hold up the coffee filters. The filters can be used several times, until the slumgum builds up, then it is discarded (but they're very cheap to begin with). The wax is filtered so finely, you won't see even a spec of anything- and all of the wax gets filtered out... in one step. I use plastic tupperware to make wax bricks in- the wax pops right out after cooling. I got my solar melter from Mann Lake (after failing in an attempt to build one). I love my melter... no mess, no hassle. I even use it to make candles from the clean wax.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I like the idea of the cofee filters for the last pass. I think they would clog up though. You don't have a problem with that?


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## dickm (May 19, 2002)

I do this with cappings. I don't see why it wouldn't apply. Buy some knee length ladies stockings.(3 pr for a buck) Put your wax inside and tie. Wash the honey out under warm water. Put the mess into a heater. when melted, remove the stocking with the junk inside and the wax outside. I poured it into those tapered plastic dishes we use for creamed honey. 


Dick Marron


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## Clayton (Dec 8, 2000)

coffee filter have never worked for me but maybe I have too much wax to go through such a filter. I use butter muslin, a fine cheese cloth available from cheese making suppliers. It yields cleaner wax. Or you can just run through regular cheese cloth a few times depending on how clean you want the wax to be.


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## Curry (Sep 22, 2003)

MB-

I'm quite sure coffee filters would not work if you are melting the wax in a double boiler- the wax would cool before it could filter. However, in a solar wax melter it just sits in there and bakes out. I don't have any problem with it plugging the coffee filter- it'll fill up with slumgum eventually and needs to be changed, but all the wax get melted out first (and not a spec of anything else). One pass and can use for candles, etc.

I use leftover pieces of 8 mesh wire screen (from screen bottom boards) and make a bunch of circular filter holders... just weave wire through the screen edges.


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## Eman (Apr 14, 2002)

Has anyone ever tried melting the wax in a crockpot?


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## Clayton (Dec 8, 2000)

Eman,

I have used crock pots for a long time. I have burned one up a year for the last three years processing much wax. They don not work too well for old brood combs but white wax combs and cappings they work great.


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## NewBee (Feb 12, 2000)

The best source of filtering gunk out of wax is pouring it through pieces of sweatshirt, pour it from the inside of the material. I use a crockpot but only for already processed wax....only to melt and remelt for my purposes. Steve


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## Rick H (Jan 8, 2004)

I put my drained cappings in 30lb plastic pails. Once full I take these and put them in a canning pot with enough water to come to about one inch from the top of the canning pot. Warm the pot gently trying not to boil the water. This melts the wax which floats to the top. At this time I try to scoop out the cocoons and any other debris. Then I let the lot cool. The wax forms a cake which is lifted off and allowed to drain back to the pail. Treat the honey as you would normally and clean the wax by any method you like. It's usually not too bad.


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## BWrangler (Aug 14, 2002)

Hello Everyone,

I've tried just about every method to filter molten beeswax. Coffee filters do not work at all. It seemed like a great idea while I was standing by them at WalMart. :> )))

By far, the best solution for filtering molten was is a shortening or grease filter. They can be obtained at any commercial kitchen supplier. Cost is about $7 for 50 of them.

They are designed to filter hot grease from friers, etc. and are fairly substantial. Slumgum, the black gunk, can be squeezed to recover some of the wax when its inside the filter.

If you've been using cloth, paper towels, etc. , you won't believe the difference.

Another filter, that works great, is designed to filter hot maple syrup. But there's not very much maple syrup processing in Wyoming. :> ))

Regards
Dennis


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## Karl (Jun 18, 2002)

Michael: I think I am using about the same method as Tia. I go to our Home Depot store. In the paint department they carry a round, cone shaped paper type filter. The bottom of the filter has a fine mesh screen, believe it might be a nylon material. I cut off the top of half gallon milk containers for my mold. After melting the wax down in water I pour the melted mix into the forms. After cooling I cut away the plastic away. At this point I may have a small amount of water under the wax and possibly some small amount of dirt that has settled to bottom of wax. This can be trimmed off for remelting. Cost of these filters is about 10 cents each and they can be used several times if lucky. It works well for me but like everyone here I am constantly looking for a better, more cost effective way. Home Depot also carries some fine mesh nylon filters for 5 gallon pails. I am thinking they might be a good filter for honey as well. Doing more thinking on this before honey season.


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## Pugs (Jul 15, 2004)

Ok, I'm melting wax in a double boiler now and have a question.

Do you put some water in with the wax? 

I'm cleaning up two pounds of organic wax I bought. Boy is it dirty. There are some coccoons of some sort, dirt, even a small piece of wood in there. I've bought paint filters to run it through once it is melted.

Also, should I put a small amount of water in the bottems of the containers I'll be pouring the wax into?

I'll just add, had I know it was this dirty, I wouldn't have bought it. I didn't have a catalog, so I just called and ordered. I guess I should have asked a lot more questions.

Pugs


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## Joel (Mar 3, 2005)

Pugs, no water in with the wax if your using a double boiler. We strain a few hundred pounds of wax through old white t-shirts every year and it works great. (sometimes I think my wife uses my new t-shirts but I haven't actually caught her yet) Be careful not to burn the house down. Wax flashes much like gasoline if you accidently spill it on open flame (say a gas stove)or if you over heat it.(which you won't do if your double boiler doesn't run dry. Never, and I repeat never, walk away from wax that is melting. As I have said before many a honey house, garage and home have gone done in flames in pursuit of a couple of pounds of beeswax. No water in the containers your pouring into either, just make sure if they are plastic they can withstand the heat of the wax without melting. Have fun!


