For those of us that don't have a huge number of traps we need to wax what does everyone think of getting a crockpot and dedicate it to waxing traps. I've got 10 lbs of black trap wax sitting here but I only have four traps that I need to was and dragging out the turkey fryer seems like a lot of work every time I need to wax one trap. With the crockpot I can turn it on, wax the trap, turn it off and just leave the unused wax in the crockpot for the next time I need to wax. Thoughts???

Varquar

That is a practical, safe solution since you are not dealing with an open flame. Regulate the thermostat to get it thoroughly melted. Do not let it get too hot to where it starts smoking - it can get dangerous. Suggest that you do not do it in the house. Might want to set it outside of the garage door in the driveway if this is your first time experimenting using a crock pot until you get familiar with how it will work for waxing.

Safety is of the utmost top priority when melting wax. Be careful.

Jonathan

Thanks Jonathan

just guessing, but think it wouod take a long time to melt wax in crock pot, I mean in hours

Don't many of them now have have thermostat options? Could be wrong, or am I thinking of the electric deep fryers with that heat control?

Jonathan

Yes, they have thermostat options...and I'm thinking it will take about the same amount of time as a double boiler, which is the only safe way to melt wax. I'm just not sure if a crock pot has enough power to melt the wax, but i've never tried.

Probably would in the crockpot but the fryer/oven things have a heat control. Even if it too hours I could plug the thing in and let the wax melt and go do something else.

Any idea what temperature trap wax melts at?

I used a crockpot this year and it worked well. Had just the low and high setting type, switched it to high and waited 30 min for wax to melt.

Thanks for that info iluvtrappin - that helps a lot to know it works. Did you just store the excess wax in the crockpot for the next time you wanted to use it?

I checked out several types of wax and found the melting point varied from 120 F to 150 F and the flash point was about 400 F or above for candle wax. Is this about right for trap wax as well?

I've stated here before the merits of a deep fryer. They are the most efficient and safest way to wax traps. You can do about six or eight traps at a time depending on the size trap.You can regulate the tempature with out fear of causing a fire and as mentioned just shut it off put the lid on till the next time. If you look around you can find them at yard sales for a little bit of nothing.

Yep, I used a crockpot this year. Works great for one trap at a time. Only thing is since it's a slow cooker, it takes a while for all the wax to melt completely. I bought an old one at goodwill and it takes almost 4 or 5 hours for all the wax to melt. So turn it on in the morning and wax after lunch. Other than that, it works great. When done, just unplug and turn it off and leave wax in there for next time.