# can you melt wax in a slow cooker?



## kilocharlie (Dec 27, 2010)

Yes, any heat source that reaches 155 degrees F will melt wax, but wax is difficult to remove, so choose well - it tends to become a permanent wax tool.

Oldtimer uses a coffee pot, I use a solar wax melter, a double boiler, a ladle, and an aluminum tube with one end cut 45 degrees and squished in a vise for "precision pouring" melted wax, a home-made tray for dipping queen cell cups, and several cookie trays for bleaching beeswax in the sun. Commercials use custom machines in the stations of their honey room operations. It depends on the scale of your operation.

Scorching is a problem if too hot for too long, so look for a good way to control this.


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## rwlaw (May 4, 2009)

Got my crockpot for 6 bucks from goodwill.Don't try to hurry it by turning it on high, it'll scorch the wax. Don't ask me how I know.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

I also got a hot pot used. Not Goodwill but a similar charity store. I may have paid $7 but it is for a good cause.

I melt small quantities of wax in mine. This requires patience. The next time I run mine I will probably have added an electronic thermostat to regulate the temperature, because rwlaw is right ... they can get pretty hot, especially if you set them on high and walk away. So I'll probably turn a $7 junker into a $50 science project by the time it is all added up.

The most important lesson here is, under *NO CIRCUMSTANCES *should you raid the kitchen and get your wife's crock pot, not if you value your marriage. Because you WILL get wax into the water bath, no matter how careful you try to be. Yes, it can be cleaned out, but she'll find a trace of it and you'll be in the doghouse.


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## ritan1 (Nov 10, 2015)

Yeah, don't use your good crockpot, it will never come perfectly clean again! I bought a cheap one for $5.99 and it works great on low. But keep an eye on it.
This video gives a good idea of how to do it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHmoP2qqlj8&index=1&list=FLMtDYNMHjViqVyByaoLOJ1w


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## kilocharlie (Dec 27, 2010)

The beeswax flavor doesn't really clash with the chili, though...


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## Jack Grimshaw (Feb 10, 2001)

This is what I use.

http://www.candletech.com/candle-making/tips-and-tricks/do-it-yourself-wax-melter/

Drill your hole about 1/4 in off the bottom to trap sediment,water,honey etc.

Cappings go into solar melter first.


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## papabear (Mar 5, 2014)

stavros said:


> I was wondering if you can add some water and beeswax in the porcelain pot of the slow cooker and heat it (outside the house) will it melt the wax? Has anyone tried it? Thanks a lot,
> Stavros


yes you can. I put wax in crock pot from the solar wax melter with a strainer bag first and put wax on top. I first fill pot about half full of water and when it all becomes liquid I unplug and lift out filter bag an let sit overnight. beautiful wax in morning about 1 pound slabs .
I use a presto pot then to heat wax an make candles. I use a pyrex measuring cut to pour wax into molds.



Stumpy Lake Bee Farm


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

wax isn't all that hard to get out of a crock pot ifin you needed to, heat it up and use a lot of paper towels to wick it off...............don't ask me how I know LOL


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

papabear said:


> yes you can. I put wax in crock pot from the solar wax melter with a strainer bag first and put wax on top. I first fill pot about half full of water and when it all becomes liquid I unplug and lift out filter bag an let sit overnight. beautiful wax in morning about 1 pound slabs .
> I use a presto pot then to heat wax an make candles. I use a pyrex measuring cut to pour wax into molds. Stumpy Lake Bee Farm


And again, I now have my very own set of pyrex measuring cups, because I'm not allowed to take any from the kitchen.


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## stavros (Feb 26, 2008)

Thank you for your suggestions and your concerns. It seems do-able, only do not know how much time it takes when the crockpot is in the low setting. Stavros


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## USCBeeMan (Feb 7, 2009)

I have been using an old crock pot for years. It is rectangular in shape and the pot is metal. I put in old wax, cleaned cappings, old wax sheets from frames that the bees wouldn't work. I never go over the lowest setting. If put in that evening the wax will have melted overnight. If I have more wax to melt I just add it to what is melted and check back later that day.

The real issue is the crud that is in the pot with the melted wax. I pour the liquid wax through old t-shirt material into a pan (plastic or metal). Sometimes you will get some of the crud while screening with the cloth. Once the wax has hardened I jut turn it over and knock it out . If there is trash or black sludge in it, I just remelt it and screen the wax a second time.

When melting cappings, it is best to let the bees clean it up and then rinse out the cappings to reduce and/or remove all of the sludge.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>The most important lesson here is, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you raid the kitchen and get your wife's crock pot

Nota bene


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