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I've been keeping this blog for all of my beekeeping years and I am beginning my 19th year of beekeeping in April 2024. Now there are more than 1300 posts on this blog. Please use the search bar below to search the blog for other posts on a subject in which you are interested. You can also click on the "label" at the end of a post and all posts with that label will show up. At the very bottom of this page is a list of all the labels I've used.

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I began this blog to chronicle my beekeeping experiences. I have read lots of beekeeping books, but nothing takes the place of either hands-on experience with an experienced beekeeper or good pictures of the process. I want people to have a clearer picture of what to expect in their beekeeping so I post pictures and write about my beekeeping saga here.Master Beekeeper Enjoy with me as I learn and grow as a beekeeper.

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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

It's Wax Block Time Again!

The Metro Atlanta Beekeepers' club honey contest is on Sunday and I haven't given myself enough time to pour the wax block 18 times like I did (literally) last year. I gathered all of the wax from my solar wax melter adventures this year and put it in the converted Presto pot I have for melting wax. (From Ebay) It's a lovely collection, isn't it?



After a short time melting, here's the lovely golden melting wax - just a little bit to go.


Last year at the Georgia Beekeepers' Association Fall Meeting, I heard Robert Brewer (a certified Welsh honey judge) talk about how to filter melted wax. In the past I've used panty hose, but Robert said to filter your wax through silk. It's hard to find silk today.

I went to Hancock's and they didn't even have silk lining material. Then a sales woman said, "I believe they did send us a small bolt by mistake." She went to some stack of fabric and pulled out white silk, exactly what I needed. I wanted white because I didn't want to discolor my wax by putting it through a filter with dye in it.

The converted Presto Pot has a spout on it and you can see the liquid gold pouring onto the silk filter. I did this late at night (11:30) and now the wax has been poured into a brownie sized pan and will cool until morning.



I never get it right the first time, so I can pour it again tomorrow, Friday and Saturday on my way to the Sunday contest! The pressure's on, though, because I can only pour it over a couple of times, rather than my record-setting eighteen last year!
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3 comments:

  1. You can get silk from Dharma Trading Company. They are a mail/internet order company for fabric arts. I love your blog and hope someday soon to have bees myself! Thanks for all the information!

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  2. Matt Arrington11:24 AM

    Stupid question maybe, but what do you do with the wax after you have filtered it enough?

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  3. Pour it into a mold of whatever kind you need. For a wax block for a honey contest, people use brownie size pans (8X8) or loaf pans. Our contest requires that the block weigh 2 -3 pounds and not be taller than 2 inches.

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