Wax Dipping Bee Boxes for Preservation

[@kamonreynolds]

Hey Bruce and gang looking real good! I love wax dipping and knowing that every nook and cranny of the box is sealed. It is great to see beekeepers working together!

[@brucesbees]

Thanks for checking in Kamon! I think it went really well for the first time.

[@sentimentalbloke7586]

The foam is caused by the moisture that is in the wood escaping as steam, I generally wait for the foam to almost subside before I remove the boxes, I then stack them on a draining tray upside down, and they drain back into the tank, I put them upside down so the wax does not build up on the frame rest area. you have plenty of time to allow them to cool before you remove them while the next batch is running.

[@brucesbees]

Hey that is a good idea. Thanks!

[@boydmay1]

Will try that next round. Thx!

[@Kookaburra4509]

Just started beekeeping this year and I found some hives on Amazon called Hoover Hives which are infused with beeswax and I bought them. They’re great.

[@brucesbees]

Yes I think these wax boxes are going to really be nice.

[@DStewart2022]

Very interesting process. I'm anxious to see how they perform in the long term. I also wish I knew of someone close to S.E. OK that was doing this. I'm too small to justify the start up cost (especially with regards to the longevity). Thanks for posting!

[@brucesbees]

Boyd is selling these tanks. See the link in the description. Down the road if you get big enough you may want to consider ordering one. But yes it could be quite an investment if you don’t have many to boxes to process.

[@herdingbeeswithrustyandmik3689]

Nice! Im in for the next dipping session!!

[@brucesbees]

Give Boyd a call! It was a lot of fun!

[@boydmay1]

Come on brother!

[@charlesbenefield1]

I look forward to getting with boyd

[@boydmay1]

Any time just let me know

[@brucesbees]

I’m sure you guys will have a blast dipping boxes and talking bees.

[@mikerobertson6663]

Great job guys…. I use a good pair of leather gloves to retrieve the boxes, you just have to handle the boxes gingerly so as not to conduct too much heat. The more moisture the wood has , the more the tank will foam. I believe as time passes you will discover wax boxes get much hotter in summer than painted boxes. I quickly spray paint them before the hot wax sets into the wood . Painting a hot wax dipped box definitely makes for a cowboy rodeo.

[@brucesbees]

Hmm. Good stuff. Thanks!

[@billw7894]

Asking for your opinion Bruce. I don't have access to this process, new bee keeper, but I am deciding between the hoover hives, and the premium bee boxes,

[@brucesbees]

I have a little of everything but if I were getting started I would reach out to Greg burns at Natures image farm. His endurahive wax dipped boxes are very good and will last for years to come. They are pricy but worth it IMO

[@brucesbees]

Naturesimagefarm.com

[@billw7894]

@@brucesbees thanks so much

[@phillipriggs3375]

Well Done ! I have been looking for these two processes Both in one video, perfect. Wondering what would happen if you hit them quickly after dip to smooth and remove excess?

[@brucesbees]

I don’t know. Might work out well. Haven’t done this in awhile. We had issues with was foaming. I love the wax dipped boxes though. If you are serious about it it is worth figuring out. Another person you might want to reach out o is Greg Burns at Nature’s Image Farm.

[@phillipriggs3375]

@@brucesbees Will do, I have watched David Burns but not Greg yet. Thank You, Take Care!

[@lamairepr]

Very cool, like the burnt box look. I think I would do all my boxes this way going forward, how are the quality of Mann Lake boxes? Some boxes I get locally can have a slight twist where they don’t sit completely flat but no bad. Thanks for sharing Bruce, hope you have a great rest of the season.

[@brucesbees]

Great! I was pleasantly surprised by the boxes. I bought budget grade and they turned out beautifully.

[@harrisjoubertwithsleepycre1924]

I wonder what would happen if you put a vacuum to it, would it get deeper

[@brucesbees]

Hmm interesting. Not sure how we could do that. I think the penetration is pretty good the way we are doing it though.

[@harrisjoubertwithsleepycre1924]

@@brucesbees a lid and a vacuum pump was my thought, it would open pores and pull the wax really deep

[@boydmay1]

Pulling a vacuum would lower the boiling point and probably cause an explosion of foam!

[@BESHYSBEES]

Plain paraffin wax works fine add pine resin to help keep the wax in the timber, we paint ours with oil based paint while the wax is hot, soaking in and drying off then a second coat of paint n a couple weeks, the boxes should last beyond 20yrs with this treatment

[@brucesbees]

Good info. Thanks!

[@robertmurphy9498]

I would maybe try building a tank slightly smaller the the internal dimensions of a box as a water tank then building a wax tank "Jacket" around it to reduce the volume of wax required to fill it. So the out side wax jacket tank is about 2 inches wider than the water tank to give space for the boxs to slide down as if they were in a stack. Less waste of petrochemical wax and kinder to the environment. Just a though as it would work like a double boiler

[@brucesbees]

Sounds like a good suggestion. Thanks for checking in!

[@brianjackson2870]

What is the company out of California that is selling the blend? Thanks

[@brucesbees]

You can email Boyd here. He might be able to give you the information you need? [e-mail]

[@brianjackson2870]

@@brucesbees Thank you very much. Just spent Friday dipping all of my new equipment for the year. So much better than painting

[@brucesbees]

Yes I really like the dipped boxes. I might have to get my own tank, but to this point Boyd has been gracious enough to let me use his as we have been testing it out.

[@romoshka1]

I’m thinking that torching them, which makes them darker, might be an issue with heat.

[@brucesbees]

That is an interesting point. Will have to see. I have boxes that are painted different colors that seem to do ok including some blue ones but really hadn’t thought about that with the burned boxes.

