Beekeeping – Solar Wax Melter

So we’ve got some friends of the family and Al is a long time beekeeper with a pretty cool take on a solar wax melter using a plastic bin. I had looked over a few designs for wooden ones and such, then decided on a blend of materials for a model very similar to Al’s. Thanks Al.

Basic Materials

  • Plastic Bin – I went for the thicker material and square-ish design of the DuraBuilt bin with the yellow top.
  • A piece of sheet metal – 24″ x 36″ from the HVAC section, not the metals section as it’s twice the price!
  • Plexiglas –  18″ x 24″
  • Piece of Cedar (I already had) – I guess it was a 1″ x 6″ x 6′
  • Piano Hinge (already had) – probably 24″
  • 2″ x 4″ pine cut-offs from the waste bin (scraps)
  • A cheesy silicone pan from Goodwill as a catch basin for hot wax
  • Scrap pieces of that pink 1/2″ foam insulation
  • Black spray paint
  • Fine screen / cheesecloth for straining

Materials

Semi-Finished Product

Melter (18)

Melter (17)

Melter (14)

Melter (19)

Melter (15)

Melter (21)

Melter (10)

Melter (13)

As it set, the temperatures would run around 160° F, so I decided to line the inside with 1/2″ pink insulation and to paint the inside surfaces black which set the temps up to 210° F (high as I saw).

I ran it a few times playing with it and collecting the big bits and pieces, then ran my collections as a whole adding some cheesecloth to the process as a filter and changed the collection pan to small crock (also a Good Will find) and was really was impressed with the final product. A solid chunk of clean wax.

Bring on the wax molds, here come the candles.

 

 

 

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