Any Pics of your Solar Wax Melters ?

[malabarchillin]

Just starting to look into things to incorporate into building a solar wax melter.
Do you have any pics of homebuilt ones ? Here is a interesting one I found while
surfing.  http://kenangisan.blogspot.com/2008/06/balmumu-eritme-aparati.html
Thanks
Mike

[tillie]

http://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/2006/10/building-solar-wax-melter.html

Easy as can be (didn't say easy as pie, because I don't think pie is particularly easy) - this SWM can be built for under $6.00

Linda T

[sean]

Get an old ice box/cooler, slap a pane of glass on it and viola you're done. I started out using paper towels like tillie, but have now switched to using a strainer. Place a container into your melter (i use the tin foil dishes) with some water in it. Rest the strainer on top place your cappings in the strainer and cover your melter with the glass. i supposethe amount you can per day depends on the size of the containers and cooler used and the amount of sunshine you get. When you are done knock the debris out of the strainer.

[malabarchillin]

Thanks for the replies Sean and Linda.
Linda your blog is really great and appreciated. Please keep updating it
I am a good woodworker and want to make a nice melter that I do not mind looking at
on a regular basis in my back pasture.

[Grandma_DOG]

I did a quick video of my Solar Wax melters. A simple and a normal version.  YouTube people liked it so here it is for your connoisseurs...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FUhAYDMgic

[Eshu]

Here is a link to plans for a solar melter on BeeSource:

http://www.beesource.com/build-it-yourself/solar-wax-melter/solmeltr/

[annette]

I use the same one as Tillie which I learned from her blog. It works out great for me.

[Grandma_DOG]

Here is a link to plans for a solar melter on BeeSource:

http://www.beesource.com/build-it-yourself/solar-wax-melter/solmeltr/

I looked at that and decided it was overly complex.  I also didn't like the front drawer, what purpose does it serve?  I'm not a wood worker and can't handle the angles. Mine design was a simple box with the plate and collector and all the features but with more simplicity.

[Brian D. Bray]

I simplified mine, I took an old wood window frame, with glass, cut down the frame where the sash weights were and then built the melter to the dimensions of window.  I had an old metal drip pan from a freezer I used to lay the wax in to melt it, that was half the size of the window.  I then built it with a slanted bottom so the low part of the drip pan let the wax drip into a bread loaf pan with a screen and filter over it.  I put hinges on the window frame so the whole top opens.

[Grandma_DOG]

I simplified mine, I took an old wood window frame, with glass, cut down the frame where the sash weights were and then built the melter to the dimensions of window.  I had an old metal drip pan from a freezer I used to lay the wax in to melt it, that was half the size of the window.  I then built it with a slanted bottom so the low part of the drip pan let the wax drip into a bread loaf pan with a screen and filter over it.  I put hinges on the window frame so the whole top opens.

I figured out to make the box dependent on the glass size.

And you can improve yours, take a plastic tray/bowl that comes in some TV dinners and use it for your wax pan. Its better, it flexes so the wax ingot pops out.