[@romoshka1]

brucesbees yea, burned is black which does get hot

[@357lockdown]

Hey Bruce, nice job. Any idea how long it will last?

[@brucesbees]

I don’t know for sure but I have heard up to 30 or 40 years but I really have no idea. If I can get 8 or 10 years out of them I will be happy.

[@lorindaclark4138]

im a new beekeeper so my question is how will this process affect the moisture wicking ability of the wood inside the hive? i have read one reason for not painting the inside is so the wood will absorb water especially in winter...

[@brucesbees]

I don’t think it will be an issue. The bees often propolize much of the inside of the hive anyway.

[@johnkillen588]

PUT A CUBE IN THE MIDDLE WELDED TO THE BOTTOM SO that a lot less wax is necessary

[@brucesbees]

Hmm. Interesting thought.

[@johnprice8343]

Could you add a link to the supplier in California where the wax was purchased. Thank you

[@brucesbees]

I am not sure where the wAx came from but if/when I dip boxes again I will contact Greg Burns at Nature’s image farm and find out what his formula is. I think he has the system figured out.

[@graydon479]

Wonder if the burned boxes will take up the wax better?

[@boydmay1]

seemed not to make a difference either way!

[@brucesbees]

I like Boyd think they were about the same.

[@chadfey2363]

Just curious what your tank is made from and any changes you would make to it. Looks great by the way!

[@brucesbees]

I am not sure exactly. My guess is stainless steel. You can contact Boyd May for details. It was his tank. I really love the wax dipping but it is hard to coordinate it.

[@donbearden1953]

That’s cool. Do you know what he’s going to charge per box? Also, how many boxes can he dip from one 55 pound box of wax? Thanks Bruce!

[@boydmay1]

I am considering selling wax dipped boxes but I am still looking at cost. 55 pounds of wax would do a BUNCH of boxes! wax vs paint i am sure wax is cheaper for materials

[@brucesbees]

Thanks for checking in Don. I think Boyd has created a winner here. Still a little tweaking to do on the process but for the first time I think it went well. I am very pleased with how the boxes turned out.

[@donbearden1953]

boydmay1 - Boyd have you tried wax dipping them before they are assembled? I thought you may get more in the pot but I don’t know if the wax would get to all surfaces with the box panels stacked in the pot.

[@boydmay1]

@@donbearden1953 what u understand is you want the nail holes to get waxed too. May be able to dip unassembled but I have never seen that done

[@papawillys]

@@donbearden1953 The glue will not stick/soak into the waxed wood, so you need to assemble them first.

[@rab2020]

I saw somewhere that they burn the inside of the box. Any idea what that’s about?

[@brucesbees]

I have heard of people doing that to help kill parasites.

[@RobertBrown-tx8xk]

If somebody wants an inexpensive idea for a tank. I use the 55-gallon drum, you can only do two at a time.

[@brucesbees]

Thanks for the input.

[@RippleAffect]

Great idea 😉

[@brucesbees]

Yes. These hive bodies are looking good so far.

[@gregoryburnssr.8503]

Great video! I'm thinking of doing this in the future, especially if its possible to dip boxes already painted. Can you dip pre painted boxes?

[@brucesbees]

That is a great question. I am not sure how that would work out. I am going to do a live chat tonight. It will be my first time doing that so hopefully o can get it figured out. I will try to remember to ask that question.

[@mikerobertson6663]

I have dipped boxes that were already painted, only a few . Not really sure if was beneficial though. Some of the paint blisters. I actually painted the boxes again after removing from wax tank.

[@jaycovington6175]

Do you have a company that built that tank or know somewhere where I can get a tank for dipping?

[@brucesbees]

It was a custom build by my friend Boyd. If I was in the market I would look into getting this tank: thornemfg.com/product/wax-dipping-tank/

[@jaycovington6175]

@@brucesbees awesome ty

[@brucesbees]

I have never used this but saw it at a Bee Conference. Thorne does not mess around when it comes to quality. I have one of their 25 gallon wax melting tanks ordered now.

[@flaviotoledo7582]

I'm sorry for my bad English, I work with beekeeping in Brazil. Do you dip the boxes only in wax or wax with edible soy or corn oil?

[@RippleAffect]

These are the waxes you can use EVALUATION Because long-term toxicity studies indicated that petroleum-derived paraffin and microcrystalline waxes are non-toxic and non-carcinogenic, the Committee established a group ADI "not specified" for microcrystalline wax and paraffin wax for the uses indicated in the specifications (chewing-gum base

[@RippleAffect]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYirmnusaKhnjM0

[@brucesbees]

These boxes were dipped in a mixture of paraffin and I believe microcrystalline as MERRY CHRISTMAS 2.0 describes. They have worked very well so far.

[@3Beehivesto300]

What wax do you use?

[@brucesbees]

This is a combination of paraffin and microcrystalline. I am not sure the exact amounts. My friend Boyd actually purchased the wax. A good resource of who to ask would be Greg Burns at Natures Image Farm. I think he pretty much wax dips all his boxes. Or you could message Boyd May on FaceBook.

[@njordhan2316]

Have a tank. Looking for a source for the wax. Any suggestions appreciated.

[@boydmay1]

We are selling our blened wax made and blended in US. $1.50 per pound

[@danbarringer9831]

How many pounds did it take to fill the tank to get started?

[@brucesbees]

Good deal. boydmay1 can get you the info on it if you reach out to him

[@marcdailey9185]

@@boydmay1 contact info please?

[@brucesbees]

You can call him at [phone]

[@tyleregan9927]

Can I use sheet metal for tank material?

[@brucesbees]

I am not sure.

[@geanitsucuneli4791]

3 at the time takes for ever.I do 9 at the time and takes long.

[@brucesbees]

Yes it was slow but fine for the number of boxes we were dipping. Thanks for checking in!