How to Render Beeswax

A few years ago, back in the days when I still believed in multitasking, I experienced a rather unfortunate incident. It is the story of a rather large unattended pot of water and molten beeswax, which erupted in a volcano of vesuvian proportions. Rendering my kitchen completely covered in wax. Floor to ceiling. My lovely shiny range cooker and extractor-hood have been dull and sticky ever since. And it took hours of elbow grease and a large helping of expletives to make the kitchen somewhat presentable again. I swore that never will this happen again. And it hasn’t. But I have had plenty of spills, smears and splatters. Often resulting in my wax-processing earning temporary exile from the kitchen until it manages to wangle its way back in again.

Rendering beeswax – a necessary evil

I now work with beeswax not only as a beekeeper but also producing reusable beeswax food wraps, beeswax candles and polishes. Although I handle it almost every day, I still have a love-hate relationship with rendering beeswax. Most beekeepers I know do, and many see it as a necessary evil. It’s something that needs to be done at the end of the honey harvest. And also after replacing old and unwanted brood comb. It is not that we don’t appreciate the wax and the work that the bees have put into making it. Or its value in terms of use or money, it is just that it is often really messy work. Once it is done, however, it is also hugely rewarding. And it is a great feeling to know that it does not have to be done again for another year.

Rendered or cleaned beeswax has very many uses. To read more about how bees make beeswax and what it is used for, read this blog: Beeswax – how do bees make it?

In this blog, we will look at how to render beeswax (melt and clean). We will also explore some useful tools for processing and refining the wax after you have learned how to render beeswax.

Cautions when working with beeswax

I am a firm believer in Murphy’s Law. If anything can go wrong, it usually does. And it has never been more true than when attempting to render beeswax. Ask any seasoned beekeeper and they will confirm this. Guaranteed. They will probably throw in a few of their own sticky anecdotes just to prove the point. The truth is that processing beeswax is quite simple and reasonably straightforward. But only as long as you follow certain guidelines and resign yourself to the fact that it is nearly always a bit messy and there will be a good deal of waste. 

So, first, a few words of caution and guidance:

• Protect surfaces and make sure that no animals or children can get access to the area.
• Be careful when handling hot wax. Wax is flammable so do not use a gas cooker or have any naked flames in the vicinity of your work-area.
• The melting point for beeswax is 62-64 degrees Celsius. Wax will discolour at higher temperatures, so try to keep the temperature at or around 70 degrees. Also, the wax will get darker the longer it is heated so try not to heat it for too long.
• Use soft water, distilled water or filtered rainwater when washing or melting beeswax. Do not use tap water because of its alkalinity, which will react with the beeswax causing it to appear dull.
• Get all the equipment you need and use it for wax only. Don’t be tempted to use your normal kitchen utensils, it is very difficult to get them clean afterwards.
• Do not attempt to multitask while processing wax.
• If you share your life and home with someone and you want to keep doing so, consider moving your wax rendering activities out of the kitchen. Extracting honey in the kitchen is one thing, processing wax is a completely different ballgame. Only the strongest of relationships can withstand it.

Rendering beeswax from comb and cappings

Beeswax can be rendered from both brood combs and super combs. It can also be rendered from the wax-cappings that are left after harvesting honey. Wax cappings are the ‘lids’ of the sealed cells containing honey that are cut or scraped off in order for the beekeeper to be able to access the honey when extracting.

Brood comb and cappings give very different wax. Hence, it is best to keep the two separated, as they also have very different uses. The wax that you get from the cappings is often lighter in colour. It is very clean, and is perfect for use in making salves, lip balms, creams, candles and beeswax wraps. The darker wax from the brood comb lends itself very well as an ingredient in wood- or leather conditioner. Both can be traded in for foundation with most beekeeping suppliers.

There are a couple of steps involved in rendering beeswax, First, you have the first melt, where the combs or cappings are melted down and separated from any honey or large debris. This can be done in different ways depending on the type of wax and how clean it is, see below. Second, you have the second melt which usually involves melting the wax without the addition of water or steam and filtering out smaller debris to render clean, usable beeswax. Depending on what it is to be used for, the wax may need to be melted and filtered several more times to reach desired cleanliness.

First melt

The first step in rendering beeswax is to melt the wax from the combs or separate it from honey and other debris. This is done by applying heat, either in a steamer, solar extractor or using hot water, and letting the wax either drain out or float to the surface of the water.

