# Melting beeswax



## Pepsi Girl (Nov 1, 2013)

Does anyone else have a tough time melting beeswax?  It seems to take forever. What say you?


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## lsg (Nov 1, 2013)

I wash out a large food can and scald it with boiling water, let it dry and use this as the container to melt the wax.  Set the can in a hot water bath, turn the heat on high until the water bath starts to boil, then turn down the heat and let simmer until wax is melted.


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## Neve (Nov 1, 2013)

Forever. And then longer.


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## JaimeM (Nov 1, 2013)

LOL! It takes forever, until you start making soap with steric acid.  Then melting beeswax seems like an easy few minutes to relax by the stove. (The steric took me nearly an hour to melt!)
The little beeswax pellets make the task a little faster, IMO.


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## DeeAnna (Nov 1, 2013)

Can't say I have too much problem with either one, but I make lotions and lip balms, so maybe I'm just used to it. I agree they melt at higher temps than most soaping fats. Beeswax melts about 160-170 deg F. Stearic melts about 190-200 deg F. 

A double boiler is effective and safe and is my preferred method. I just crank the heat until the water comes to a bare simmer and I get reasonable results. Microwave is not so good, especially with stearic -- it just doesn't want to melt by itself in the microwave, but it does okay if mixed with other fats. A crock pot would take ages. On the stovetop, it is very, very easy to overheat either one (and rather dangerous!), so I can't recommend that.


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## Pepsi Girl (Nov 1, 2013)

I've always done it in the microwave, I use the little pellets.  Maybe I should visit the junk store for a double boiler.  In the mean time the can in the water bath sounds interesting .  Thanks everybody it's always good to I'm not the only one !   Especially since I am home alone, without neighbors, at the end of a dirt road, on top of a mountain!


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## DeeAnna (Nov 1, 2013)

The can in a water bath IS a double boiler. It's what I do too. No sense in messing up a nice "real" double boiler meant for food.


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## Pepsi Girl (Nov 1, 2013)

DeeAnna said:


> The can in a water bath IS a double boiler. It's what I do too. No sense in messing up a nice "real" double boiler meant for food.



Love it!


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## pamielynn (Nov 2, 2013)

Yeah, get a cheap double boiler - you can raise or lower the heat as needed. Really takes no time at all to melt BW and stearic that way. Plus if you need to "heat and hold", it's much easier to control. A stainless steel pan can be washed and reused.


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## Pepsi Girl (Nov 2, 2013)

pamielynn said:


> A stainless steel pan can be washed and reused.



Pamielynn That made me LAUGH OUT LOUD!!!!

I have a very great long time friend name Pam,  and that would so come out of her mouth.  Thanks for the laugh!


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## pamielynn (Nov 2, 2013)

Well, the "Pam"s ARE awesome


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## Neve (Nov 4, 2013)

My double boiler is my steel mixing bowl in my regular saucepan. A perfect fit. So perfect in fact that they stuck together yesterday and I had to wait for my husband to come home and pull them apart. 


Sent from my iPhone using Soap Making


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## lilalilak (Nov 11, 2013)

I just put a glass or bowl with a few tablespoons of oil (I use olive oil) in simmering water (in a pot that is on the stove). I keep the fire low, Then I add the wax into the oil and let it melt slowly, stirring occasionally. This is a bain marie actually.


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## DeeAnna (Nov 11, 2013)

Bain marie = double boiler = water bath

What you call it depends on where you come from. Seems like folks with a culinary background or those from European countries are more likely to call it a bain marie (Mary's bath). Chemists mostly favor "water bath". 

Mary the Jewess was a semi-mythical person who was one of the first alchemists (early chemists). She is also credited as the inventor of the bain marie and other apparatus still used in chemical labs (and kitchens) today. Whether that's true or not, I like the idea of a woman creating such useful stuff.


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## Chefmom (Nov 11, 2013)

My original way of melting beeswax (in my days before candlemaking) was a pineapple juice can sitting in simmering water on top of a few old canning jar lids.  I squeezed it with a clamp from hubbies workshop to make a pouring "spout".  

I now use both the pellets and the blocks.  And I now have the candle pouring pots that are aluminum and I melt my beeswax in there and pour the right amount into the crockpot with the other oils for soap making/lotion etc.

A water bath is the safest way to melt since the temperature can't go above 212* unless you let the water boil off.  Plus you can safely walk away and measure out other ingredients.  If the pot is on direct heat it's just too dangerous.


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