Important things to know about beeswax

To maintain the quality of your bees wax, here's a few things to be aware of when melting:

Temprature

Heating the wax to tempratures above 85ºC (185ºf) may discolour it. The melting point of beeswax is 62-65ºC (143 - 149ºf). If melted in water at excessive tempratures, hot steam can cause partial saponification and ruin the wax

Water type

Melting in soft water (like rain water) if preferable. Acidifying the water with something like 0.1 % vinegar can protect the wax.

Container material

wax heated in a container made with iron, brass, zinc and copper in it may cause a reaction that will discolour the wax. Stainless steel, aluminum or enameled steel, tempered glass & ceramic pots should be okay.

One thought on “Important things to know about beeswax

  1. R bishop

    Can you reverse the discolouration of wax after melting in steel container by re filtering.
    My nice yellow wax is now grubby brown

    Reply

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