Watching the solar cooker video inspired me to look for videos on homemade solar beeswax melters.  My husband has been a hobbyist beekeeper for over 10 years.  Sitting in our garage are several 5-gallon buckets of unrendered beeswax.  I have tried to give these buckets away, because I hate to see the wax go to waste…no luck.  I have learned that melting beeswax is a very mess job – that’s probably why I haven’t been able to give those buckets away – but that rendering wax outdoors with solar energy makes the task easier.

My experience with solar is limited.  I have purchased outdoor solar lights and a solar pump for a small water feature.  I also have a solar powered, automatic chicken coop door (the best invention ever for backyard chicken keepers!).  The solar pump and coop door have worked out well as they both have batteries in which to store energy.  I live in northwestern Vermont (not much sunnier than the Mohawk Valley, Kathy), and the coop door has never failed, not even during the shortest, darkest days of winter.  One item that I purchased, and did not have success with, was a solar-powered fence charger.  Wonderful in the height of summer, it just did not generate enough juice in spring or fall to keep the fence adequately charged.

The homemade solar wax melter shown in the attached video is something even I could make – and I am not that handy.  If you watch the video, start at the 2:54 mark (there are a couple product endorsements you will want to skip) and stop at the 10:10 mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgNJRZ54vu4