Yeah I have seen them, I have gotten some good one. Not my whole arm but splashes from carelessness from myself or others. One of the worst burns I ever got was from caramelized sugar on a creme brulee that dripped out onto my finger, so I am intimately aware of how bad something hot and sticky can burn.
It is not something to trifle with but also something I have a lot of experience and respect for so I am not that scared to attempt it with the correct precautions.
Sugar is the worst burn yes - Hard crack Toffee - Nice - NOT
But you can see where Iām coming from - not taken on lightly.
We Chefs play with sharp knives and hot cooking oils every day some others may not know all the risks
The water and air bubbling out of hot paraffin and wax/ resin will make it boil like water in deep fat fryer also the fumes could make you faint or ill - needs to be done in large open outdoor ventilated area
Totally agree with you and was definitely not trying to make light of it. It could potentially be very dangerous.
all precautions taken this isnt very difficult at allā¦
Sorry I could not stress that enough - someone who saw one of those videos where the guy dunks them in a home made tank - does not explain the implications of what he is doing - yes he is doing all the right things (apart from the sandals) but he brushes over other risks
Michael Bush has some good advice for wax dipping. Before I knew the hives were going to be cedar I was planning on using my sisterās old turkey fryer to rig up a way to dip the parts. I looked and it appeared that by using a clamp and a drop from a tripod I can lower just over half the longest pieces in and do them in two parts. We have gobs of wax around that has never been cleaned that I can boil up, and skim the chunky bits out. Donāt think the wax needs to be pure to be used for this purpose.
Now that the wood is cedar I am of two minds about it. The job doesnāt alarm me, Iām a cook and handle boiling liquid, often oil, all the time. I am just not sure I feel the need to since I am not dealing with pine.
But I see used turkey fryers for sale on craigslist all the time. Cheap. My favorite price.
Stubsy it is not the Wax but Paraffin and resin is the problem
Iām not sure if people arenāt using bees wax for cost reasons or something else. But I have yet to see an example where microcrystaline wax or paraffin and resin blend werenāt used. Bees wax seems like it would be ideal if it has all the correct properties to do what the others do
you need something higher than 160 degrees melt point or on hot days it will leach out of the wood. i have heard of some people using bees wax but the cost is higher and then i beleive you would have to mix rosin ā¦from what i have read.
As anyone any info on using organoil to paint the new hive?
@ecoeducation - I havenāt tried these products, but I looked up the contents and safety info. For the Outdoor Furniture formulation, most of the contents look more or less acceptable, but to me, the pigments and colouration products are a total unknown. The Deck Formula has āoxidesā to prevent fading - this may be titanium dioxide or zinc oxide, neither of which are toxic, but they donāt specify. Given the unknowns, personally I would not use this product, especially when the wood supplier recommends pure Tung Oil.
I may be a bit extreme, but I like to use things on my hives which are non-toxic to both humans and bees, even if I am only treating the outside. My most favorite option would be to get somebody else to wax dip my hive, giving me a 10 year+ finish. There are plenty of people who use marine varnish and oil-based paints though, so I am sure you will get more opinions!
Dawn
Yes, I have done some research and maybe organ oil is not ideal as it must be toxin free for me. Ideally I would like to use tung oil but canāt get 100% pure locally.
I have their Tung Oil and the can states 100% oil.
I also bought their Citrus Terpene.
Not used yet as still waiting for hives.
One of the best things you can keep in the kitchen for fires and rapid cooling of burns is a CO2 extinguisher. Again that opens up the possibility for freezing tissue. But when working in a kitchen making candy and in a forge doing smelting and casting or simple blacksmith work you kind of look for anything that can go wrong and prepare for them in advance. Buckets of ice water to plunge a burn into towels to hold the cold water against the burn. All of these things need to be addressed before using molten anythingā¦ well except bismuth and mercury. 
Anyway doing that and steaming wood for many years makes you look at things and say āwhat can go wrong?ā and then mitigating the danger.Also, a good use for a CO2 extinguisher, especially down here in Texas, is to help recover some one who has been attacked by bees, the cold make them sluggish and will drop most of them off of the person or animal. All the bees in our area carry the African gene and sometimes express it.
@Fluffy Ken Iām a Chef so know the dangers of working with Hot Water, Oil and Sugar all will burn the skin and create problems - yes you need to be careful and plan but some things are better left to the professionals - Most people will see dipping videos but it is not that simple and videos make light of the dangers as far as I can see.
If you have ever had a sugar burn you will know what real pain is.
Iāve had 2nd degree burns on my feet due to a faulty steam jacket boiler and got scalded - I worked in a Hospital - I was lucky - it could have been a lot worse - took 2 months to get back on my feet and I still have scars.
It is not worth the pain and heartbreak if you were to have an accident with volatile liquids
I am not making light of it, I am stating fact. I have had 1st and 2nd degree burns from an explosion covering my right hand and lower part of my face. I wear a beard. Volatile liquids are safe to work with if you take the necessary precautions, that is why I gave the list of things to think about. Cold water rapidly applied saved my hand and lower face from the residual heat of the burn which does more to destroy tissue sometimes than the initial burn. I was also EMT trained and worked with an 82nd Airborne field surgeon at our emergency room. I donāt rely on smell or looks of a liquid to determine flash point I use references and thermometers to tell me exactly where the sugar, oil, metal, or other liquids are, that I am working with, I also use protective clothing, proper ventilation, and proper face shielding. So, if people are going to try something, they will try it no matter what anyone says about not trying it. The only thing you can do is make them think about how to mitigate the dangers. Same thing we do in Emergency Management, except there I have to plan for all types of hazards from a myriad of hazards. I have seen too many 'Hey yāall, watch this" moments. So I try to educate and through that allow people to decide not to do it them selves. It usually works better than saying not to do it because I told you not toā¦