Wax Melting and Frame Washing Machine

01 · HOW IT WORKS

Recirculation, not a static soak

The water is heated by two 3,000 W elements and a pump keeps it moving between the two tanks. That circulation is what holds the same temperature throughout the volume and lifts wax and propolis without punishing the frame's timber.

The perforated basket holds back cappings and slumgum, and the five ¾" valves decide whether the circuit recirculates, transfers from one tank to the other, or drains. The full insulation shortens the warm-up and cuts the loss between loads.

02 · THE TEMPERATURE

Below 85 °C if you want to keep the colour

The immersion thermostat is what makes this machine usable, because wax has a narrow margin: it melts at 62-65 °C and above about 85 °C sustained it darkens and loses its scent.

Keeping the water below those 85 °C is what separates recovering wax from merely melting it. Going higher does not speed things up much, and it does show in the colour of the block.

03 · THE ELECTRICS

Six kilowatts do not come out of any old socket

The two elements add up to 6 kW, plus some 120 W for the pump. Single-phase at 230 V, one element alone is already 13 amps and wants its own line with its own protection; both on the same phase, no.

To run both at once the sensible answer is three-phase with a five-pole socket, or splitting them across two different phases. The machine is supplied without a plug precisely so the connection can be adapted — and that installation is signed off by an electrician.

04 · DAY TO DAY

Preheat, and never run the pump dry

Preheating the water with the recirculation running before loading frames saves time and power on every batch. And the rule that saves most pumps: never dry — primed and with liquid in the circuit before starting.

With heavily loaded cappings, from eucalyptus or sunflower, a slightly longer recirculation improves the settling and leaves the frame cleaner. The elements unscrew for maintenance and the legs are adjustable.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Before the machine, what needs looking at is the honey house's electrical panel.