In my experience the hotter the wax gets the darker it gets. I used to render my old combs as I saw Fat Beeman do it. Put it all in an old pot, boil it and then run it through a strainer lined with cloth. It would come out khaki colored. It is recommended to recycle your comb on some kind of schedule for the reasons you spoke about in the video. I recycle my comb every 5 years so at times I'm looking to process 30-40 frames. Some of the beekeepers in my club do it as often as every year....too much for me. There are many methods to process the comb and recover the wax. I still use hot water but in a tank where I control the temp and hold the combs down so the wax comes to the top. It is a chore but only done once or twice a year. Works for me, thanks for posting!
Thanks for posting I no longer render old brood comb it just dosent yield enough UP bee keeper here keep posting and hope ur honey harvest is plentiful
@@Avi-ow4wo I have to agree. The finish product was of good quality for frame waxing but for the amount work and mess there wasn’t much yield. We will be pulling honey supers soon Hope you also have a great harvest and your bees are well. Thank you for the comment
I had a dead out from pms with nosema and some wax moth damage this spring. I froze the 40 frames and fumigated with acetic acid before rendering and filtering with cheesecloth. It's gorgeous wax and priceless to me. Around here real wax is just as valuable as drawn comb, no one sells either. I also use the slhm gum as smoker starter. Imo No reason not to add it all into the wax pot when processing.
@markj3851 Thank you for the comment and thoughtful discussion I can see it from your point of view also if resources are not available What do you use to render? 40 frames for me would be at a minimum 6 eight quart crockpot runs and each run with melting and cooling thoroughly takes a day.
@@fishingforbees I was able to salvage about half the frames by freezing and fumigating and I scraped the wax/comb/crud from the other 20 (about 10 deep and 10 medium) into a plastic bag, smooshed it up into a ball and froze the bag to kill all the bugs. I have a dedicated bee freezer. This was really nasty but once frozen was pretty easy to deal with. No smell, No mess, no fuss.... all in the bag. I broke the frozen ball off into 3 or 4 chunks and placed them over cheesecloth in a 2L croc pot. The wax looks great and you're right, it's not a ton, but it's a 3/4" x 8" disc. IMO it was worth it. You might also try a solar wax melter to handle the nasty stuff too. Keeps all the mess outside! They are easy to build DIY. I really enjoy the vids and good luck with your swarmies ;-)
@markj3851 Great information! I love that I know the source of my wax especially when coating honey super frames. I May began to order bare plastic to wax myself because I am so concerned what is in the wax they use. Many of you got me leaning back towards it is worth it especially with a wax melter. I am very interested in anyone’s DIY plans. Love the discussion and you all are making me lean back towards it is worth it😁 Thank you for the encouragement
I think it's worth it. I think running it through a solar wax melter is the easiest. One of the things on my wish list is a rocket stove. That way I can just burn limbs and not feel guilty for running the electric burner for 45 minutes for a small amount of wax.
I need to build a solar melter. I need to go back and check out your videos. That might change my opinion of the process and sounds much better then my experience with this run Love the rocket stove idea Thank you for the comment
I'll render it. I get a lot of it when I do removals. I'll boil it in water scoop out the garbage then pour through an old sheet or t-shirt. I'll save these up till I gett a few lbs then render it more ans filter further. It add ups
This is suggested in our FB Group by many very successful swarm catches Thank you for the comment and suggestions facebook.com/share/g/U9CsUcjjDnbSkvKg/?mibextid=K35XfP
@@beebob1279 Excellent point. I didn’t even consider the electricity used for the crockpot. Minimal but still needs to be considered Do you have plans you can recommend for a DIY solar melter? Thank you for the comment
i like your trees
@@georgetaylor9154
Thank you. I prefer the small leaf Acer Palmatum (Japanese Maple). They are beautiful year round.
