Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Brush the foundation in a sliding motion, moving across the surface immediately.
A well-waxed plastic foundation—bees wax is on the edges and not the bottom of the cells.
Bees will make good comb with this.
About Solar Wax Melters
You can make a wax melter or purchase one as a kit from suppliers. Plans abound
on the internet and they are fairly easy to build. Paint the outside and inside black
(some say paint the inside white, but I've found black works better when using a
thick plastic covering), make sure the cover is tight or you will have bees in it all
the time, and place it so it gets as much light as possible all day. Cover the top
with corrugated plastic rather than glass, and make the metal tray that the frames
and wax chunks sit on as large as possible. Put in a large catch pan and have two
or three—this may be the pan you put in your wax melting pot on the hot plate
so make sure it's aluminum or stainless. If you get serious about this tool, make
it big (I've seen homemade boxes that use a regular storm door with windows for
the top), make the pan slope between 30 and 35 degrees so the melted wax moves
away from the frames and other refuse fairly fast. If you can, put a screen on the
opening at the bottom of the tray to catch at least some of the bigger chunks of im-
purities that are in the wax—dead bees, chunks of old comb, pieces of wood will
all be screened out.