The wax resulting from the first melt will not be clean. It will have bits of pollen and propolis in it as well as other impurities. These will need to be filtered out after the second melt. Some people prefer to melt only once. However, for perfect wax, it is better that it undergoes two melts. It should then be strained through fine cloth at least once for personal use. And many, many more if the wax will eventually make its way to the prize table on a honey-show. Knowing how much effort the bees go through to produce the wax, it is only fair that we treat it with the respect it deserves and clean it as best we can before putting it to use again. 

Solar and steam extractors are particularly suitable for melting the wax or comb out of frames. Beeswax cappings are best extracted using a water heater or boiler, or a solar extractor. Whatever you are using doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. A DIY steamer or solar extractor using bits from the back of the shed will do the job just fine. As will the mother-in-law’s extra-large pot. You know the one which is used once a year to boil the Christmas ham. Provided you can get your hands on it without being seen and then pretend you have no idea how it went missing.

Solar wax extractor

Solar extractors are great to use as they harness the heat created by the sunshine to melt the wax. They work surprisingly well even in our climate, but only during the summer months. There are some great tutorials online how to build your own. Essentially what you need to make one is a box, preferably insulated. It should be lined with metal or other reflective material that the frames can sit on. It should also contain a tray with some form of spout or way of collecting the wax once melted. Finally, you will need a sheet of glass or an old window to sit on top.

On a good sunny day, the wax will melt out of the comb in an hour or so. Hence, you can go through quite a few frames in one day. The frames can then be cleaned up and new foundation put in. The remaining cocoons, or ‘slum gum’ as it is called, make great fire starters so don’t throw them away.

Steam wax extractor

Steam extractors are also easy to build and are very good for extracting wax during the winter months. I used two old brood boxes to build mine. And a sheet of insulation under the roof to maintain the heat generated from the steam. Underneath, there is an old queen excluder to catch any cocoons, and a tray to gather the wax. The steam is generated by a steamer used for wallpaper removal. The steam is fed into the bottom box via a pipe.

In theory, the molten wax should run down the tray into the spout and the bucket below. However, it looks more like stalagmites as the wax cools very quickly once it lands on the tray. But then I like doing this job outside in the middle of winter when there are no bees or wasps about to help out. I’m sure I could improve greatly on the design, but it works and that’s all that matters.

The frames take quite a bit of cleaning and scraping once clear of the old comb. The mix of wax and propolis gets everywhere and is very sticky. Sometimes I prefer to cut out the comb and stand it in the box for melting. I will do this particularly if the frames are reasonably clean. They can then be cleaned quicker without having an additional layer of goo on them.

Rendering beeswax using boiling water

You can also extract wax by heating soft water and comb/cappings. You can use a large pot or a purpose-built heater or boiler. There are many variations of this method. You can put the comb or cappings into muslin cloth, tie it up, and then place into soft water. Then heat the water until the wax melts and floats to the top. You can prod the bag to make sure all the wax is released. After the wax has melted either lift out the bag or leave it at the bottom until cool.

The beeswax for rendering can also be placed into muslin that is draped over the side of the pot. You can then easily lift it out and squeeze out the last bits of wax before letting the wax cool. Another alternative is to put the comb and cappings directly into the water. Then heat the water until the wax melts. After this, strain through muslin into a large bucket that will tolerate the heat. This is the method I used for years, with the mother-in-law’s missing Christmas pot no less. It is very straight forward.

Strain molten beeswax and water

A 5, 10, or 15 liter mayonnaise bucket from the local deli is perfect for receiving the molten wax and hot water. The wax as it cools will float on top of the dirty water. Most debris small enough to pass through the muslin will be sticking to the wax on the underside of the wax-cake. It can be scraped off before melting the wax again for filtering. If you are melting only cappings, wash them first in soft water. You can put them straight into the water, heat it and then leave it cool in the pot.

Rendering beeswax cappings with stovetop steamer

Another method, used for processing cappings, is to use a steamer, like the ones used for steaming vegetables. The cappings are placed into muslin in the upper part of the steamer. Soft water is then added to the pot and the lid replaced. The steamer is then placed either in the oven at 70 degrees or on the hob. The wax will melt and drip down into the water. When the water cools, the now rendered beeswax will float on top.

