Tuesday, September 13, 2011

How to Refine Beeswax

We extracted honey this past weekend... 309 lbs!  Couple that with our earlier harvest and it brings us up to 576 lbs for the year, so far!  We still have one hive not on our property and possibly a final small draw here.
The second harvest was a bit darker, as expected.  More notable however, was the difference in the Baker's Honey (cooked down to separate from the wax cappings).

On left is the Baker's Honey from first extraction.  On right is from the second.
It's as dark and rich as molasses!

With all the wax laying around, it was about time I do something with it.  I had buckets of it...buckets.

Here are some of the cappings before I cooked them down for the Baker's Honey:

And of course, what it looks like separated and cooled from the honey that remained in them:
We still have last years wax!  Aye!  Better get on it...

I put this off for so long because just like pressure canning, the stories I read online and in the books, scared the bajeepers out of me!  That was last year.  This year, I simply did my best to remember the important steps and just did it.  No time for fear, just do it! 

Pft!  It was so simple and possibly one of the coolest things I have ever learned!

How to Refine Beeswax

Any pans and even some utensils will never be the same after processing wax.  Therefore, I have my designated tools.  You may want to also. 

  • Fashion yourself a double boiler if you don't have one you are willing to sacrifice to the wax.  I used a set of nesting pans my mom gave me years ago and they worked perfectly!  The handles of the wax pan held itself at just the right level in the larger pan:
  • Add enough water in the larger pan to come up the sides of the inner pan an inch or so.  You can do this before you put the smaller pan in if you are worried about getting water in the wax pan, which you don't want. 
  • Add your wax and cover inner pan with a lid.
  • Turn on the heat and bring to a very slow boil. 
  • Meanwhile, spread wax paper on your countertop if you like.  Any time I work with honey/wax, I have found it just makes for easier clean up.
  • Open the tops of your reserved milk, half/half or OJ cartons.  You want to use the cartons because they are already lined with a light layer of wax and wont adhere to your finished product.  Start saving them up for future use if need be.  A quick rinse, dry, shove'em in a corner and they are good to go when they are needed!
  • Cut your cheeseclothe and place over the opening.  Make sure you leave some give at the top for pouring and catching the debris.  I taped mine down pretty tight as I wanted no slippage. 
Ok, so maybe I went overboard.  You don't need that much cheeseclothe and maybe not even that much tape.  I wasn't taking chances.  :o}
  • When your wax has completely melted, lift inner pan from the water and quickly wipe it with a towel.
  • Pour the contents of the pan into the carton.  I filled my containers about 3/4 full. 
Here is what it looks like freshly poured ~ liquid gold!
Isn't it lovely?
  • Let the wax rest until it is cooled to solid:
It cracked because I kept being all touchy-feely with the first one.  It couldn't be helped. 
The others are smooth as butter.

  • Tear off the carton and behold...clean beeswax!
This one weighed about 1.25 lbs.  I have others cooling in cartons and more wax to go!

Here is a comparison of some refined wax that I spilled on the counter (see...I told you!) compared to the unrefined wax:
 Again, one of the coolest things I have ever done!  Now, what to do with it all???

46 comments:

  1. OMG Look at it all!!! That is beautiful stuff! I can't wait for our country life so we can have bees. It will be just awesome. You should make some lip balm, candles, and you can top off cans with it when canning (I know I read that somewhere...) or you could just sell some! Gorgeous!!!!

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  2. Tiny, I hope you get to your country life someday too! You would be awesome in the styx! Lip balm for sure, some soap etc. Yes you can use it for canning but I probably wouldn't. Maybe some lotions or something...lots of ideas!

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    1. One other great use is to melt it down and mix it 50/50 with mineral oil. Voila!! once it cools you have a great food safe wood finish. I use it on my maple butcher block cutting board and home made wooden spoons.

