February, 1918 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



79 



can 20 inches in diameter and 16 inches high. 

 It was made so that it could be set directly 

 on a stove, the cross-arm holding the screw 

 being secured to the hoop at the top of the 

 can. 



This old press worked well. The refuse 

 after pressing was quite clean of wax; but 

 I do not like a press that has to be located 

 over a hot stove, on account of the fact that 

 it is so ^■ery inconvenient. And, there is 

 always tlie danger that, during the pressing, 

 the heat can not be controlled, and the wax 

 will boil over, resulting in a serious fire. 



In the November issue of Gleanings for 

 1917 I described a method of introducing 

 a small jet of steam into the Hatch wax- 

 press, during the process of pressing, to pre- 

 vent the water from chilling. This plan 

 works to perfection for a small press, but is 

 not very easily followed in case of a larger 

 press unless one has access to steam from a 

 large boiler. 



In thinking over the subject one day, it 

 occurred to me ' that there is really no 

 need of having any heat applied to the 

 contents of the press during the act 

 of pressing. It is when the pressure is re- 

 leased so that the refuse is again saturated 

 with water that the boiling is desirable. It 

 was easy to build a press so constructed that 

 the can and its contents could be pulled 

 out over the stove. After using the press 

 in rendering some 1500 combs I decided that 

 it was not only the most satisfactory scheme 

 for rendering wax I had ever tried, but also 

 the most economical one — economical in the 

 amount of fuel used and in the reduction of 

 waste. Eepeated tests showed that the total 

 waste was less than two per cent when the 

 screws were run down three different times, 

 the can and its contents between each press- 

 ing being drawn out over the stove and left 

 until the water boiled. Thirteen batches of 

 comb averaging 40 eombs to the batch were 

 pressed in this manner in one day, the total 

 amount of wax obtained in this manner be- 

 ing 142 pounds. 



If the press were used as so many wax- 

 presses are used (pressure applied to the 

 refuse but once), its capacity would be 

 nearly 400 pounds; of wax in a day; but I 

 do not recommend such a process, for there 

 are few whose time is so valuable that they 

 can not afford to wait for three separate 

 pressings, the two second ones securing six 

 to eight per cent more wax. Of course, as 

 I have said so many times, there is no meth- 

 od of rendering wax that gets it all. An 

 amount of waste not over two per cent is a 

 good average result, and indicative of an 

 efficient process of rendering. Plans which 

 show a waste of four to six per cent of wax 

 are antiquated and should be abandoned. 



The construction of the press is clear 

 from the illustrations. The rectangular can 

 is 16 inches wide and 30 inches long, having 

 a capacity of nearly four times that of the 

 regular Hatch press. The contents of a 

 whole boiler of melted comb is dipped and 

 poured into the press at once — from 40 to 60 



combs, depending on their age. In the bot- 

 tom of the pan are cleats covered with 

 screen; and the follower, made of %xiy:.- 

 inch cypress cleats, is also covered with 

 screen on the under side. There is screen, 

 therefore, above and below the refuse; and 

 the follower itself, being built of these 

 cleats spaced about % of an inch apart, 

 makes it possible for the wax when it is 

 pressed out of the refuse to find its way im- 

 mediately to the surface of the hot water. 

 There are two layers of these cypress cleats, 

 forming the follower, the lower layer placed 

 vertically and the upper layer nailed flat 

 side down on them. To prevent the spider 

 on the lower end of the screw from crushing 

 these cleats under the pressure, four straps 

 of iron are screwed lengthwise of the fol- 

 lower on top of the upper tier of cleats. 



Two screws are used instead of one at 

 the suggestion of C. A. Hatch, the originator 

 of the Hatch wax -press. I have tried large 

 ])resscs built with one screw in the center, 

 but the arguments are all in favor of the 

 longer, narrower can with two screws; for 

 with this construction it is almost impossible 

 to have one side of the " cheese " thicker 

 than the other. For the greatest efficiency 

 in wax-rendering, it is absolutely essential to 

 have the pressure the same and evenly dis- 

 tributed. With a single screw, if one part 

 of the contents of the burlap happens to be 

 a little thicker than another it is impossible 

 to keep the follower absolutely level. As 

 the screw is turned down, the unevenness 

 grows worse rather than better. This not 

 only puts an uncalled-for strain on the screw 

 itself, but results in inefficiency in the 

 operation of the press, since there is always 

 wax left in that part of the ' ' cheese ' ' 

 which is thicker than the rest. 



The Eciuipment Needed. 



To render wax from old combs to advan- 

 tage, a suitable equipment is necessary 

 There should be three tin wash-boilers, .t 

 water-tight barrel with a one-inch auger-hole 

 close to the bottom containing a well-fitting 

 plug, and two two-burner gasoline-stoves or 



Wlien the press is drawn out over the stove, the 

 screws are entirely out of the way and it is there- 

 fore an easy matter to refill. A burlap 40 x 70 

 inchas is used in order that the edges may be long 

 enough to fold over and pin. 



