By: Ed Simon
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2020 issue of BEEKeeping Your First Three Years
It happened again. I received another batch of wax that had a lot of honey mixed in with it. Much of the honey had been pulled to the bottom of the pail by gravity, but it was still mixed in with the wax. Only the top three or four inches of wax were relatively free of honey. I wanted to save as much of this the honey as possible for the customer. Then LIGHTNING STRUCK. EUREKA! 
Well, maybe not quite that dramatic. But at least I knew how to use gravity and time to make an easy-to-use wax strainer. Nesting five-gallon pails and some screen would provide an inexpensive low-tech wax strainer solution. Previously I saw a crude example of this style of strainer built without the screen by James White, a beekeeper in our beekeeping club. I knew I could improve on the efficiency of this device with minimal work.
Note: Different colored pails are used to show the pail nesting of the completed strainer.
Parts
1. Two identically sized five-gallon pails (so they will nest correctly).
Each manufacturer seems to make a slightly different diameter pail.
2. Strainer mesh – 1 Square foot of 1/a” or ¼” hardware cloth or perforated aluminum sheeting.
Construction
Two five-gallon pails are used to form a strainer and honey pail combination that allows you to recover more honey from your wax cappings. First the strainer is constructed and then it is nested in a second honey pail.
Step 1: Cut the bottom out.
Remove the bottom of one of the five-gallon pails (part 1) The easiest way to do this is to drill a starter hole near the center in the bottom of the pail and then use a scroll saw and follow
the bottom edge of the pail to cut the hole.
Note: Make sure you leave a minimum of 1″ as a ledge for the strainer mesh to sit on.
Step 2: Smooth out the edges of the cut you made in the previous step.
Use a utility knife to remove the rough edges of the previously made cut in the bottom of the pail.
Step 3: Cut the strainer mesh to the correct size.
Mark the strainer mesh (part 2) to fit the bottom of the pail. Use the outside of the bottom of the pail for a template. Then draw a second smaller circle about ¼”inside the first circle. Use tin snips to cut on the inner circle. Dress the edges of the strainer mesh to eliminate dangerous sharp edges.
Step 4: Fit the strainer mesh to the inside bottom of the pail.
If needed, trim the strainer mesh to allow it to sit solidly on the bottom of the pail.
Step 5: Decision time.
The strainer mesh can either just lay on the bottom of the pail or it can be stapled. If you staple it, make sure the staple ends are bent over and will not catch on anything. Bad words can be the result if you are not careful.
Note: I do not staple the strainer mesh to the pail I make. It is easier to clean both the pails and the strainer mesh when they are separated.
Step 6: Sticking pails.
Clean dry pails from the same manufacturer should nest quite easily. But they can still easily stick together and be hard to separate. This is usually caused by one or more of the following reasons:
- There is honey or wax where the pails slide together. Cleanliness helps.
- A suction builds up between the pails. This should not be a problem with the huge hole in the bottom of the strainer (inner) pail.
If you have a problem with pails binding together you can use a third modified pail to help solve the problem. Additionally, this third pail raises the strainer pail and provides additional storage for the strained liquid.
Cut a third pail with your scroll saw about l” below the reinforcing handle ring. This bottomless and almost side less pail will then fit nicely between the strainer pail and the honey pail. The additional height also helps by providing extra volume for honey or when you have a spout or tap on the honey pail that interferes with the nesting of the strainer pail.
If you are like me and have many different sized pails where the bottom (honey) pail has a smaller diameter than the strainer pail, you can reduce the sticking pail problem by using a large diameter wire. Bend three to six pieces of the wire into a “U” and drape them over the edge of the honey pail. This raises the strainer pail by reducing the diameter of the honey pail. It may not eliminate the sticking problem, but it will make separating the pails easier.
Note: I use 5″ pieces of# 12 or # 14 electrical wire for the purpose.
Step 7: Add a drain valve (tap) to the honey pail. (optional).
It is usually less messy to empty a pail through a drain than pouring it out.
Usage: To use the wax strainer, place it in a five-gallon pail (honey pail). The ridges at the top of the strainer pail will stop it from sitting directly on the bottom of the honey pail. This is about 3″ for most five-gallon pail designs. It leaves room for the honey or any other liquid being strained to collect under the wax. Fill the strainer pail with beeswax wax and wait. Eventually gravity does its job and pulls the honey slowly into the second (honey) pail.
Note: To clean the screener mesh use a heat gun that is available at most hardware or home improvement stores. Use it over newspaper as the melted wax is very difficult to remove from any surface.
Additional Thoughts:
You can also use this strainer to help clean the wax before processing it. All you need to do is to mix your wax with water then pour it into the strainer and wait. The water will eventually drain off and the wax should be relatively clean.
Conclusion:
Easy to make, easy to use and easy to clean, this helpful strainer will allow you to recover more honey from your capping wax and at the same time ease the cleaning of the wax for subsequent processing.
If too much wax is still allowed into the honey, then replace the strainer mesh with one that has a finer opening.
Note: For very fine screening, cut a piece of cheese cloth or window screen to cover the bottom screen mesh.
