Kat Krazy, nice set-up ! Good looking dog too....

I hope this thread goes into archives.

JBR

90+ degrees here in the SHADE today.

how long does it take ya'lls dirt to dry enough to put wax on it?

JBR

It usually only takes me a day depending on how the wind is blowing and how hot it is. Just make sure it is bone dry before you start adding wax.

All right waxed dirt pro's.... here's the dilemna. I had some that had been mixed with wax for about an hour, and the wax had ALMOST gotten all mixed in and a rain storm blew up. I had trash bags over the pans, so very little water got in the dirt. Now it is VERY humid and the temp has dropped, and it's 530 so it ain't getting any warmer.

should I just put up what I have and hope for the best or put it back out tomorrow?

Then pan with the least dirt in it got a little rain in it.
Pic added to judge.

If the wax dirt didn't finish before the temps dropped. Cover it and let it set till tomorrow. When it heats up tomorrow, finish it up. No biggie!

I do mine similar to you fellas except, I have plexiglass that I lay on top of the containers to create an Oven type effect. The extreme heat drys the dirt fast and the radiant heat through the glass melts the wax quick. Also, a pop-up thunder shower doesn't cause me any adverse issues.

10-4

Tried to finish it with a chicken brooder light but I can't get it to stay still--melted part of one of my pans, which you can see in the pic...

JBR

Don't worry....it sometimes happens. Just wait out the rain and for a really HOT day...spread it really thin and dry it back out and then add more wax. All is NOT LOST !

Well, GA red clay ain't the best stuff to make waxed dirt out of I can tell you that. Not like I have a choice around here, though. It mixed in decent but some little clumps of wax were in there where the wax absorbed the dirt instead of vice versa. and yes it was bone dry. It has been 100+ in the SHADE here all week. The back deck I was making it on was so hot the dirt had heat waves coming off of it when it was drying. I held some of it in my hand and it was so hot I had to throw it down.

I had 10 gallons of red clay to start with and ended up with about 6 gallons waxed.

I looked far and wide to find some non red dirt to make it from tomorrow.

JBR

Just finished mine,got about 25 gallons done.Putting 15 gallons in 5 gallon pails,the other 10 I,m going to mix with peat moss.

I like mixing it 50/50 with peat. Seems to work about the same but doubles the volume of my waxed dirt.

I mix my dirt with peat 1-for-1 ratio and i noticed that when i put 2-5 gallon containers out to melt wax into,when it was done and i scooped it up i only had 1.5 buckets worth of dirt/peat/wax mix.. does this "shrinkage" normally happen to you guys ? Im thinking i didnt dry-out my dirt well enough before i mixed with peat.. ??

Lt Question? I use a turkey fryer system. I put a layer of dry dirt, layer of flake wax, layer of dry dirt. I constantly stir the dirt/wax mixture. I make it pretty fast this way. I notice you and others use the sun. Is ther a reason for making wax dirt this way. This past season I went through 75 gallons, but used a lot of peat. This year I'll do more wax dirt. Thanks

Bottom of the trap bed I put peat as well as a covering around and light covering over, then I use waxed dirt. This saves alot of waxed dirt useage. If a person uses good very very dry peat moss they save alot of waxed dirt which equals alot of money.

I too am curious if anyone used waxex dirt and peat mixed this past season in PA, ohio, ny etc where it rained, thawed, snowed, and froze on a weekly cycle...

I just dont have the time to make large quantities of waxed dirt....i also dont need a ton...but if i can mix peat in to make it go farther that would help me big time....now that the fields are plowed i can skim some nice dirt off the top and dry/wax the dirt in a pot...

For those of us with a topper or tonneau cover on your truck, couldn't you just dry and wax your dirt there? It's hotter than the dickens under them things!

Who was the first trapper that came up with the wax dirt ?

That's a good question !

I heated dirt back in the late seventies...but I want to say it was used back in the thirties or forties.

Trappers great week to make waxed dirt in this heat !

Make sure you have enough for the season ,it will cool down before we know it ,I hope !

does anyone just use plain peat moss for bedding and coverings here in pa, ohio, ny area? seems like a lot of extra work, and wax aint exactly cheap with a limited budget if you want a lot of it. Seems the peat keeps dry, its lighter to carry, and for the amount you use it seems cheaper in the long run. I'd still like to make some dry waxed dirt, but I was just wondering if anyone used peat ONLY?