Slow cooker to melt beeswax

An alternative to using a pot on top of a stove is a slow-cooker or a crockpot. It can be used with very good result for the first melt of cappings (with soft water). As well as for the second melt prior to filtering. The advantage of a slow cooker is that as it has its own heating element. Hence, you don’t have to do the work in the kitchen. It also has a low temperature setting which is ideal for melting wax. They can be picked up quite cheaply and work very well for processing wax for a hobby beekeeper.   

Second melt using a Bain Marie

Once you have the cooled wax from the first melt, you will need to re-melt it so that you can filter it and remove any of the remaining impurities. For the second melt, the wax should be melted without water. To do this you will need a double boiler, a so-called Bain Marie, or a water bath. Place the wax into a stainless-steel jug or bowl and place in a pot of boiling water. Make sure that no water gets into the wax, and that the jug is not in direct contact with the bottom of the pot as it may heat the wax too much. You can also use a slow cooker or crockpot for the second melt.

Fabric for filtering

Once the wax has melted it is filtered through a fabric with a tight weave. I like to use whatever scraps of light fabric I can find at home, often using two or three layers to get the wax as clean as possible. Some fabric, like natural fibers such as cotton and linen will absorb a lot of wax, so if you are processing small quantities you need to be aware of this. Other fabrics that are good to use are Surgical Lint and, perhaps surprisingly, Horticultural Fleece, which was recommended to me by a beekeeping colleague and works really well and is inexpensive.

To prevent all your wax being lost in the filtering process you can use polyester or nylon fabric but be careful as they are essentially made of plastic, and if the wax is too hot it can stretch or even melt the fabric. Wax kept at around 70 degrees should be perfectly fine to filter using polyester and nylon.

How to filter beeswax after second melt

To filter, you can cut a piece of your selected fabric big enough to drape over the container that you are filtering the wax into and secure it around the top with fabric elastic bands or string. I have seen tutorials where the fabric was held in place with a rubber band, but as I have tried it, I can report that rubber bands are no good for the job. The heat of the wax can make them break resulting in unnecessary spillages.

A sturdier version that you can make yourself, is to cut out the bottom of two small tubs like the ones pictured with the water heater. Place the fabric between the two and sit one tub into the other. The fabric is now wedged between the two tubs, which can be placed on top of the receiving vessel by standing it on two thin pieces of wood. The melted wax can then be poured into it. Replace the fabric as needed but be aware that unless you pull the two tubs apart while still warm, they will be stuck together.

Filter with sieve or colander

You could also place the fabric into a sieve or colander, or even better construct out of a wire coat hanger a frame similar to the circle and handle of a sieve, but without the mesh, that you can attach fabric to using clips or small clothes-pegs. You can then easily replace the fabric as it clogs up with debris. Pour the molten wax through the fabric into a second container, and the wax is now ready to be poured into moulds. Unless you work very fast it is a good idea to stand the second container in a bowl of hot water as this keeps the wax liquid until you are ready to pour again.

Beeswax moulds 

The type and size of mould that you will pour your wax into depends not only on how much wax you have, but also how you intend to use it.

If you have a couple of kilos of brood wax to trade for foundation, it is perfectly acceptable to present it after the first melt. A big yellow disc of beeswax, perhaps with the bottom debris scraped off. However, if you are going to make lip balms and creams, it is much handier to pour the wax into smaller moulds after the second melt.

Firstly, because it is easier to measure up the quantities called for in a recipe. And, secondly, because smaller pieces of wax melt quicker than larger ones. I find silicone moulds the easiest to handle as they will release the wax very easily.

Rigid or silicone moulds?

The more rigid plastic or metal moulds may need to be put into the freezer for a while before releasing or using a release agent, and even after that they may decide not to cooperate with you. I have had some epic battles with an absolutely stunning but utterly useless steel mould for a pillar candle. The score currently stands at 4-2 in favour of the mould, but the resulting candle is just too beautiful, and the mould too expensive, for me to give up just yet. But if you’re looking to build up a stash of moulds, and you want to make wax processing a little easier for yourself, then in my opinion, silicone is the way to go. For cosmetics, and to use up spare bits of wax after a project, ice-cube moulds are perfect.     

I hope you enjoyed reading this tutorial. Best of luck with your rendering endeavours!

If you don’t have beeswax of your own, or can’t go through the trouble of rendering your wax, here is some of ours available in our online shop: Pure Irish Beeswax Blocks

/Hanna

Hanna Bäckmo

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