Solar Melter

[JC]

I have a Dadant solar melter and I have been procrastinating purchasing a glass or plastic top for it. Does anyone have any sugguestions?

[danno1800]

I have a Dadant solar melter and I have been procrastinating purchasing a glass or plastic top for it. Does anyone have any sugguestions?

I hope that helps you. -Danno

[Dick Allen]

I built one a few years back and used two pieces of plastic Lexan® for the cover. The plastic sagged a bit and stressed cracked in a few spots. The sagging isn't godawful bad and the stress cracks have been controlled by stop drilling, but if I make another one I'll use glass instead of plastic.

[Ravenseye]

I have the Brushy Mountain melter and it has a "Therma Clear" top. I don't know exactly the kind of plastic it is, but it sat outside all year in the sun with no problems. It's a sandwich of two pieces of plastic with dividers in between to give it strength and, I would guess, some measure of thermal efficiency. I had planned on replacing it, thinking that it wouldn't last long, but I never needed to.

[HVH]

Dual pane glass is more expensive, but it is so much more efficient that you can melt max earlier and later in the season. I had a Dadant unit and really didn't like it. It warmed up slowly and didn't get very hot. I used single pane glass. I have 50 hives so I wanted something that could keep up with the frames I tried to rotate out. So I forked out the cash and purchased Mann Lakes metal solar melter with dual pane glass. There is no comparison. Its like a match versus a flame thrower. So if you want to crank up the therms with the Dadant unit you might want to consider spending some extra bucks and incorporating dual pane. The wooden box probably won't get as warm as metal, but it is probably good enough.

Mann Lakes
Product ID: HH-185 Category: Processing Equipment
DELUXE SOLAR WAX MELTER
Price: $399.95

[JC]

Dual pane glass is more expensive, but it is so much more efficient that you can melt max earlier and later in the season. I had a Dadant unit and really didn't like it. It warmed up slowly and didn't get very hot. I used single pane glass. I have 50 hives so I wanted something that could keep up with the frames I tried to rotate out. So I forked out the cash and purchased Mann Lakes metal solar melter with dual pane glass. There is no comparison. Its like a match versus a flame thrower. So if you want to crank up the therms with the Dadant unit you might want to consider spending some extra bucks and incorporating dual pane. The wooden box probably won't get as warm as metal, but it is probably good enough.

Mann Lakes
Product ID: HH-185 Category: Processing Equipment
DELUXE SOLAR WAX MELTER
Price: $399.95

I never thought of dual pane glass. I will look into it tomorrow.

Thanks!

[JC]

I have the Brushy Mountain melter and it has a "Therma Clear" top. I don't know exactly the kind of plastic it is, but it sat outside all year in the sun with no problems. It's a sandwich of two pieces of plastic with dividers in between to give it strength and, I would guess, some measure of thermal efficiency. I had planned on replacing it, thinking that it wouldn't last long, but I never needed to.

I have not been able to find plastic with the trade name of "Therma Clear." I would not mind trying plastic that was made for greenhouses, but I do not know where to purchase it.