Candle Warmer Makes Soy Jars Explode?

[NattyCat]

I have a "Sensible Aroma" jar candle warmer, and having read the instructions, it says that Natural Wax candles are NOT to be used on the warmer otherwise the candle jar is likely to explode?

What's up with that? Is that true?

Of course, I've got a soy container warming on it right now, and religously keeping an eye on it for the temperature, because I'm pig-headed like that - but hey - why would soy jars explode???

Nat

[leisa2003]

OMG, and I just ordered me some warmers. Just my damn luck!!!

[billyne]

oh no...

that really sucks.

[NattyCat]

doesn't say it ANYWHERE on the outer packaging, only on the inner leaflet and it says it TWICE to make sure you don't use natural wax candles. Can't see why???

[erinmfritz]

I was at a candle party and one of the guests said that their friend had one explode all over the wall and such. Then another lady said she had a friend that happened to. Funny thing is, they weren't soy candles! Maybe it is the el-cheapo warmers from Wally world. Who knows, I have my warmer on all the time in my LR and no problems yet. But it is scary.

[islandgirl]

I warm my soy candles on a 24 watt warmer and never had one explode or crack.. (Watch one blow up today because I just said that!!! LOL:shocked2: )

It could be the containers that some of the companies are using. (Thin Glass)

[KristineG]

I would think any non candle cheap jar would explode on a warmer but I'm not sure. I find it hard to believe that one exploded using the proper jar unless of course the warmer is at fault with regard to it's heat setting? I haven't used a warmer for anything other than my coffee cup since I don't make melts yet. I also don't recommend warmers with my candles. I steer non burning candle customers to my smelly jellies.

[leisa2003]

doesn't say it ANYWHERE on the outer packaging, only on the inner leaflet and it says it TWICE to make sure you don't use natural wax candles. Can't see why???

WHEW!!! I think I am in luck here, after doing a search, I found this isnt the type that I ordered. I ordered the warmer that you sit the whole candle jar down into, so if the jar cracked, its still in a cup like.

Ok, here is what I have read about those warmers on another board.

You have to check the "wattage" I believe they shouldn't be over 24 watts.

May want to check that, and see if its that wattage or higher.

[Demenshia]

It may mean the fact that when a wickless melts from the bottom up, sometimes the liquid part on the bottom will shoot up like a gyser(sp?) if the center melts and there is still unmelted wax on the sides. To keep that from happening on mine I poke holes in it as it's melting so the liquid slowly seeps to the top and the solid wax sinks to the bottom....hope that makes sense lol. I think I need some more coffee :grin2:

[katinka]

There is a thread on here somewhere on temp variance between different brands of candle warmers. Apparently some can get too hot and this is probably when it could happen. Maybe soy would be more prone to "explosions" because it is basically a solidified oil being heated? Don't know - sometimes people exaggerate - could just be weak glass...

Maybe it is just a general disclaimer the company is using to safe guard against being sued? Doesn't really make sense otherwise.

[Candle Man]

There is a thread on here somewhere on temp variance between different brands of candle warmers. Apparently some can get too hot and this is probably when it could happen. Maybe soy would be more prone to "explosions" because it is basically a solidified oil being heated? Don't know - sometimes people exaggerate - could just be weak glass...

Maybe it is just a general disclaimer the company is using to safe guard against being sued? Doesn't really make sense otherwise.

It doesn't matter how much WARNING/CAUTION information we include with products, weather it's on a label, hang tag or brochure people can still sue us because of their own stupidity. ie- leaving a burning candle un-attended.

You know there will be some people that will put a soy container on there in hopes it will explode so they can sue and get a lot of money.

[leisa2003]

It doesn't matter how much WARNING/CAUTION information we include with products, weather it's on a label, hang tag or brochure people can still sue us because of their own stupidity. ie- leaving a burning candle un-attended.You know there will be some people that will put a soy container on there in hopes it will explode so they can sue and get a lot of money.


This is sooo true!
I know of a lady that was selling candles for years on e-bay, and she was sued and the buyer left her home and forgot the candle was burning, and their was a fire in her home. The seller lost! In court, the seller stated that she had warning labels on it, and that buyers should never leave a lit candle unattended...well anyways the buyers attorney fought saying that the seller needed to somehow prove her candle was faulty...and the buyer won.:mad: The seller was a friend of mine, and before I made candles, I bought from her on ebay. Wonderful Person!!

I know..STUPID!!!

