Testing Hybrid Wax from Candles and Supplies

[coachtom]

I was intrigued by the Hybrid wax description and details, wanted to try a blend and thought I would give it a try. Think its 70/30 blend soy to paraffin.  Truly a 'one pour' wax, great CT and HT, good adhesion BUT  wicks are mushrooming. Using CD wicks. Melt pool is good. Tried wicking with 6 and 8% FO. No change. Hard to switch wicks with everything working out but the mushrooming. To what extent is mushrooming acceptable? What other wicks would you recommend? Premier looks like a good option but there are so dang many options. Wicking 26 oz apothecary, 12 oz libby status and small salsa jars. Thanks as always !

[Guest OldGlory]

I think mushrooms are pretty common. I want my candles to burn cleanly - if I see soot, I go back to square one. Sometimes both issues can be resolved by trimming the wick. So, ask yourself if you would buy that candle, or if you would want to buy it for your wife or mother. If the answer is NO, then back to the beginning. I don't think anyone can really say how much mushroom is acceptable because I think we are mostly perfectionists here, or too reluctant to say if our candles have mushrooms. If everything else is perfect a new wick could change a great attribute and then you would simply be swapping one issue for another.

 

I LOVE Premier wicks. I don't know if you saw the series of pictures of 3 tins I posted for Trappeur to see (she was experimenting with wicks). I didn't shoot the last picture, which was after I blew out that same candle. No trace of a mushroom. the wick was not trimmed at all, and it burned perfectly. I highly recommend them - but I think you'd have to double wick the 26 oz apothecary. I have never tried Ecos but I have heard good things about them.

 

Then there is the wood wick option, and for that I suggest BCN wood wicks. They never need to be trimmed after they are burned. A combination of 2 wicks in the apothecary jar would probably work, but I have no experience with that jar. I recently posted a pic of a large jar with a wood wick, but I'll see if I can find it again and repost.

 

[coachtom]

Old Glory,

 

Thanks again for the response. Since there is a huge selection of Premier wicks which ones would be most comparable in size to the CD-20, CD-12 and CD-10 as a good starting point?

[coachtom]

Is Unity Wood Wicks the same as BCN? Do you have the link for their site?

[Guest OldGlory]

I've never used CD wicks so I can't compare.

Bittercreek.com  choose the one in Ashland, Wisconsin.

[coachtom]

Thanks again.

[moonshine]

Here is a chart for a guideline on different wicks for different jar sizes

http://www.wickit.net/recommendations.html

[coachtom]

Thanks for posting the wick guide ! I have seen the wick guide before. The issue is what few range do you start testing with. There are 5-8 wicks for every container range. 

[Guest OldGlory]

Yes, there are a lot of options. This is something we all go through. You just have to choose a few and test them, then determine which one does the best job.

If you go to the old style candle gallery, look at the thread of 3 tins with soy wax and premier wicks. If a 790 wick will do that, a 785 will make a very slight difference in the amount of hangup on the side of that tin. I've tested both and there is almost no difference. Cotton wicks burn hotter and straight soy wax requires that. Add a bit of paraffin (you know that you need a bit less heat) and drop the size of the wick a size or 2. If I was using a 70% soy/30% paraffin blend in that same tin I might try a 765, 770, and 775 premier. One of those would probably be just right.

There's a lot of knowledge gained by testing beyond finding the right wick.

[moonshine]

I don't know how you do your testing but I test 3 wicks at a time....I narrowed my blend down to CD10- CDN12 and CD12.... Not all fragrances burn the same

I make a pound batch and that is enough wax to almost fill 3 square mason jars - after I burn them I chose which one burns and throws the best with that FO- almost always 1 of those is the jackpot but there are some I have to re-test even larger

This took several months of trying so many wicks and sizes to start to see a consistency of the type that works in my wax

But there is still always the temptation to keep trying different wick types but I have way too many FO's to even go there...but as a chandler I find myself always wondering if sometging is better! Lol

[Oceangazer1]

I don't know how you do your testing but I test 3 wicks at a time....I narrowed my blend down to CD10- CDN12 and CD12.... Not all fragrances burn the same

I make a pound batch and that is enough wax to almost fill 3 square mason jars - after I burn them I chose which one burns and throws the best with that FO- almost always 1 of those is the jackpot but there are some I have to re-test even larger

This took several months of trying so many wicks and sizes to start to see a consistency of the type that works in my wax

But there is still always the temptation to keep trying different wick types but I have way too many FO's to even go there...but as a chandler I find myself always wondering if sometging is better! Lol

Moonshine, I have a stupid question. I mainly test CD, ECO and LX wicks. Are CD's comparable in size to CSN's? I'm thinking Yes, but I want to make sure lol

[moonshine]

I have never used CSN wicks I use CDN wicks and yes those are the same wick different coating so in soy with my experience they burn cooler so if a CD10 is not hot Enough and and CD12 gets to hot...the CDN is usually just perfect

You can find them at southwest candle supply, they have the best selection IMO but candle cocoon carries some as well

[Oceangazer1]

Ahh I didn't know that. Thank you...learn something new everyday. I'm testing eco's in the sq masons. What darling little jars.

464 wax and no dye. Next will be cd's. I melted one pound of wax but was only able to fill two jars. But I filled them up.

Probably didn't need that much wax in the jars for testing. Using the rest in tea light cups

[lisajo]

I began testing on this wax also. It sets up really fast. Preliminary results show it has great cold and hot throw. Gave me wet spots initially but they disappeared the next day. I tested lx, cd, htp, cotton and hemp wicks. Looks like the cd burned the best out of my pours. The cotton wick looked like a blow torch. This wax was supposed to be in pellets but it came in a hard brick that easily comes apart to reveal *some* pellets lol.  I used a butterknife to score it so that I could empty into my soy bucket. Felt like I got a wax manicure. My hands were the softest ever!

[coachtom]

I agree. It is very soft and pellets its not.  I could not get a combination of a CD wick not mushroom like crazy. Throw is great. I was testing in status and small salsa jars. Did you find one to work? What jar?

[CareBear]

I have some - I haven't opened the box yet but it sounds like pellets.  Stored in the chilly basement right now.  I hope to break it out tomorrow!

Still working through my supply of LS zinc so hopefully those will work!

[lisajo]

I agree. It is very soft and pellets its not.  I could not get a combination of a CD wick not mushroom like crazy. Throw is great. I was testing in status and small salsa jars. Did you find one to work? What jar?

I have more cotton wicks than any other kind so I am still testing. I'm used to working with 100% soy. Wicking down is foreign to me. I'm not worried about mushrooms so much. It's just the nature of the beast in my eyes. I might end up biting the bullet and buying some CDs if I can't get the cottons to work how I expect. I'm testing in baby food jars, 9 oz rounds, square masons, 16 oz rounds, 16 oz masons and hex jars.

I was thinking about this wax today and it hit me. This wax reminds me of sticky rice. You can tell it's rice but it's all stuck together.

[Oceangazer1]

I'm finding CD 8 & 10 are almost the same burn in my JJ's

[lisajo]

IMHO, this wax burns like a regular 415 or other 100% soy mixed with paraffin. It doesn't have the same hot throw as the old greenleaf 70/30 parasoy blend.