If there is an apiary, it is good for any beekeeper to have a solar wax refinery. It helps to get the cleanest and highest quality product, brightened by the rays of the sun. This device can be bought in a specialized store, or you can do it yourself.
Principle of operation
Solar wax refining is very convenient, because it does not need the presence of electric energy, unlike steam and furnace similar appliances.
It consists of such parts:
- a box of wood;
- glass frame;
- pallet in the form of a baking sheet for raw materials;
- capacity for molten wax (tray).
When exposed to sunlight, the lid becomes hot and heats the contents inside the structure. Wax honeycomb melts at a temperature of +62 ... + 68 ° C. The housing normally tolerates heating up to + 90 ° C. Wax becomes liquid under the influence of high temperature and merges into the container.
Wax refinery should be used on hot sunny summer days. They usually occur in June-July. Fresh, unfilled honeycombs melt easily and without residue, filling the tray. Old dark honeycombs with the remains of cocoons and pollen leave behind a poorly cleaned residue, so a wire grid is placed under them. With such a grill, everything that remains after the furnace is easily removed.
Did you know? For 1 year, one family of bees can produce 7 kg of wax from honeycombs. Most of it is used to produce wax, and the rest can be used as a thickener in cosmetics, for candles, polishing, lubricants, mastics and other needs.
How to make a sun wax at home
To make a home-made device for burning wax, you will need some materials and tools that are available on the farm for almost every person.
Tools and materials
To make a solar wax refinery you need to stock up on the following:
- tongue-and-groove boards 12 cm wide;
- plywood 33 × 52 cm;
- wooden slats;
- two corners;
- nails
- wood screws;
- baking tray for loading wax raw materials;
- a tray for collecting molten wax;
- a saw;
- a hammer;
- a ruler.
Important! DIn order for the nails not to split the board, they should be blunted, for example, hit the tip of the nail with a hammer a couple of times.
Drawing
Before making a wax refinery, you should make a drawing of it. It is made based on the size of the metal pan and tray for melted wax. It is recommended to first buy (or make) fittings for the device, and then determine the dimensions of the wooden case.
There should be no gaps in the manufactured structure, since they reduce the efficiency of use of the device
Manufacturing instruction
To make a wax refinery, you must follow these steps:
- A box is made of boards 12 cm thick and 45 × 52 cm in size.
- To increase the angle of incidence of the sun, one more board 12 cm wide is added to one edge 52 cm long from above. It will serve as one of the supports of the device for burning wax.
- Wooden planks are nailed at the ends of the boards.
- A plywood bottom is pinned to the bottom, which is slightly shorter than the bottom.
- A board is nailed to close the remaining gap. At this point there will be a wax tray, and it should be reinforced.
- In an almost finished design, a tray is placed on the board.
- Two racks are installed and nailed under the baking sheet at the bottom of the structure.
- To give a stable horizontal position of the tray, a thin rail is nailed under it in the corner of the bottom.
- To limit the possibility of exit from the tray on the sides of the case at the level of its edges, two corners are fixed with screws.
- After installing the baking sheet, the top structure is closed with glass. So that it does not move out, a persistent bar is nailed down.
Video: DIY wax refinery
To attract sunlight, the box can be painted black or use a reflector in the form of a mirror, but you can also operate without it.
Pros and cons of this design
- Solar wax refinery has the following advantages:
- It is easy to make it yourself. Work on the implementation of this design is quite simple and does not require any special professionalism.
- Such a device does not require a connection to a source of electricity, since it works from heating by sunlight.
- This is a fairly reliable and sturdy device.
- With its help, pure wax without impurities is obtained, and the process of obtaining the product does not need monitoring and constant attention.
- A wax refinery is suitable for a variety of waxes, including the old one.
- By cons include the following points:
- In order for the raw materials to melt completely, a decent amount of time is spent, especially if you need to process a large amount.
- In rainy or cloudy weather the wax will not be heated. Such a device can not always be used, but only in the summer on sunny days.
- The amount of material for kindling is limited, so with large production volumes it should not be used.
Making a wax refinery on your own will not take much time, but it will save money. To produce it, very few materials and ordinary tools will be required.Did you know? Wax prevents infections and bacteria from getting inside the honeycomb; it perfectly protects honey from spoilage. They are often processed for these purposes. So, the cheese on top is treated with wax so that it is stored longer.