[soycrazy]

I never tried that brand, but I have some similiar and never had a problem. I use the ceramic ones now though and they get much hotter, but they don't have no warnings on them. I had a wickless explode on me once when I used parasoy and I never used that wax again LOL. That wasn't, because of the warmer though the wax cooled off too quickly and it made a pocket in the candle and kaboom wax on the ceiling, cupboards, counter you name it LOL.

[number2of7]

I never tried that brand, but I have some similiar and never had a problem. I use the ceramic ones now though and they get much hotter, but they don't have no warnings on them. I had a wickless explode on me once when I used parasoy and I never used that wax again LOL. That wasn't, because of the warmer though the wax cooled off too quickly and it made a pocket in the candle and kaboom wax on the ceiling, cupboards, counter you name it LOL.

I hope this isn't true of all parasoy waxes...:confused: I have some curing that I hope to test on my warmer soon.....Hmmmm.....maybe I should get the enclosed kind....will that type fit the squatty jars???

[NattyCat]

Well, the exact words on the warning are:

"The Sensible Aroma Warmer is designed to only warm candles which are manufacturered in jars, with wax other than the vegetable based wax, or to be used with Sensible Aroma Fragrance Discs"

and then later it says:

WARNING: Using vegetable-based wax candles on the warmer is likely to cause the candle to explode.

Only use warmer with jar candles that are in the original glass container or jar purchased from manufactuer. Do not use with homemade or hand poured candles or candles that are not in a glass container or jar. Never refill candle jar

It also says later "Cease using jar candle when only 1/2" of wax remains in the candle jar" What???????????? the wax doesn't evaporate on a warmer does it???


So you can ONLY use this warmer with mass produced factory candles that are so shit they evaporate and come in a lead-lined jar????

[theoldehearth]

It sounds like a sale gimmick to me. The company is just trying to deter customers from buying other candles and just use their brand. It's almost like they instilling fear into customers by stating if they don't use their brand then bad things will happen.;)

[soycrazy]

I used the ky tart/votive parasoy and I made the mistake of putting it in jars. I think it was only meant for tarts and votives, so it cooled off too quickly.

[Stella1952]

They keep saying "vegetable wax" rather than simply soy... I could easily see this happening with palm wax because of the hard shell it makes... it's harder for me to envision soy wax causing the jar to explode because it is a softer wax...

[PurpleHippie]

I know this is an old post but I was looking up information on this since I had a report of one of my wickless soy exploding. I used a tin container, thank heavens it wasn't glass. After asking several question I learned that the user heated the wickless then decided to turn off the warmer after the contents was fully melted. She placed the lid back on the container BEFORE the wax cooled, lid went back on as soon as she turned off the warmer. The next time she turned the warmer on the wax on top popped and exploded shooting the top portion of wax out of the container and hot wax spilled on the warmer and shot out on the walls! My guess here but wouldn't you think that since she placed the lid back on the container BEFORE the wax cooled this trapped in air that may have led to the exploding wax with the next use?

[bugtussle]

This did come up before; many warmers have a warning about using soy candles or tarts. When you are warming the wax there are no advantages in soy-slower burning, cleaner. Maybe someone can find the thread; several years ago. I just won't make wickless or tarts out of natural wax because of the warnings. Carole

[PurpleHippie]

I am wondering if the lid being placed back on while the wax was still hot had something to do with it. I've purchased many soy wickless and know a few people here that have made soy only wickless for years without any report of a problem. There must be something more to it then just the wax??? I use my soy wickless just about every single day of the week and have never ever had a exploding wickless.

[Stella1952]

This is common sense safety and chemistry.

The heat from both electric and tealight candle warmers varies greatly. Direct heat from underneath only is the least safe method of heating a glass container of any kind. You might have no problem; you might have a big mess, depending on the temperature of the warming device.

The other safety factor is the amount and type of wax in the container... A large amount of wax will have a greater tendency to melt on the bottom and not on the top, which creates pressure from the expanding liquid wax underneath the cooled top; same with a higher melt point, hard wax. Both make a "cap" or "seal" over the melting wax underneath. The pressure created can crack or shatter glass and/or unexpectedly spurt liquid wax, especially if the wax used is a higher melt point, hard wax. Palm wax in a tall glass jar, for example, would be about the worst choice of wax and container for this application. A shallow tin with soft, container wax would be the safest for this kind of warmer (heat from underneath).
Here are some threads where this has been discussed...

http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62713&highlight=wickless
http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64364&highlight=wickless

In this thread,
http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62541&highlight=wickless
folks discuss a type of warmer which warms the wax from the TOP, which sounds much safer for both glass and non-glass containers and harder waxes. HTH :)

[Ring of Fire]

This is sooo true!
I know of a lady that was selling candles for years on e-bay, and she was sued and the buyer left her home and forgot the candle was burning, and their was a fire in her home. The seller lost! In court, the seller stated that she had warning labels on it, and that buyers should never leave a lit candle unattended...well anyways the buyers attorney fought saying that the seller needed to somehow prove her candle was faulty...and the buyer won.:mad:


What exactly did this seller actually lose? What was the judgment amount for the buyer that burned her house down?

