Old Drawn Comb

[moposcar]

What do you guys do with your old drawn comb wax? I am going to be replacing the old stuff with new foundation, and am wondering what to do with it? In the past I have just thrown it out, but this year I will have more, and I hate to waste it if it can be used for something.

[Rob]

the best thing to do in my opinion is melt it down.for a good way to do this you will need a steel drum
a net sack
heavy weight(stones or iron)

firstly i lay down some stones in a u shape to a height of about 12 inches,then place the steel drum on top of the stones making sure it is stable and has no chance of falling over.then put your old comb in the net sack squashing it down to not use too much space.then place the sack inside the steel drum and place the heavy weight on top of the sack(s) so it firmly holds it but not completely covers it.then fill the drum with water until the sack and the weight are completlely submerged(preferably leave 2 inches of clear water above the highest point of the weight).then stack old bits of wood underneath the drum and set a fire.as the water begins to heat wax will begin to rise to the top of the water continue this until the water reaches boiling point,let it boil for a couple of minutes and then extinguish the fire.the comb will of melted in the net sack seperating good wax from old wax,the old useless wax will be left in the sack and the good wax will of floated to the top.let the good wax cool down and solidify before attemping to remove it from the drum be aware that this could take up to about 6 hours depending on your outside temperature.i also recommend to start this proccess at night fall or the smell of the melted wax will attract every bee in your area.this method of melting wax is what i use to melt down about 20-25kg of old comb,if you do not have that amount use the same system but on a smaller scale e.g. a cauldron on a barbecue.
i hope this info was of use to you.

[Lesli St. Clair]

I just scraped out the comb and boiled (didn't have that much). I actually want the "icky" wax, which I use to make firestarters.

[Bob Nelson]

Let the sun do it for free. Using new wood to build a melter will cost you to start with but from there it's free. Doesn't have to be new lumber or expensive glass. I alway thought but never tried a super shell with a layer or two of good clear plastic would do. A piece of sheet metal painted black with a screen to hold the non-wax waste and a collection pan is all else needed. I used old metal bread pans which were narrow and long.
Use http://www.beesource.com/plans/melter.htm for reference.

The higher the sun in the sky the better it works.

Bob Nelson

[Terry Gr]

I like Rob's Idea maybe use a tiger torch instead should go a little faster.

We use an old comercial laundry spinner. It holds aprox 200 frames apply steam for 15 minutes then spin the frames all the wax, honey, water, and slum gum then goes in to a half steel drum. The wax floats to the top it then gets skimmed of into molds the left overs harden and we scrape of the junk slumgum and just remelt the little bit of wax from half drum next time we melt fames. Extremely messy and dirty job. the wooden remnents get brunt or sent to the dump.

[moposcar]

I have a regular wax melter that I use when melting wax cappings, but it doesn't separate out the good wax from the bad wax like Rob was talking about.

Lesli St. Clair---how do you make firestarters? Is this like the firstarter logs you buy in the stores?

Thanks

[Rod Weakley]

I'm not st.clair, but I'll take a stab at your question. I know of 2 ways to make good firestarters from wax. The easiest is to melt the wax in a container that will give an inch or so depth of wax. Roll up some newspaper into tubes, tie the newspaper with string every couple inches, then cut between the strings. holding the string dip into the hot wax. great firestarters work in almost any weather.

The second way I know of that's good also is to use old cardboard egg cartons. Melt your wax down, mix in some saw dust, pour into the egg carton, let set up and then cut apart each little egg cup.