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  3. That looks good enough to eat and since I can't remember my brother's bee raising days what do you do with it?I have another warning especially for families growing up near big farms using pesticides.chlorpyrifos was banned in 2001 from household use,bur they still use it on farms.So country kids get a double dose of this stuff .It lowers there IQ and is bad for a child's developing nervous system.I don't except to win honey every time I mention a good article I read but I know not everyone has the time especially young farmers. some people are already aware of these things but it gives me satisfaction just knowing that someone is a word wiser

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  4. Ooooohhhh, ahhhhhhhh. That is nifty! And holy cow the difference in the bakers honey is amazing. Does the dark stuff even taste like honey?

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  5. Judy, you can be our "watch dog" any time you want! Besides, it shows you have a big heart...and that's a wonderful thing!

    Jane, it is very robust! I can't wait to try it in wheat, rye and pumpernickel bread. Ooooh...and GrapeNuts!

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  6. Sometimes you just gotta chuck fear and do it. You did great-it looks fantastic, and I'm sure you're gonna find a lot of uses for it. Have you ever priced those beeswax candles? Holy smokes!
    Makes a great Christmas gift.....
    :)

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  7. That. Is. AWESOME!

    How much do you charge to come down here to help us start our own bee colony??

    No. Really. I'm not joking.
    (sobs because Paul will kill her if she gets any more livestock)

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  8. Sue, nope never the candles. But the last time I went to the Amish stores, they had 1 lb of wax for $18. I have no idea if that is normal or not.

    Carolyn, well we need to figure out how to change Paul's take then! Just one hive would give you enough honey for your family. Any more than that is just a real nice bonus, if ya know what I mean!

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  9. That is a lot of honey! And I can't wait to see what you do with the beeswax.

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  10. This post could have been written in Latin as I could barely get it. You are so impressive and I learn something new whenever I come to your page. I have honey on my shopping list. I buy the little bear shaped ones. :o)
    Green acres is the place to be... HA!

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  11. Oh, bees are one thing that I have absolutely no idea how to take care of. I can pretty much figure out everything else, but the bees? Well, let's just say my hat's off to you. Great job on your huge harvest of hunny! We were thinking pretty serious about checking it all out, and then ended up with medical issues this summer. Maybe in a year or two. Love your bee posts!!
    ~~Lori

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  12. Ok, serious question...what do you do with Beeswax? I have no clue. I just though it was a snappy comeback with "mind your own beeswax." I never knew it was really something.

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  13. Oh, I am sooo envious. We are finally getting serious about getting a hive hear at the property. Fresh honey, beeswax and bees for the garden/orchard. Good for you!

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  14. Wow...that is so cool. We haven't refined any wax yet as we are planning on melting the wax to make fire starters for our wood heater. May have to rethink that. Thanks for sharing.

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  15. This is awesome! I bet that baker's stuff would be fantastic in bread or mead even, yum!

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  16. Cool post! Can't wait to see what you do with all of it-so keep us updated!

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  17. Chicken Mama took all our cappings and processed them. She got about 8-1/2 pounds of baker's honey (if I remember correctly) and brought a jar to us. She's planning on making bee's wax candles. I just wish she had the time now to post her adventures as you did! Sure would be interesting to compare them.

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  18. I given you the Liebster Blog award! I really enjoy your blog! http://fitzgeraldsfamilyfarm.blogspot.com/2011/09/liebster-blog-award.html

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  19. Wow that is beautiful. You could make candles, soap, lip balm, sell it, or just give it to me free LOL!

    Cassandra

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  20. This is awesome! Can I ask a maybe really stupid question? Is the wax from the caps only or is it also the actual comb?

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  21. Hi Chellie, that's not a stupid question at all! It is from the wax caps only.

    We return the combs to the hive and the bees clean them up -and depending on the time of year we harvest, they start working them again.

    My husband also believes it gives them a head start not having to rebuild the entire comb from season to season.

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  22. This is exactly what I was looking for - thanks! I've just purchased about ten pounds of wax and need a way to clean it without the need for a solar extractor (since it's still on the to-do list). This looks quick, easy and effective so I'll definitely be giving it a go.

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  23. If you still have a little bit of honey with your wax, does it separate that as well? Because it just seems that if the honey was warm, it would go straight though the cheesecloth as well.

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  24. Tanya, I hope it works well for you too!