[Jane42]

It is threads like this one that make me wonder if this is all worth it. :undecided

This started out as a hobby, which then turned into a business that my friend and I have invested heavily into (as many of you have). To think that we could lose everything because a customer did something stupid is pretty darn scary!

We have researched extensively, put warnings on everything, and we have insurance - and I still wonder - is it really worth it??

[Stella1952]

Jane, sometimes I also wonder if things REALLY ended up that way... often the facts get lost in the telling - not saying that's the case here, but I'd want more verification before believing this happened exactly the way we have heard the story...
or that was the final disposition of the case...
ya know?

It SURE does make one wanna test, test, test and make SURE you have done everything as safely as possible, and ABOVE ALL ELSE... have product liability insurance!!! :wink2:

[PurpleHippie]

A shallow tin with soft, container wax would be the safest for this kind of warmer (heat from underneath).


The melt point of the wax is 121 and it was an 8 oz tin. Not a high melt point wax and 8oz doesn't seem to be a large amount of wax????

I have seen the warmers that heat from the top but the warmers that heat from the bottom are the ones that are more commonly seen and owned by most people. So I test with these type of warmers.

Thank you Stella for the links. I did see the topics previously discussed, that is how I brought up this one from the search. What I was trying to find out was IF having the lid placed on the container while the wax was still hot may have some how caused the problem. It is "common sense" that a large quanity of wax heated from the bottom might cause problems but I was specifically trying to find out if the lid on the hot wax could have caused a problem. I have made wickless for years and never once had this happen.

As for the law suit case...I would hope there would be other factors involved. If not then it would appear to me that one could have total lack of regard for ANY warning/instruction label and have grounds for a law suit. I hope there is more to the story.

[Stella1952]

She placed the lid back on the container BEFORE the wax cooled, lid went back on as soon as she turned off the warmer. The next time she turned the warmer on the wax on top popped and exploded shooting the top portion of wax out of the container and hot wax spilled on the warmer and shot out on the walls! My guess here but wouldn't you think that since she placed the lid back on the container BEFORE the wax cooled this trapped in air that may have led to the exploding wax with the next use?
I do not think placing the top before the wax cooled would have caused the wax to spurt on a subsequent melt... If the 8 oz. tin is one of the deep ones and not one of the wider, shallower ones, I think that is part of the problem. The woman's warmer may not melt at the same temperature as the one you use to test.;) If she was warming the candle in a cool or cold room, that also could have contributed. The more wax the container contains, and the smaller the amount of surface area, the greater the likelihood of this happening.

An easy way to avoid this would be to pierce the top wax (with BIG holes) all the way to the bottom of the container in several places to release pressure as the melted wax expands. :wink2:

Better yet is to melt small tarts in the tin and not have so much wax in the container in the first place. A couple of small 1/2 oz. tarts should be plenty to fragrance a reasonable area.:D

[PurpleHippie]

She has the same warmer that I do but maybe there is a difference in the temperature. There is no way that I can possibly know what temperature each and every warmer a customer might use heats. Infact, most of them tell me that they prefer to use the huge apothecary candles on their warmers. I have to constantly explain why the big jumbo candles aren't necessary for the warmers. :sad2: I agree about the tarts but for some reason people in my area prefer wickless candles instead of the tarts. It took forever to even get them to try those. At first they only wanted wicked candles.

So do those of you that make wickless instruct your customers to poke holes each time they use the wickless candles? It's difficult enough to get people to trim wicks for regular candles. I just don't see anyone taking the time to poke holes in their wickless.

[Stella1952]

There is no way that I can possibly know what temperature each and every warmer a customer might use heats.
Exactly. I don't sell melter jars of any size or description. I see too much potential for problems there. Others feel differently. Just because customers might want them doesn't mean that I want the potential liabilities and problems from the product. ;)

I do sell 1/2 oz. tarts and recommend never using more than two in a melter. If that doesn't please folks, there are other sources from which they can get larger melter jars. More business for people who do sell them! :)