clean wax with slow cooker

I retired my solar wax melter and use a slow cooker exclusively to clean wax.  For safety, I operate the slow cooker outdoors and place concrete pavers beneath the hot appliance and wood table top. After crush and strain honey extraction, wax from thirteen frames are rinsed in warm water and cleaned in two slow cooker batches.   I added half the wax and two cups of water to the large oval slow cooker. Shown is cotton fabric and blue tape which suspend the wax above the water bath.  After two to three hours on the high setting, I turn off the slow cooker and leave all components (lid, cotton fabric and wax impurities) undisturbed until the slow cooker has completely cooled.

crush and strain 2012

The day before the crush and strain, I removed eight deep frames of capped honey from the freezer and left the frames to thaw inside their plastic bag.  I cut away the honey comb and nearly filled a five gallon bucket - probably the limit of my strainer. 

Including preparation and clean-up, the entire crush portion took just one hour - a new record.  Here's my best effort with a material balance.

• 48.0lb of honey + 8 deep frames + wax
• 42.6lb of honey + wax
• 37.0lb of honey

After two days of straining, stirring and settling, I filled 73 x 8oz bottles of honey.

I rinsed the wax pieces in warm water and dried those pieces on the sunny driveway.  Next, I placed the pieces in bags which are stored in the freezer until I was ready to use the solar melter.  Sounds extreme, but a few years ago wax moths made a complete mess of unprocessed wax which I left  indoors.

Coincidentally, I started the solar melting during Atlanta's all-time record of 106°F.   The block of wax smells great and has a beautiful deep yellow color - I'm blown away.

solar wax melter and low outdoor temperature

How high an outdoor temperature is required for the solar wax melter? At 65F, the wax melting was successful--however I had to place the gizmo inside the car. The clear type 1 plastic deformed slightly, but I am completely satisfied with the t-shirt fabric filter.

solar wax melter using a black plastic "tub box"

In the plumbing aisle of Home Depot, I discovered the central component to my solar wax melter--a black plastic "tub box"--inexpensive ($3) and includes a lip for the clear lid. Besides the great price, the black color runs all the way through the material--in my mind, an advantage over wax melter designs that require black paint.

Found the clear lid at the home depot too, a sheet of 18 x 24 x 0.93 clear Lexan ($16) which I cut using a jig saw with a metal blade. The 1 inch foam insulation that surrounds the box is a "found item"($0)--something that came to me as packing material for furniture.