AUGUST 1. 1912 



473 



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AN EFFICIENT COMB-MELTER 



Something to Sterilize the Honey as well as the 

 Wax of Foul-broody Combs 



BY WESLEY FOSTER. 



Mr. R. W. Ensley, of Read, Colorado, 

 operates about 700 colonies of bees in a 

 district where foul brood is prevalent. In 

 building up his apiaries he has bought 

 many liives from his neighbors, and, as a 

 result, has many old combs and diseased 



Fig. 1. — Back view of Ensley's com'b-inelter. 



ones to melt up. One or two hundred hives 

 of comb is not an unusual amount to be 

 rendered during the year. Mr. Ensley de- 

 signed and had built for him a comb-melter 

 to render the honey and wax from these old 

 combs. He wanted an ap23aratus that 

 would separate the honey from the wax 

 and leave both in good condition. 



First he has a double boiler set over his 

 furnace; then above this is the comb-melter 

 proper, which is nothing more nor less than 

 an alternating series of steam-chambers 

 and comb-receiving chambers. The comb- 

 chambers are about 2^/2 inches high, 20 

 inches wide, and 30 or more long. Each 

 comb-chamber will take three Hoffman 

 frames at a time, and there are six in all. 

 More can be added if wanted, by building 

 the melter higher. The tomb-chambers 

 slope toward the back, the lower end of 

 each being open so that the honey and wax 

 can run off into the double boiler below. 

 A piece of coarse screen wire across the 

 lower end of each comb-chamber keeps the 

 coarsest of the refuse from getting into the 

 boiler. This refuse is raked out and run 



through the wax-jDress. The fronts of the 

 comb-chambers are closed with wooden 

 drawers fitted with wire handles, and bev- 

 eled so they will slip out easily. 



The steam-chambers are all connected 

 with live steam from the double boiler 

 below by means of the pipe shown in 

 the illustration. The steam passes into 

 the lower steam-chamber (below the first 

 comb-chamber), and on the opposite side 

 is led out and up into the next higher 

 space for steam, which is just below the 

 second comb-chamber. The steam is led 

 back and forth and up till the top is 

 reached, where there is a hole by which the 

 exhaust steam escapes. There is some con- 

 densation in each steam-chamber, and a 

 small hole is made in the lower corner where 

 this water can run out. Fig. 2 shows that 

 these holes are all in line, and the water 

 drips down uijon a tray, and a trough leads 

 back into a funnel feeding this water back 

 into the double boiler. The condensation is 

 not enough to keep up the water-level in 

 the boiler, so a pail is placed on tliis tray, 

 with a small hole in it, feeding water into 

 the boiler as fast as needed. To prevent 

 the steam from escaping from this hole a 

 small cloth is placed into it, the water soak- 

 ing through, but the steam does not come 

 out. Of course, there would be trouble if 

 the pressure were great ; but heavy pres- 

 sure is not necessary with an apparatus of 

 this kind. The small boxes on the side of 

 the melter are to carry the steam from one 

 steam-chamber up past the comb-chamber 

 to the next steam-chamber above. 



COMB CHAMBER 

 DOORS 



TRAY TO 



CATCH 



REFUSE 



Fig. 2. — Front view, showing the doors to the 

 comb-trays. 