In my experience the hotter the wax gets the darker it gets. I used to render my old combs as I saw Fat Beeman do it. Put it all in an old pot, boil it and then run it through a strainer lined with cloth. It would come out khaki colored. It is recommended to recycle your comb on some kind of schedule for the reasons you spoke about in the video. I recycle my comb every 5 years so at times I'm looking to process 30-40 frames. Some of the beekeepers in my club do it as often as every year....too much for me. There are many methods to process the comb and recover the wax. I still use hot water but in a tank where I control the temp and hold the combs down so the wax comes to the top. It is a chore but only done once or twice a year. Works for me, thanks for posting!
@@pete0205
Wonderful information
Thank you for sharing
Thanks for posting I no longer render old brood comb it just dosent yield enough UP bee keeper here keep posting and hope ur honey harvest is plentiful
@@Avi-ow4wo
I have to agree. The finish product was of good quality for frame waxing but for the amount work and mess there wasn’t much yield.
We will be pulling honey supers soon
Hope you also have a great harvest and your bees are well.
Thank you for the comment
I had a dead out from pms with nosema and some wax moth damage this spring. I froze the 40 frames and fumigated with acetic acid before rendering and filtering with cheesecloth. It's gorgeous wax and priceless to me. Around here real wax is just as valuable as drawn comb, no one sells either. I also use the slhm gum as smoker starter. Imo No reason not to add it all into the wax pot when processing.
@markj3851
Thank you for the comment and thoughtful discussion
I can see it from your point of view also if resources are not available
What do you use to render? 40 frames for me would be at a minimum 6 eight quart crockpot runs and each run with melting and cooling thoroughly takes a day.
@@fishingforbees I was able to salvage about half the frames by freezing and fumigating and I scraped the wax/comb/crud from the other 20 (about 10 deep and 10 medium) into a plastic bag, smooshed it up into a ball and froze the bag to kill all the bugs. I have a dedicated bee freezer. This was really nasty but once frozen was pretty easy to deal with. No smell, No mess, no fuss.... all in the bag. I broke the frozen ball off into 3 or 4 chunks and placed them over cheesecloth in a 2L croc pot. The wax looks great and you're right, it's not a ton, but it's a 3/4" x 8" disc. IMO it was worth it. You might also try a solar wax melter to handle the nasty stuff too. Keeps all the mess outside! They are easy to build DIY. I really enjoy the vids and good luck with your swarmies ;-)
@markj3851
Great information! I love that I know the source of my wax especially when coating honey super frames. I May began to order bare plastic to wax myself because I am so concerned what is in the wax they use.
Many of you got me leaning back towards it is worth it especially with a wax melter. I am very interested in anyone’s DIY plans.
Love the discussion and you all are making me lean back towards it is worth it😁
Thank you for the encouragement
I think it's worth it. I think running it through a solar wax melter is the easiest. One of the things on my wish list is a rocket stove. That way I can just burn limbs and not feel guilty for running the electric burner for 45 minutes for a small amount of wax.
I need to build a solar melter. I need to go back and check out your videos. That might change my opinion of the process and sounds much better then my experience with this run
Love the rocket stove idea
Thank you for the comment
I'll render it. I get a lot of it when I do removals. I'll boil it in water scoop out the garbage then pour through an old sheet or t-shirt. I'll save these up till I gett a few lbs then render it more ans filter further. It add ups
Sounds like you have a great system.Appreciate you sharing
I bet that does add up.
Thank you for the comment
I render old brood comb and save the slum to bait traps.
This is suggested in our FB Group by many very successful swarm catches
Thank you for the comment and suggestions
facebook.com/share/g/U9CsUcjjDnbSkvKg/?mibextid=K35XfP
Just us a solar wax melter. The brood comb just isn't enough to waste the energy or time to melt down with burning heat such as electric or propane
@@beebob1279
Excellent point. I didn’t even consider the electricity used for the crockpot. Minimal but still needs to be considered
Do you have plans you can recommend for a DIY solar melter?
Thank you for the comment