Wax question

So I came up with this idea of waxing the spring end of some conibears.I knew I was going to want to control how deep in the wax the the trap wax so I figured I would do it by holding in wax by hand.To speed up the process I heated the traps up in pellet grill.Now I’m wondering if the smell from the traps in pellet grill tainted my wax for canine traps?

Sure. I have 2 wax pots. One for canine traps and one for water traps. If I think my canine wax was contaminated I just demote it to wax for water traps. The only thing that goes in the wax for my canine traps are freshly boiled traps. If you’re worried about scent and your canine traps then you probably shouldn’t use that wax for them.

Wax absorbs smells very well. I’d almost guarantee it’s tainted now. Like bhugo said, demote it to the water line if it’s causing problems.

Thanks guys I was surprised by how much gunk was in the bottom of pot
as I’m pretty careful on cleaning traps before they get dipped.

Would using the same wax from year to year have an issues? I've used the same wax just add to it when i need to from year to year. I've caught yotes with it. I keep it in the same pot with lid on it in fur shed.

I use wax for years. The only thing that goes into the canine wax pot is freshly boiled (lye then logwood extract) traps. The wax turns the same color as the dye but that’s fine. I store it like you. I put the pot into a small trash bag as well as a lid. I only demote it if I believe it’s contaminated or I need a bunch more wax for water traps. I usually just add to my wax pots yearly.

I've never waxed my water traps always just dyed them. What is the reasoning behind waxing water traps? I'm thinking rust prevention isthe main one. What am i missing here? I am under the understanding it was mainly scent control and speed for land sets.

Makes the trap close faster.

I’m just getting to old to fight setting a rusty trap and with keeping the trigger out of the wax it’s just a win- win.Just an experiment but I’m optimistic on this one!

Would it be ok to use the same wax for both wet and dry? Granted I'd wax dryland traps first then do water.

I would say yes as long as you’re only using dye.Waxing speed dip traps will probably ruin your wax.Just my two cents!

Rust prevention and speed. Waxed traps fire much faster.

If you do not meticulously clean your water traps like your canine traps, you will contaminate your wax. I don’t boil my water traps in lye first like my canine traps, I just spray them off and boil in my logwood leftover from the canine traps. Having 2 wax pots is necessary…..if you worry about scents on your canine traps.

That’s a fact. I haven’t done mine in a couple years but I used to wax the sides of my BGs and MAN they are fast.

Well I am going to try and wax some of my BG's this year and see if it helps. Thanks for the help.

Make sure there isn’t any near the triggers or they can be tough to keep set

How do you deal with the lye water when done?Do you let cool and skim wax off or flow cooling pot with fresh water or pour water out.I’ve checked archives but never really seen this explained.

I think he meant he cleans the traps In lye water then dyes them then waxes them. Wax on top of water wont give you a decent wax job. The trap needs to be as hot as the wax to do a decent job.

I’m talking about wax from used traps that floats up to the top of lye water.

Stick a hose In the bucket and let It over flow with the waste wax.

Thanks Beav that’s been my method but came up with a new one today.I took my pot off cooker and headed out to the hose and spotted a barrel full of water.I sunk pot to the bottom and the wax almost flew out of water.You could even harvest wax with minnow net for fire starter.Learned something new today.

I hear this all the time. I've waxed traps with wax on top of the water since I was a kid and never had a problem. You just need to leave the traps in the water long enough they are the same temperature as the water, and the wax floating on top of the water will be the same temperature also. Pulling hot traps out of hot water through hot wax the water flows off the trap and you get a nice even, thin coat of wax on the trap. If you didn't leave the traps in long enough, you'll know it! They will come out with a thick, lumpy, flakey coat of wax on them.

I boil in lye, when time to pull them, I overflow the crud on top and pull and rinse. I might get 2 batches out of a good strong solution. After all the traps are clean I make new solutions of logwood dye (extract). I overflow those too before pulling the traps. Into the wax pot before they cool too much but after the traps dry a bit.

The Beav is right. Gotta leave traps in the pot till they are hot as the wax. That is for me until they stop bubbling. That’s the excess water from the dye boiling off. The wax coating will be super thin and more durable that way.

Water will not get as hot as the wax so the trap won't get as hot as the wax. So In my opinion you can't get a decent job. But If It works for you go for It.