That depends on what you use to apply the wax and how heavy a hand you have with applying the wax. It also depends upon the melted temp of the wax and ambient temps. Its pretty hard to say but having done this in the past I think you would be safe with 15 - 20 lbs of wax. Probably have much of it left over.

 

I melt cleaned cappings wax in a crock pot and roll it on already waxed Parmadent deep foundation with a paint roller. 20lbs sounds about right. It is not an exact process.

 

We wax pierco frames with a paint roller and use on average 1/2 pound of wax per box (10 frames).

 

What temperature do you heat the wax to, and do you use a foam type roller? Thanks, John

 

My wax sits in a 60 litres candle wax melter @ 160-180 F. We use 4 inch foam rollers and soak into wax that sits in a 12x12x3 pan. The pan itself sits on a heater that is keep at low. With a valve, we have the wax continuously pour into the pan and have ajusted the wax flow to our rythm. This is important cause wax heated over this temperature damages the foam roller.

 

Just dont let it boil, the wax turns to some mush that's useless. Dont put it on so thick as to let it be smooth or the bees have hard time figuring out what to do with it. I use a paint roller, not a foam one, not that I know if it matters.

 

Thanks for the input. That at least will give me an idea on how much wax I will need to purchase. Monrovi

 

Will bees build comb on plastic foundation that has not been waxed?

 

I waxed 350 deeps and know I didn't use anything like twenty pounds. I use a fiber three inch roller. I could not make a foam roller work at all. My wax is at about 170 and be sure to let the roller get hot before rolling when you start. I tap it on the edge of the old deep fat fryer I use and quickly and lightly roll across the top of the first frame, flip it and lightly do the whole side. Then I finish the first side and quickly roll two more frames pressing progressively harder and making several passes over surfaces. THen I repeat. I believe putting the wax on fresh before putting on the bees pays dividends.

 

Does anyone dip rather than roll?

 

t:
I enjoyed copenhagen for a number of years, but it got so expensive. I never could get into filterless cig's so rolling my own didn't work for me either.


sorry...

 

Vance
How many pounds do you think you used doin that many deep frames?

 

Hard to say since I have a big pile of antique before miticide beeswax but I really doubt it was more then ten pounds. You just don't need a big thick coat--which is what would happen if you dipped I am afraid. The key is putting them on the bees when they need more room and they are freshly coated.

 

I was thinking it would be just the opposite. When you dip the frames, the wax would drain off if it was hot enough. You could even give it a shake to get rid of the excess. It seems like when you roll it on it would fill up the cells. I've never done either, so it's all speculation.

 

Dipping might work but it would use far too much wax. I use a 4" fiber roller and hit them lightly, just enough to get wax on the high spots not the floor of the cells. Probably used 2 lb/100 frames. Seems to work well.