2018 · August 24, 2018
10 kg of wax blocks were reworked to 140 foundations. The success of the casting in the water-cooled foundation mould depends on many parameters, including wax temperature, cooling water flow, speed and pressure when closing the mould and waiting time until the lid is opened. Therefore this step is also a test of patience or a gift of meditative life time :-)
2018 · August 22, 2018
At the end of the bee season the garden beekeeper prepares the wax collected from the sun wax melter and young empty combs. He boils it in a large pot together with water. Water-soluble substances such as honey residues dissolve in the water and can be disposed of. The liquid wax then rests for a few hours to clear. In this process further components such as bee parts, propolis and pollen settle at the top or bottom. The thus cleaned wax is scooped carefully with a soup ladle into empty...
2017 · May 11, 2017
The honeycombs are melted with the help of a steam wax melter. The raw wax flows into a bucket, mixed with leftovers of food and honey. The solid components such as pollen and larvae skins are retained as "marc" by a cheesecloth and disposed of. The raw wax is then boiled up in a fryer together with water. The water and all water-soluble components collect at the bottom and the wax at the top. The wax is then poured through a ladies' stocking into buckets where it slowly cools and solidifies....
2017 · May 01, 2017
The cleanest wax is found in honeycombs, which the bees have developed in natural construction. Natural construction always occurs when the beekeeper does not give the bees foundations as a building aid. An example of this are drone frames, which are also called construction frames. Drone frames are empty wooden frames, which - placed in the right place in the bee colony - are built into honeycombs by the bees and are pinned by the queen exclusively with unfertilized eggs. These drone cells are...
2017 · April 22, 2017
A good wax quality has a positive effect on the development of the colonies. It is not without reason that an own wax cycle, or better an own wax line, is one of the essential basics of an organic beekeeping and is an integral part e.g. of the Bioland guidelines. Wax is actually available in abundance, because the natural building instinct causes the bees to constantly produce fresh wax. The beekeeper just has to use it properly.
2016 · December 04, 2016
If one cannot be sure which synthetic materials are added to purchased wax foundations, the production of foundations from own wax is an alternative. Using a borrowed foundation casting mould, the garden beekeeper today produced 170 of these wax plates in his misused laundry room. Including cleaning, a respectable and fulfilling day's work. What to do... :-)