    Terril Family, I would imagine so. However, I did not encounter that. Once the wax passed thru the cheesecloth it was JUST wax. It could be (maybe) that if there was any, and I believe it would be minimal if any, that it was just 'gunk' that stayed in the top of the cloth. That is purely a guess as again, no honey was in my wax at all. Very good question though!

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  25. Hi.....this is in reply to Terril Family's question. I process wax as well and when I do mine I do have some honey that is sometimes left on the outside of my blocks. I wash my cappings before I melt them to get rid of the excesss honey but there is always a small amount left on the blocks. I just rinse my blocks under warm water and dry them lightly. Any honey left on my blocks is washed away in the sink.

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  26. would LOVE LOVE LOVE to buy some... had bees for a while.. but due to a knee injury... couldn't transport hives so had to sell them.. sighs. I still have plenty of honey, Yippee.. but not wax... Let me know! or where there is a good resource to purchase?

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    1. Not sure ma'am as I haven't needed to search. Ours isn't for sale, I'm very sorry :(

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  27. It was 300 POUNDS of natural beeswax in big wheels that got hubby and I started making candles 5 years ago! The only difference in what you did and what we did, was I bought him dollar store pantyhose to pour it through! We pour our pure beeswax into molds and sell them as well as burn them ourselves! LOVE the honey smell! Also make tealights from beeswax that burn MUCH longer than the el-cheapo white ones!

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    1. Wow! You have a ton! Maybe you and Margaret (above) should talk ;)

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  28. I may be able to get some cappings from a friend who has bees. (We can't do the combs ourselves because my husband is deathly allergic.) How do you separate the leftover honey from the cappings originally. You say that you did it in the post, with the before and after pics, but don't say how.

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    1. Corissa, see if this helps you out:
      http://theapplepiegal.blogspot.com/2011/07/harvesting-honey-2011.html?m=0

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  29. I have read about beeswax used for polishing wood furniture. Is this the type of bees wax to use as furniture polish ?
    thanks Patsy

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    1. Well my guess would be yes. It is just wax and I am not certain what if any other DIY ingredients would be required. Something to look into and interesting!

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  30. Thank you so much for sharing your processing methods. We live in Southern Sasktchewan, and in addition to working full time in the city, we have 25 acres with a commercial greenhouse business, plus 17 beehives, never a dull moment! We have been storing our cappings for about 5 years, as I knew there was a way to process the wax, but never really had time to research and deal with it. We have been buying rendered wax and we make a variety of beeswax candles. I am going to try your method just as soon as we can get into our honey house - too much snow!
    Lynda

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    1. WOW! You've got your work cut out for you then! Good luck and I hope this helps :)

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  31. I have been looking for someone who sells raw honey to the general public here is FL. Would you happen to know anyone? bluegrass12000@yahoo.com

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    1. I don't; however, Farmers Markets would be a great place to look or ask around. Well worth a try!

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  32. I bought some beeswax from a home beehiver (is that the right word lol) but it has a yellow tinge to it and when i make stuff with it its very yellow not golden like yours, would following your steps take out the yellow or did I just get weird wax? Thanks for any help.
    Crystal

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    1. I consider ourselves "Beekeepers" ;)
      And I'm not surprised of color variations in the wax. I think it would be as diverse as the honey itself. Local food sources, brood wax etc. My guess is you are just fine!

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  33. Oh, this is so great. I'm going to pin this so this summer when we harvest our first batch of honey I'll come back and get some courage! Thanks for posting and including all the photos!

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    1. I will wish you much courage! One time and you will be a pro!

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  34. one use for beeswax..google pysanka eggs..

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  35. Hi there . . . beeswax is also used in Encaustic Painting - wax is melted and combined with pigments to make encaustic paint. It's used in liquid form like paint, but then cools and is heated with a heat gun to fuse layers. It's beautiful, translucent and soft looking. It was used in ancient Greece and Rome and some pieces are still in existence today. The art of encaustic painting is catching on again and growing fast. Some artist out there would love to buy your beeswax!! And OMG, does it smell GOOOOOD!

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  36. I am currently searching for someone local to get my hands on more beeswax for lip balms and lotion bars, found the recipes on pinterest and love them!! will never buy chapstick again lol

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