# wax made the final cut



## TDSAMMONS (Aug 5, 2002)

you said >> They will rework the wax for $1.66 per lb. << will dadant do this in 4.9 foundation? 

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Travis S.


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## dickm (May 19, 2002)

On the subject of wax:
I just melted down 5 medium supers of nice new wax. It was built on wax foundation. I wasted very little. Take a guess at how much wax I got, including the cappings. OK I'll tell you. 7 lbs. I thought it would be more. I guess my first question is :Is anone else surprised?
2nd question. I had 10 deep brood frames, rather old. I put them in the same apparatus to melt them (homemade honey warmer) and cranked it up to 170% or so. When nothing happened I put the mess into a double boiler for 30 mins. Zilch. I decided the combs were no longer wax. They act like something a wasp would make. Does THIS surprise anyone? 
We have a 1 1/2 feet of snow here. I bottled some honey to keep my mind off the bees. I hope I did enough.

Dick Marron


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>On the subject of wax:
I just melted down 5 medium supers of nice new wax. It was built on wax foundation. I wasted very little. Take a guess at how much wax I got, including the cappings. OK I'll tell you. 7 lbs. I thought it would be more. I guess my first question is :Is anone else surprised?

One pound of wax will support 25 pounds of honey. Sounds about right.

>2nd question. I had 10 deep brood frames, rather old. I put them in the same apparatus to melt them (homemade honey warmer) and cranked it up to 170% or so. When nothing happened I put the mess into a double boiler for 30 mins. Zilch. I decided the combs were no longer wax. They act like something a wasp would make. Does THIS surprise anyone? 

You have enough cocoons in the wax to soak up the wax. It did finaly fall apart in the double boiler didn't it. But you'd have to have a press to get any significant amount of wax out.


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## dickm (May 19, 2002)

Thanks Mike,
Now I'm a little more sure that I'm sane.

Dick


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## Robert Brenchley (Apr 23, 2000)

Supposedly - I haven't tried it - you'll get more wax by putting it sraight into the steamer.Steam will soak the coccoons, and stop the wax soaking into them.

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Regards,

Robert Brenchley

[email protected]
Birmingham UK


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

The commercial rigs have a steam press. The steam kills all the AFB and extracts more of the wax while the press squeezes it out of the cocoons.

Of course very few of us can afford anything like that. You can put the coccons in some cheesecloth and squeeze it to get the wax out, but you also force a lot of dirt through and then have to filter and settle it more. But that's life.


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## BjornBee (Feb 7, 2003)

TDSAMMONS,
I called Dadant and asked about 4.9 Same guy answered the phone who I previously spoke with, and he said "yes" its at the same rate. He did need to ask another person. Tells me they did not have that type of call before. The office I spoke to was the Waverly N.Y. office at 1-877-532-3268


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

I built a steam tank years ago from an open top honey barrel.I drilled 2 holes into the side of the barrel and fitted a short piece of 3/8 inch copper tubing into each hole.Attached rubber hoses from the tubing to 2 pressure canners with several inches of water.Used a coleman 3 burner stove for the heat source.I wrapped the barrel with a fiberglass water heater blanket.I ran hundreds of old combs through it that had been ruined in a flood.Worked fine.Got everything at yard sales.Nowdays cull combs and bear damaged just get thrown into the solar melter (if the frame is worth saving)Otherwise into the burn barrel.

[This message has been edited by loggermike (edited December 10, 2003).]


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## swarm_trapper (Jun 19, 2003)

so i can take wax to dadant and get 4.9 crimped wire?


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## WineMan (May 16, 2003)

Swarm Trapper

You should be able to take the wax to Potterville and get your foundation and then you wont have to pay shipping. Depending on what you are getting, its probably cheaper to pay for gas over there and back than it is to pay for the big brown truck to bring it. But I would call first, that outlet doesnt always have a good supply of stuff on hand.


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## TDSAMMONS (Aug 5, 2002)

Thanks Bjorn, we got the same answer from Dadant in Fresno. We can turn in our wax and they will make foundation for us deep medium brood $1.49 a lb. Thanks everyone!

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Travis S.


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## swarm_trapper (Jun 19, 2003)

but will it be 4.9?


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