Building a Solar Wax Melter

The crockpot thing kind of worked, but left something to be desired.  So I got on the web and looked for how to deal with the wax.  I found some plans and videos for building solar wax melters (it's cheap, but it takes a while).  I bought a styrofoam cooler at the dollar store and a piece of plexiglass at Lowe's and that's the major parts to it.  I painted it black to absorb more heat.

First I got black thumbs painting the cooler:



Here's the finished product:



Here's the "bucket" that has a little water in the bottom with a paper towel and rubber band:



Here's the wax (that's been melted several times in my trials and many errors):



Here it is all loaded in the melter with a piece of foil in the bottom:



and here it is in action:

And here's the picture I used for a guide:

Here's some more pictures:

This is the top of the filter after the wax went through.  The video I saw on this said to save this paper towel, that it's good for getting the smoker going.  (sounds good to me!)



This is just a picture of the melter out in the yard. 



This is the wax out of the tub in the kitchen:





It finally came out right.  Now, when I harvest the next honey, I know what to do with the wax!  :)