Stella1952

Yep.

I'm delighted you are having fun and your soapies look fine! The colors are pure and springy!!

DAYUM!! Sometimes I wonder how long some of the cans sit on the shelves before we buy them... and how old the ingredients were when they made the stuff, etc. I have a feeling this is a good example of poor quality control in manufacturing facilities...

As rj said - you have to test, but sometimes I use this chart to get a ball-park idea of how different wicks roughly compare to one another... http://www.wickit.net/recommendations.html I love sample kits of wicks for this reason. One gets a wide range of sizes from which to choose. I always figured SOMETHING in that bag has to work... LOLOL

Of course not, Steve. I simply test to insure that when people burn my candles according to the instructions, that the exterior of the container does not become too hot to handle. I thought that was what I was supposed to do... :undecided

BEAUTIFUL WORK!!

My mind is very clear on this - I don't understand where yours is, however... All I can suggest is to READ and TRY to comprehend what's being written and communicated, not what you can "make" of it. I freely admit I am particular about the APPEARANCE of my candles (but hardly OCD - that's known as literary exaggeration for comic relief - sorry I confused you), but it's a step beyond "embracing" when we are leaving wicks untrimmed because candles are growing so much in storage that a customer (I'm always worried about that silly ol' customer who paid money for a candle) can open up the candle they purchased and have to hunt for the wick!! Is it DIFFICULT to understand how I might have the OPINION that that's problematic?!! And people worry about WET SPOTS? REALLY?!!!!! :rolleyes2:rolleyes2:rolleyes2 I am SICK of this. Did you just join this discussion to throw a handful of feces at me? Or were you actually interested in the discussion and the question posed by the OP? Go pick on SOMEONE ELSE because I have had enough of YOUR PERSONAL insults and those of Horsescents as well. Do either of you have any concept of civil discourse? Shall I start calling names and hurling personal insults at you? Shall I make oblique remarks questioning your mental stability? Should I suggest medications for both of YOU? Is this what passes for discussion? Do you even know how to disagree or discuss ideas WITHOUT discussing the posters on a personal level and calling others out like teenagers in gangs? I'm not sure either of you knows HOW to discuss and be civil... :undecided I'm going to say this once, out loud, in public: GET OFF ME. Please discuss ideas, share opinions about the topics being discussed, laugh, joke, dance, but leave personal comments about me out of the discussion. If others wish to tolerate your crap, that's up to them, but I am tired of ignoring your personal barbs and insults which flagrantly violate the TOS here. If you have nothing better to do with your time than take potshots at Stella, I have some suggestions for other activities for you... and you could do them today... in the privacy of your own home... My sincere apologies to the OP and other posters engaged in legitimate discussion in this thread.

When you are testing candles to see if you have the right wicking, you do not burn them under any kind of fan or in a draft. If the candle smokes so much that it sets off the smoke detector, the most likely issue is that candle system is NOT working, unless you either have a smoke detector that is poorly located, too sensitive, or dinner's ready. A candle should not smoke excessively during ANY part of its burn. If the candle's componenent ingredients (formula) is out of whack, it won't matter what wick you use - the wax will not burn well. To ascertain how a wick will perform in a container candle, you need to burn the candle all the way to the bitter end because conditions in the container change as it burns down. Burning for 15 minutes, pulling the wick from here, inserting into there, etc. is a waste of time. When you are trying to get solid testing data, it pays to use a methodical approach. Your approach is all over the place and so your data will be skewed. As for WHY the wick is smoking, you did not provide any more answers about the candle and its composition, so I can't offer any more ideas to assist. Good luck! :-)

I believe that the right to possess and express a personal opinion extends even to me. When I am writing anything, unless I quote another source, what I write IS my opinion. You are free to take it or leave it. I'll stand by what I said. I'll just bet you will... :rolleyes2 Excellent!! I have similar experiences BECAUSE I PAY ATTENTION TO FROSTING ISSUES. No one has said nor implied that frosting impacts how a candle BURNS - it's a cosmetic issue. If you don't mind a customer opening a candle and seeing something that looks like brains, or can't find the wick, that is your choice - it won't impact the burn nor the HT (once the wick is located). I don't make it a practice to sell old candles. I think my customers deserve fresh ingredients. As far as shelf life, every soy wax manufacturer lists an expiration date for their wax. Generally, it's one year. Under good storage conditions, it can last far longer. Same with FOs, etc. I don't think even the people nitpicking and arguing in this thread will disagree that FRESH ingredients make the highest quality products.* *(oh god, I've gone and done it again... SOMEONE is going to post that I'm 100% wrong again and they ALWAYS AGE their soy wax and FO before using and that there's nothing wrong with doing that and there is no law that says they can't...) Candles made with fresh ingredients that are burned within a few months of being poured are generally the best quality. Pardon me if I incorrectly assUmed that we are always trying to make high quality products for sale to customers. I think it's a load of hooey, too, Steve. That's why I don't do it. Thanks for bringing up those points.

The fan? The range hood? The oven? The microwave? Is an "extractor" some kind of super duper vent fan or range hood or what? I'm not familiar with the term, which is why I asked... Do you know what it is, Pam?

What kind of wax? What kind/how much FO? Additives/amts.? What kind of wicks/sizes? Which of the various FOs & wicks smoked? How long were the wicks trimmed initially? Did you trim them before beginning the second burn? To the same length? What's an "extractor"? Container candles do burn differently on the first burn vs. subsequent burns, especially as they go lower and lower into the container. Perhaps it has something to do with the fresh wick initially, but that doesn't last long! I think it has more to do with the level of the candle being closer to the top and the way the air currents set up as the candle burns down into the container. Photos would help...

I've used the regular Crisco in soap without it developing DOS or going rancid, but I don't use a very high percentage of it. While using butter flavored Crisco has a major *ick* factor for me (I just can't reconcile butter flavor + soap), I see no reason why you couldn't use it successfully. Even if it DOSs or separates or some other horrid soap thing, it won't blow up your kitchen, so I think you should go play with SoapCalc and then go for it!! Maybe it will turn out so well I'll have to get over my *ick* factor and try it myself! :laugh2:

*Moan, Whine* I wish I had never seen that nifty calibration kit... want creates suffering... :undecided Absolutely!! Thanks, LL, for that tip. That will keep me from pining over the kit above...

Me too!

You can argue until the cows come home, Horsescents. You can rudely write "100% wrong" in your argumentative opinions as many times as you like. We ALL have opinions and interpretations. When mine differ, I try to err on the side of customer safety and protection of chandlers from product liability. In the link YOU posted in a different thread, the author pointed out that it's very important for people to pay strict attention to the standards because even though they are voluntary, in a court of law, those standards WILL BE BROUGHT UP as if they were mandatory. You can do whatever you wish. It is near impossible to do what you are advocating, not in a lab setting, but in real life and common practice for every container candle, for every wax type and for every chandler. You can continue to argue but what you advocate (ie. designing container candles for a 100% burn) is irresponsible, IMHO.