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## oregonsparkie (Apr 12, 2004)

I melt mine in boiling water then use a seive to strain with. Mine comes out pretty clean but probably not as clean as when using something like a tee shirt


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## Pugs (Jul 15, 2004)

Thanks Joel and Sparkie!

Got the wax melted and strained and didn't burn the house down! I did stay with the wax until I was done, after reading Joel's response. 

I had the paint strainers, so I used one. I'll try the t-shirt or sweatshirt next time. I've got to get a seive to hold the material first though. 

The wax looks alot cleaner now, but I'll take it out of the molds tomorrow and have a better look. I'm using this wax to hold in the starter strips I'm doing.

Thanks again!

Pugs


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## kathysmith (Apr 14, 2008)

I put hot beeswax in a 5 qt. ice cream container. I may have had it too hot, but it seeped a bit in one spot--which tells me I was very lucky not to have had a complete meltdown. When I pour paint I use a cardboard box for insurance. I would suggest the same for beeswax. I now have beeswax on my stove top.


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## Buz Green (Jun 29, 2009)

My favorite filters:

1st...Nylon screen (#10 mesh)
2nd..T-shirt material


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

Buz Green

What's your source for the nylon screen?


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## HVH (Feb 20, 2008)

Dadant sells 128 thread count nylon fabric by the yard. I typically place about a gallon of boiling water or less in a five gallon bucket and then place the nylon over the bucket and secure with a bungee cord. Simply pour wax through the nylon and let settle overnight. Then you can flip the bucket upside down and let the wax block drop out. Some times the block needs some persuasion before it will release from the bucket - a few bounces upside down and a few raps with a rubber mallow usually do the job. The boiling water in the bottom of the bucket keeps the wax from sticking to the bottom.


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## Buz Green (Jun 29, 2009)

AstroBee.

Replacement window screen found at any home store. It separates the big stuff out and then the t-shirt material gets the rest.
I usually have a little bit of sediment at the bottom of my blocks but a little bit of scraping gets rid of that.
When rendering old comb that has been heavily propolised (I do a lot of cutouts) the wax will render with a brown color but it still makes nice candles and i don't have to dye it.


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

Good info. Thanks


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## Candleman (Aug 20, 2008)

I clean about 50,000 pounds of beeswax a year and this is 
the technique that I use.
First stage:
Fill double walled water jacket wax melter with cappings.
Cover with water and bring to melt with heater set at 165F
Run off into plastic pails, once cooled scrape off slum gum.
Continue until all cappings are melted.
Second Stage:
Once you have enough beeswax , fill wax melter and add 
about 2-3 inches of water with a bit of apple cider vinegar.
Let settle for a few days, depending on depth of melter.
3 inches per day , so a 15" deep melter will take 5 days.
Ladle off through 1 micron polyester felt filter bag . When
you reach the barrier layer where the water and beeswax 
meet, stop ladling and turn off heat. Allow to cool.

Two things clog the wicking of a candle , honey and dirt.
The dirt that clogs the wicking is between 1 and 5 micron 
in size. This technique takes care of both. Important to 
use low heat ( 165F ) and be patient. The results are worth
it. This technique will work with cappings and burr comb.


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

Karl said:


> Michael: I think I am using about the same method as Tia. I go to our Home Depot store. In the paint department they carry a round, cone shaped paper type filter. The bottom of the filter has a fine mesh screen, believe it might be a nylon material.


Goto Harbor Freight tools they are way cheaper. 4.99 for a back of 100. Cant beat that.

http://www.harborfreight.com/pack-of-100-60-to-70-mesh-paint-strainers-91376.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/pack-of-100-110-to-120-mesh-paint-strainers-91378.html

They work great.


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

EastSideBuzz said:


> Goto Harbor Freight tools they are way cheaper. 4.99 for a back of 100. Cant beat that.


Here is another 20% so they are cheaper this weekend.








I am going to spend it on some staples and a mixer to mix up syrup. http://www.harborfreight.com/electric-hand-mixer-with-single-paddle-65758.html


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## Candleman (Aug 20, 2008)

These paint filters work well on large particles , however if you can see through the screen then the real fine particles that clog the wick will still get through. We used to use milk filter disks made by Ken Ag to filter out the visible dirt. Polyester felt filter bags are used to clean liquids like bio-diesel , glycol and oil. To put things into perspective, the average human hair is 20 microns in diameter, so a 1 mcron hole in a polyester felt bag would not be visible with the naked eye. We use the 7 inch by 17 inch filter bags to clean 100 pounds at a time.


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## LSBees (Sep 24, 2009)

Whats the Apple Cider Vinagar for?


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## Candleman (Aug 20, 2008)

the apple cider vinegar is used to soften the water , if hard water is used saponification might occur and your beeswax will turn to soap. I use rain water and still add the vinegar.


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## Ron Mann (Jul 17, 2009)

Our well water is full of free limestone, will the vinegar neutralize the effects of the limestone?


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## Candleman (Aug 20, 2008)

The acid concentration of vinegar is very weak , I would suggest not using well water or "city " water with chlorine. I recommend rain water with apple cider vinegar.


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