[ibmerlin]

We have around 40 hives and my wife makes candles. I am thinking of buying our first wax melter and could use some help. It will be used for rendering wax from comb and cappings, for melting rendered wax for candles, and for dipping plastic foundation to rewax them. To this point I have rendered with a pot of water on the stove. This makes rewaxing foundation hard. What advice do you have on the best wax melter for us to get. How easy is it to render with a melter? And options I should look for? I figure we will not need a very large one. What size would you suggest? Thanks in advance!
Merlin

 

[Walt McBride]

We have around 40 hives and my wife makes candles. I am thinking of buying our first wax melter and could use some help. It will be used for rendering wax from comb and cappings, for melting rendered wax for candles, and for dipping plastic foundation to rewax them. To this point I have rendered with a pot of water on the stove. This makes rewaxing foundation hard. What advice do you have on the best wax melter for us to get. How easy is it to render with a melter? And options I should look for? I figure we will not need a very large one. What size would you suggest? Thanks in advance!
Merlin

I might suggest building a solar melter, first. But I see that you are a bit north in latitude from where I operate.
My melter holds 6 deep frames and or a 5lb bucket of dry cappings. I wash the cappings befor melting so honey does not collect on the bottom of receving container.
I also have a Kelley Cappings Melter #198 that I have used very little because I feel that it is too much trouble to set up and clean after use and then the resulting hardened round wax would go into the solar melter to produce the finished wax. The sun's energy is free. I would like to hear what other people say about other electric melters.
Walt

 

[ibmerlin]

Walt, I do want to build a solar melter also. But for pouring candles and rewaxing plastic foundation we need something else. We will use the electric melter mostly for that and maybe rendering in fall and winter months.