bfroberts Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Don't dig into your candle supplies and find a lot of stuff you aren't going to use for normal production and decide to use it up by making gifts for your family for Christmas. Here's why.I had a few slabs of 6006 left over from a failed attempt a year or more ago. And I had some 10 oz apothecary jars I wasn't using, and a bunch of different wicks, and more Christmas-y scents than I will need this year. So, I thought it would be a grand idea to make candles for the fam. Not. Even though I read every post I could find on wicking apothecaries with 6006 and even started a thread to ask for advice, I still can't quite get it right. I started with what I thought were my problem FO's and I figured those out fairly easily. I thought it would be pretty easy to move on to less problematic FO's. It's not. They are all problems with this wax in this jar. I should have just made one scent and stopped there. But I didn't want them all to have the same scent. At this point, I'm pouring 3 testers for every FO, and have 3 different wick combo's. Now I'm running out of wax, and I had to order another case, even though I didn't NEED a whole case, but I can't pay slab prices and shipping. It's so much cheaper to buy a case.....of wax that I might never use. I'm an idiot. I was trying to use up this wax. Now I've purchased MORE. AND to top it all off, I realized way into this project that my 3 different wicks have 3 different size tabs. The largest has a 9mm neck, the middle has a 6mm neck, and the smallest has a 3mm neck. I've spent the afternoon retabbing the 3's and 9's and trying to find a supplier that has 36-24-24z's with a 20 x 6mm tab. There's no such animal apparently. Sooo, what this means is I will have to order some of the 36's with the 3mm's and retab them all, and I am running low on tabs, so I will have to buy some of those too. And just to add insult to injury, I'm hot gluing the wicks in my tester jars, and I just pulled out my last stick of high temp glue. Geez Louise. I coulda gone to Yankme for a whole lot less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OldGlory Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 I'm pretty sure Mercury is in retrograde today. (For anyone who isn't an oldie hippie like me, that means that things can and will go wrong for no apparent reason.) I hope you did not order a case of lot# 1503549, because that's the 'bad' lot of 6006.I'll make you a cup of warm tea, offer you some gingersnaps, and we can both wait for the madness to pass. Tomorrow will be a better day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfroberts Posted November 19, 2015 Author Share Posted November 19, 2015 I was very concerned about ordering it, but I was so deep into this testing, I just crossed my fingers and bit the bullet. I ordered it from CS who I've never used for wax before, and it doesn't show a lot # on the box, but so far it appears to be OK. That is the one thing that has gone right since I took this project on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 You poor thing. I feel your pain. I think I would have just chucked the project, made tarts and called it a day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonshine Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Lol... I feel your pain been there before And Mercury has been at me all flipping day!! I am making a cup of tea and calling it a day - the candles I have measures out and ready to make are going to wait a few days!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcbrook Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 I have been playing around with apothecaries this week too just for grins and well I can honestly say I hate them. They seem to be impossible to wick so I am just moving on. I give you credit for sticking with it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 For a parasoy blend I used zincs in apothecary jars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfroberts Posted November 20, 2015 Author Share Posted November 20, 2015 (edited) For a parasoy blend I used zincs in apothecary jars. Candybee, have you had any luck single wicking apothecaries? I could narrow my testing if I would give up on single wicking, but I keep trying even though I haven't been too happy with my efforts. I initially gave up on single wicking because I had too much wax left over at the end of the jar. But then I realized my largest zinc wicks had the 9mm tabs, so I wondered how much more wax would be consumed if I retabbed with the 6mm's. That led to more testing and more frustration, and here I am. The struggle is real. Edited November 20, 2015 by bfroberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandlekrazy Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Why do we torture ourselves? Sorry for the frustration, I think we've all had those crazy idea moments...days...weeks...years (at least some of mine were). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 I've used apothecary's for almost 17 years now and never a problem with wicking. I do double wick, but it's wicked properly, so there is no problem. I never understand the stigma against double wicking, but that I guess that's just me. As long as it's wicked correctly and doesn't get over heat, and no sooting then, I'm good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfroberts Posted November 21, 2015 Author Share Posted November 21, 2015 It looks like double wicking is what it's gonna be. I'm not necessarily opposed to doubles, but I did initially want to single wick....for no reason other than I thought it would be less work using less wicks. What I'm finding is that sometimes double wicking with 36's isn't quite enough but 44-24-18's is too much. I need an in-between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OldGlory Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 How 'bout ONE 36 and ONE 44? