Turn your beeswax into gold!

Don't throw out that icky wax!

What do you do with little bits of wax (such as burr comb) that you scrape out of your hives? What do you do with that mush that you get in the strainer bag after you extract? What do you do with that wax you scrape off of foundation from time to time? If you throw it away (or worse yet, throw it on the ground near your hives) you are possibly putting your bees in danger, and also missing out on a good opportunity to make some extra cash.

One question I get here at the shop a lot is this: do you sell beeswax? There are numerous hobbyists and even other beekeepers who are always in need of pure beeswax, from candlemakers and artists to beeks who need wax to melt to dip beekeeping frames, boxes or foundation in. And harvesting your own beeswax to make bricks out of is super easy, and even fun!

When I'm in the beeyard working my hives, I always carry a two-gallon bucket with a lid - the type you can always find at your local home improvement store. When I scrape off drone comb, burr comb or any other unwanted wax, I toss it into the bucket and cover it with the lid. Throwing even small chunks of wax into the brush or on the ground not only is a waste, but it can also endanger your bees, particularly if predators (bears, skunks, etc.) smell it and approach your hives. But more common that that, it can lure other bees who will then start robbing your hive, especially if there is any honey in that wax. It's always a good idea to keep the areas surrounding your hive as clean as possible and leave to honey behind.

When you are extracting and then straining your honey save that wax, as well. I typically drain my extractors into five gallon buckets, letting the honey fall through a fine mesh bag before it goes into the bucket. When I'm done, I usually have several pounds of wax chips from the cappings I removed from the frames. If I'm not ready to process that wax right away, I place the entire bag into a one-gallon Ziplock bag (or garbage bag, if there is a lot) and throw it in my refrigerator until I need it. 

From there, you can process the wax in so many ways. If it's still warm out and it's relatively clean wax from the hives or scraped off of old frames, I simply place it in a solar melter and let the sun do its job. The solar wax melters we build and sell at Kitsap Beekeeping allow the wax to melt and drain into any type of container you wish for making bricks. Simply cover the container with a layer or two of cheesecloth to catch larger particles that may drain out of the wax melter and once the container is full, place it on a shelf or in the refrigerator. There, the wax will cool and separate from the container and viola! You have made a round wax brick! The color, smell and feel of it will delight you!

That doesn't work so well with the cappings in your Ziplock bag due to all the honey mixed into the wax, so I have a different method for that. 

One of my favorite items I carry in my store is a wax press. Though a little pricey, the press will last a lifetime and can be used to make apple cider, crush and strain blackberries - you name it. This heavy-duty, beefy press can easily squeeze harvestable honey from that mess and leave you with wax you can melt in a solar melter or a double boiler pan. Place the goop into the press, put a container down to catch the runoff (covered in a layer or two of cheesecloth) and then start turning the handle to squeeze down the wax. The honey will run out into your container, leaving the wax behind. Don't worry if a little bit of wax comes out with the honey, that's why you have the cheesecloth there. You can also skip the cheesecloth and just strain it again later to get out the last of the particles. Take your time and don't be in a hurry, keeping pressure on it for some time helps squeeze out as much of the honey as possible. I tend to tighted it in smaller increments then wait a bit to let as much as possible drain out before repeating the process until finished. Using the wax press is clean enough that you can even do it on a kitchen counter or workbench without making a mess.

I keep a large stock pot here that I found in a thrift store for five dollars and I use it to melt down wax, as well. Put a few inches of water in the bottom of the pan, put your wax in there and slowly turn up the heat. It doesn't take much heat to melt the wax so again, go slowly until you get the temperature just right. The  melted wax will float to the top and harden once cooled. From there, process it as you wish. Sometimes you may want to reheat it using a double-boiler and strain it again if purity is an issue.

Sit back and enjoy the product of your labor. If you can't use it for anything, you can sell it to crafters or even back to the supply chain if you start getting a lot of it. Or make and sell your own 100-percent pure beeswax candles! Or let your child take it to school for show-and-tell. Your imagination is the limit!