Wax Melter, pictured above, is used for collecting
honey, beeswax, and other essential nutrients which fall from each processed frame. It is a necessary piece
of equipment for melting and rendering our beeswax for our use in making our candles. The process of which takes quite
a lot of time, patience and hard work!
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| FRAMES BRIMMING WITH WAX & HONEY! |
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| HOT KNIFE UNCAPS WAX TO EXPOSE HONEY |
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| ONE SIDE OF FRAME IS UNCAPPED |
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| CAPPINGS, HONEY & WAX DRIPS INTO TANK |
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| THIS TANK IS SO FULL OF WAX, HONEY & POLLEN |
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| THIS BOX WEIGHED OVER 100 POUNDS! |
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| 8 - 9 FRAMES FULL OF HONEY AND WAX |
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| DUMPED ONTO TABLE, UPSIDE DOWN |
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| THESE FRAMES ARE READY FOR UNCAPPING |
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| WAX CAPPINGS REMOVED BY HOT KNIFE |
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| ONE SIDE OF FRAME IS UNCAPPED |
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| I PLACE FRAMES INTO EXTRACTOR AFTER UNCAPPING |
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| EXTRACTING 60 FRAMES FULL OF HONEY |
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| BOXES FULL OF HONEY IN HOT ROOM |
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| ONE STACK IS PLACED ON LIFTER |
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| ALL OUR HONEY IS PROCESSED BY ME & ED |
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| BEES CAP CELLS FULL OF HONEY WITH THEIR WAX |
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| WE PREFER TO EXTRACT LATE IN THE DAY |
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| EACH LOAD TAKES ABOUT 5 MINUTES EACH TO EXTRACT |
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| HONEY POURS FROM EXTRACTOR INTO TANK BELOW |
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| MOST FRAMES WEIGHED OVER 10 LBS. EACH |
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| OVER 1000 FRAMES ARE PROCESSED ONE AT A TIME |
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| NORMALLY, I AM ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF ED |
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| I MAKE SURE EACH FRAME IS READY FOR EXTRACTION |
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| FROM THIS TANK, HONEY WAS POURED INTO BARRELS |
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| I BOTTLE HONEY FROM THE HOLDING TANK |
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| 600 LB. BARREL OF WILDFLOWER POURS INTO HOLDING TANK |
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| ED PLACES LIDS ON EACH CONTAINER I POUR |
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Whenever
I see berries at $4 and $5 a basket, I can relate to the hard work and labor that went into that small basket of fruit.
The same can be said for beekeeping and all the aspects of this area of agriculture that always seems to get placed
at the "end of the line".
Perhaps, whoever came up with the term, "CCD"
Colony Collapse Disorder, and who alarmed the entire universe to the possible demise of the honey bee, was sick and tired
of not getting much credit for doing the noble task of beekeeping!
"That'll get their attention!"
Now, it seems, all you hear about are honey
bees, beekeeping and the many tasks it entails. People seem a lot more in tune to the rewards given us by this
small insect called apis melifera, Honey bee...
It is one of the important things in
life for me: To get people to understand just how crucial honey bees are to mankind.