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfroberts Posted November 21, 2015 Author Share Posted November 21, 2015 Would that work? I just assumed it would be too hot on one side. I'm willing to try anything (obviously..lol). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OldGlory Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Well I have never tried double wicking. If you placed your wicks as you normally would, then scooched the 36 a little bit further out, like 1/4", it might work. In other words, I would adjust the placement of the wicks to accomodate the difference in size. Maybe that means moving the 44 towards the center a bit - I just don't know. That is what I would try based on your suggestion that you needed something in the middle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfroberts Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 Interesting strategy. I will try one double wicked that way and report back. Thank you for your insight, OldGlory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OldGlory Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Please let us know if it works or doesn't work. Lots of people could benefit from your trial and error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Ive tried something similar and I personally didn't like the results. It was a lopsided burn (not by much but noticeable to me) and I just didn't like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfroberts Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 Well, I poured one as OldGlory mentioned and I'll see what happens. We burn a candle every day in our store/office, so most of my rejects get used up with a purpose anyway. Plus, I am desperate. I'm really struggling today with the testers I have burning. I have Cinnamon Broom (Tenn.) double wicked with 36z's going now and it has the wimpiest flames. Twice now I've walked by it, and the air movement has blown out one of the wicks. This same combo was overwicked with 2 44-24-18's. It burned well until the bottom 1/3, at which point it liquefied all the wax and was a little too hot. Single wicked with 60z left a huge mushroom, a little soot, and way too much wax at the end. This is what I'm finding with at least half the FO's I've tried. I'm really discouraged with this project today.I have only worked with jelly jars, salsa jars and square masons before, and never have I had such a problem with wicking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_35550 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 I know this has been said before but add 15% straight soy to the 6006 and use a cd or cdn wick. What have you got to lose? If you have some 415 or even 464 just toss that into the mix and pour at 185 degrees into room temperature jars and let cool uncovered. This formula works well with a 7% fo load. HTH Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Candybee, have you had any luck single wicking apothecaries? I could narrow my testing if I would give up on single wicking, but I keep trying even though I haven't been too happy with my efforts. I initially gave up on single wicking because I had too much wax left over at the end of the jar. But then I realized my largest zinc wicks had the 9mm tabs, so I wondered how much more wax would be consumed if I retabbed with the 6mm's. That led to more testing and more frustration, and here I am. The struggle is real. I never had problems single wicking apothecary with my parasoy blend. But the blend I used was a 50/50 soy/paraffin blend so that may be why. Burned great with little to no hangup. Its been a while, think I used the largest zinc 61z? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfroberts Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 The largest zinc wicks I had on hand when I started this project were 60's. I tried single wicking with those, and it was OK-ish, but I ended up with more mushrooming and too much wax at the end of the burn. Also, double wicking seemed to give me a better throw. I felt like 62's might work, but I never got around to ordering any. If I continue with this, I will definitely want to test with those. Ironically, recently I pulled out a candle I made about 2 yrs ago with 464 single wicked with a Premier wick in a 26oz apothecary. It has burned beautifully. This 6006 has been a totally different experience. Maybe if the zincs were available more incrementally like Premiers. I don't know. So many of my 6006 testers seem to need an in between size when there isn't one available. I also think it is possible that I am being too picky. So far, I have managed to wick 6 FO's successfully. One of which I feel like is the best candle I've ever made, so despite my extreme frustrations, this project has actually been a success on many levels. What started as using up extra supplies may end up with me adding these to our product line. I didn't give this wax a fair shake when I worked with it before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wthomas57 Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 If you cant get the results you are after using premiers and even double wicking... then, you probably wont unfortauntely.(regardign wick sizing anyway) Premiers have by far the most incremental sizes so they give you the best hope. With that being said, I do find sometimes that I either get the melt pool I am after but with mushrooming, or the opposite. frustrating it is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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