Waxed dirt, solar method

With highs in the 90's I thought I'd try the solar method of making waxed dirt using f&t flaked wax. I'm mixing 2.5 lbs wax with 5 gallons dirt and am surprised to not be seeing the dark color/wet look of the meltng wax.
It's in direct sunlight all day as I slide the mixture away from shadows as the sun moves.
Thought I'd try this way since I cooked it too hot & burnt it on the stove last year! Any tips/suggestions or am I the only one that has this issue?

Thanks!

what do you have the dirt on / in? how much wax is on the dirt? how deep is the dirt?

Use a black 24x36 mixing tub from Menards, ounce ya get the wax mixed in cover the tub on the top with clear plastic drop clothe material, or a pane of glass. The black draws the heat and the plastic or glass cover traps the heat in. In direct sun , 3 hours it should be done. Stir it after an hour or so speed it up. I do 5 gallons at a time, 3 tubs equals 15 gallons.. Make sure the plastic is kept tight on top with small spring clamps around the edges. Works best if the tub is elevated. Good luck

Has to be spread out super thin if you are just throwing it out in the sun on a tarp. I use cement mixing tubs half in. of dry dirt about half a 5 gallon bucket worth, depending on the dirt type depends how much flake wax to sprinkle in. That is just what you will have to play with to see what amount works for your soil type. I then cover it with a piece of glass this keeps the heat in. Even on a 80 degree sunny day I can make wax dirt with this method.

Trappergbus is correct I forgot to add I prop one end up on a bucket or just set the entire tub up on 2 buckets. If you just let it lay on the ground the ground keeps the bottom cooler.

Ok, thanks guys. I'll go find some clear plexiglass. I was wondering if a black vinyl tarp would work to draw the heat in.
I appreciate the help!

It will work, but it works best to elevate it, a blank of ply wood elevated on 2 saw horses. As Hammer stated the ground stops the heat from reaching the bottom. The hammers setup is awesome. Same bins I referred to. Thanks man

Welcome.

If you can't find plexi glass old trailer windows work great older the better before they started adding uv blocking to glass windows witch reduce sunlight heat coming thru the glass itself. Found mine out of a torn down trailer years ago just stopped and ask if I cold have the glass out of the windows before they scrapped it. Owner said sure one less thing for me to haul to the dump.

I went to the local hardware store and asked if they had any old storm windows laying around. They where more than happy to give them to me
All they want is the aluminum frame.

I was lucky enough to find a rectangular top off of a patio table. Made a frame out of 2" x 4"s and a sheet of plywood, caulked the corners and painted it flat black. I prop the one side up with a 6" x 6" to face the sun and am set to go. Can do 10-15 gallons of dirt at a time but find it's easier to deal with 10 gallons or less. I can see a smaller glass to would make it easier to remove but this is what I got and it's working...

As I recall my mixture requires 3 cups of wax per gallon of dirt. I’m thinking you might be a little bit light just off the top of my head

But soils are different everywhere, I have a darker black soil here that doesn’t drain very well. If the solar method doesn’t work for you a an electric turkey roaster works pretty good for small batches.

Forgot to mention I'm using one of those 21"x42" black ice fishing sleds. I'm adding 2.5 pounds flake wax to 5 gallons dry dirt and mixing it in. Sounds like a clear plastic or glass window layed across the top is key.

The darker your base, the hotter it'll get. Blue might not work as good for you as the black. Small batches in the black sled with a piece of glass over it may be your answer.

Great post, I need to learn how to do this. Can anyone tell me how much wax it takes per gallon of sugar sand? That’s the most abundant soil around here.

1 pound of wax per 5 gallons of sand or 60lbs of sand is what works for me....it takes much less wax than dirt to coat it.

its all about maximizing the heat when doing solar method. The flake wax i bought has a meting point north of 170 degrees, so how does one get to 170+ on a 90 degree day? Black, control the heat both top and bottom of container, and full on sun. your dry dirt has to hit that same temp for the wax to melt and to be soaked up by the hot dirt.

I had good luck using a concrete mixing tub and a THIN layer of presifted dirt in that with right amount of wax flakes stirred in. Then i put it under the black tonneau cover of my pickup bed and let it sit their all day in parking lot when I was at work on 100 degree days. Worked well.

Here is my solar set up and it gets full on sun or goes under the tonneau cover of the truck.






If using hot beds like plexiglass or clear thin plastic cover then yes make sure the bottom also is on a surface that heats like a black sheet of plastic on driveway. Its all about maximizing heat in solar method.
Interior of an old car sealed up gets really hot on a 100 degree day but the dash in full sun would be hottest place. Just think like that when using solar method. Nebraskacatman uses solar method too and I bet he has good hotbed setup. Check with him.


I've been making small batches in an old crockpot set on high. It works but only does a gallon at a time...which actually isn't much less than when I spread it thin in the mixing tub and stick under my black tonneau cover so I still crank out about same amount just able to do it whenever I want to using the old crockpot.

Jim

Here is dry sifted dirt with flake wax mixed in...



Here is after wax has been melted and thoroughly stirred in, that wet dirt look right?



And when its done I dump it out into this old concrete mixing tub and keep stirring it. I use that tan spreader. Do this while it cools to keep it from clumping until completely cool, then put it in containers for use on the line.



The F&T guys had some great video clips out on solar and so tonneau cover methods. MnTrapline has stuff on their website too. Lots of good YouTube videos out there too.

You'll need to cover it with glass.
Right now is a great time to make it. I use a black cement tub like some of the other pictures above. Put 4'' of dry dirt in it then sprinkle 1/ gallon of wax over it and let it bake. On flat ground right now it won't melt until around 11:00 am and then it stops working so well around 5:00 pm. Use an old hoe to mix the dirt around so wax gets on all the dirt and add more wax until you get it the way you want. If i push my hoe into the dirt and it packs I have too much wax in it. If I move the dirt around and dust flies off it - there is not enough wax. In one good hot day you can make 2 five gallon buckets of it on the one tub but you have to stir it about every half hour until the sun angle is to great for it to work.
This does work in September if it is over 80 degrees but you have to tilt the tub toward the sun to get it hot enough.
I start in May and am done in September and take my time at it. I get 2 to 3 trash cans of it across the summer month not working too hard at it.
Your black sled will work the best of those three options but put a piece of glass on top of it like a lid and it will get hot enough.

i use a old pan from a school cafeteria. sift the dirt with my "sifter". add wax and cover with a old storm window. makes about 4 gallon a day. i buy 2 ton of dirt, half for me, half for the wifes garden!

With two boxes I can make 30 gallons a day.

nice set up Arrow B!
Jim

my wife would have that full of veggies by may!!

This is much better. And I think I read to add more wax if the dirt is still dusty when mixing, right?

In small amounts and mix it in before you recover. Nice setup