BeesWax Melter MQ

01 · HOW IT WORKS

Water below, frames above, and the wax runs down

The bottom is filled with water to the marked level. Heating it produces the steam that melts the wax out of the frames sitting in the 5 mm perforated basket.

The molten wax drains into the lower tray and the slumgum — brood cocoons, debris — stays up in the basket. That separation is the whole job: what comes out below is wax, and what you throw away is already apart from it.

02 · THE WATER SEAL

A perimeter channel instead of gaskets

The lid does not close against rubber: it sits in a perimeter channel filled with water. That water seal is what holds the steam in, and it has the advantage that there are no gaskets to harden or replace.

The trade-off is that you have to watch the level: if the channel dries out, steam starts escaping round the rim and the rendering session drags on without anyone understanding why.

03 · THE HEAT

Gas underneath, and the cold takes its toll

It is heated by a gas burner set under the boiler, which is not included. This boiler generates its own steam by heating the bottom; no inlet for connecting an external steam generator is documented.

And a winter note: a butane bottle loses pressure below about 5 °C. If you render outdoors in January, propane performs better.

04 · WAX AND TIME

It melts at 62-65 °C and darkens if you overdo it

Beeswax melts between 62 and 65 °C and starts to darken above about 85 °C. Steam arrives at 100 °C, so what is controlled here is not the temperature: it is how long the material stays inside.

The 1.5 mm AISI 304 stainless steel counts for the colour too, because iron in contact with hot wax dirties it. And the right expectation: an old brood frame yields little wax and a lot of slumgum.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

The measurements we publish are external — 1170 × 600 × 935 mm; the internal ones are not in the maker's documentation. If you need it to fit a specific space, ask us.