I would like help on equipment that I need to purchase.
1. I would like to purchase a tank for creaming honey.
2. I would like to process (liquefy and melt) cappings and beeswax.
To save costs, I would like to know if I could get by with just purchasing the Maxant honey creamer, which is basically their bottling tank with a agitator on top. The agitator would be removed when processing beeswax. would this bottling tank work to melt cappings? The difference from their liquefier is that is doesn't have two valves but I think I could just strain using the one valve. Slumgum comes out first.. When wax comes along, I could put that into my fiberglass tubs. Also I wouldn't use the no drip valve, just the regular ball valve. We already have a wax spinner to extract honey so that isn't a priority.
Can someone with experience tell me if a bottling tank 15gallon would work to process the beeswax for approximately 50 hives?
With 50 hives I am wondering if you are paying for labor or doing it yourself? There are plenty of people throwing out cast iron bath tubs and radiators that you could run a tap off your hot water boiler if you have that form of heat in your house. If not boilers are cheap on craigslist.
I bought a liquefier tank from Dadant when I first started with bees. The ad said you could liquefy honey, bottle and melt wax all from the same tank. The ad is right on the first use but once you melt wax in it all you have is an expensive wax tank. This is the only piece of equipment I have bought so far that I feel was a waste of my money. However I will say that good advertising works.
I don't think you want a tank for making creamed honey. You want to mix the seed crystals and the package into the final container. It will then go to creamed honey in that container.
I can only guess you havent rendered any of your wax yet??? when you do you will quickly understand as everyone else has posted... whatever you use for your wax, will immediately become useless for anything else.
Go to yard sales and look for large pots or old crockpots, or go to your fav chain store and buy a canning pot. Pick up some cheesecloth, scrounge a couple of plastic cooking spoons to stir with... when your done rendering.. you clean those things up the best you can and set them aside until your ready to render again.
Also...
The size of your pot is dependent on how much wax you need to render.. your volume of wax will not approach your volume of honey. Heating a large pot may not be cost effective if you have a dozen hives or less. I render, and set the blocks aside until I have a dozen or so, then re render to purify. you will also be amazed at how much the volume changes once the wax begins to melt and you begin filtering/straining.
I still say that the solar melter should do the majority of what you need/want to do with the wax. How many pounds of wax are you harvesting per year? You should be able to put a metal screen/lathe with a single sheet of paper towel. Then dump the cappings/comb on top. Under that you have your catch basin, which has water in it to catch the drippings. Once you have the refined cappings, you can clean it up more. If required. If you are trading it in for foundation then I'm sure they will be happy with how clean it is.
Now if sun in Canada isn't as hot as it is in Tennessee, you might have to resort to steam/boiling water. I'm looking at building a box that I can pump steam into via wallpaper removal tool. If it works well, then I'll look at upgrading to a real steam generator. In the meantime, I'd take the one with the lowest input costs.
Also, I like to have passive things that work for me, while I'm doing something else.
>I still say that the solar melter should do the majority of what you need/want to do with the wax.
The problem I have faced in recent years is that the die off generates the frames I want to renovate during the winter after the solar wax melting season has ended. My steam box works year around.
>I'll look at upgrading to a real steam generator.
I had a bung that accepts a 1" npt immersion heater welded into a beer keg and that will make a lot of steam. I had two bungs for two elements actually.
Odfrank is on to something with his steam. Just make sure you have pressure relief valves that function.
I am still searching for a better way than the old submerged grape press method for old comb.
>Just make sure you have pressure relief valves that function.
My masterpiece does not involve contained pressure. The steam just shoots into the tank which has an open drain and steam leaks from the lid that is just held on by gravity.
>Wagner. works great.
Ace, I need a real man's steam generator, not a tinker toy. I bet my two pressure cookers produce more steam than that.
You didn't give me a btu rating, but don't sell it short. There is a 1500 watt element in the thing and that is equivalent to the large burner on an electric stove that you might use for your pressure cooker. Time of use might be a factor because you can only put so much water in it. It is good for an hour or more.
There is a youtube video somewhere of a beekeeper in London (England) who put the steam outlet from a wallpaper stripper (as Ace showed in post #14) directly into an old deep, covered by an outer cover. The set up had some kind of angled bottom board and the wax ran out of the front.
Goldenman, what method are you using to uncap before you extract? What volume of uncappings do you have? Do you anticipate running more than 50 hives?
My pressure cookers are good for over two hours which is more than one batch takes. I chose them because I did not want to invest in equipment with only one purpose and use. My propane burners can be used for turkey frying or what have you. And less likely to break down.
Might want to be careful on the pressure cookers... While I suppose the risk is minimal. Most of them warn against cooking over a turey fryer. I'm not sure if it causes the bottom to weaken or....
I just know that my pressure cooker came with a giant card saying not to do it. LOL
Also, the bottoms on my turkey fryers are definitely distorted... So, I'd say proceed with caution....
I'm planning in running 50 hives and I do not have hired help. I'm running solo on this mission. So why is a liquified such a bad idea? Is it money lost? I prefer to do my wax inside during the cold winter months so outside doesn't really help much...
I don't know what you mean by Liquified.. It's a prereq that the wax is going to be in liquid form to collect, filter, and mold it. It just comes down to how you want to get it into that form. Steam, Boiling water, Solar heat, etc....
Steam is probably the "easiest" to do inside. Your not exposing the wax to an open flame and your not dealing with gallons of boiling water. Solar is the best passive means, but it does require the sun to be shining.
Like previously posted, my initial plan is like the youtube videos. Cut a hole in the top of the lid, connect the hose from a wall paper steamer. Place tray under hive body and cross fingers.
Once I get more excited about it.. I'll weld up a sealable tank with drain spout.
>Might want to be careful on the pressure cookers...
Yes, they probably will have a limited lifespan as I need to heat them hot to make a lot of steam. But other than cracking and spilling there should be little risk. Checking Craigslist for replacements.
I didn't realize that you were still asking about the specific product or more of the overall process.
I'd expect that the device will do fine, but you need to figure out the math and find out what your return on investment is. Assuming you care about that.
If you are only doing 20lbs of wax a year, that 600+ bucks might be better spent elsewhere. However, if your doing 500lbs a week...
I have close to 60 hives and I still haven't bought one.
Assuming that my solar melter is full or it's too cold. I put my comb/burr in a bucket, then freeze for a couple days to kill shb/wax moths, then into a sealed barrel. Once I have enough wax saved up. I usually boil it.. But IMO that takes more effort that I want to do for the small amount of wax that I get. Labor to Wax ratio that is...
I plan on using the steamer method. If I can just plug in the cord and hose, then walk away.. It would be time well spent for a $50 steamer and a hole cut in a migratory top. The pressure cooker might be a good option, but I picture an exciting spinning ball of steam death when the bottom ruptures. Then again it might just fall off the stand and spray steam into the air for a couple seconds.
You can also look at a steam generator that is used buy the steam powered uncapping knives. Like on the Cowen.
and steam leaks from the lid that is just held on by gravity.
And that is your pressure relief valve, well done.
I doubt if a 1500 watt electric calrod can come close to ODfrank's propane burners.
Crazy Roland
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