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Candle test - what is wrong?


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I have started burning my second Bach of testers. Not getting good results and I think I need some advice. 

 

Picture 1 and 2 is the biggest container of 160 ml. It has a diameter of 65 mm. The wick is supposed to be used with my wax and for a container with max 65 mm. It has barely melted the sides... 17142509_10158240189470177_370732796_o.jpg17175892_10158240188875177_1198962201_o.jpg

 

Picture 3 is my middle container of 120 ml. It is definitely tunneling, but the flame seems to be emiting enough heat, so I'm unsure...

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The wicks look centered?

17195545_10158240221945177_551892462_o.jpg17194061_10158240222985177_885439947_o.jpg

 

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You shouldn't reach a FMP (full melt pool) on your first burn, and most of the time, not on the second burn either. Most of my candles do not reach fmp until the 3rd 4-6 hour burn. Then it will get to the sides and start catching up. In most cases if your candle reaches fmp on the first burn, the wick is too big, because by the time it burns down to the middle or farther down the jar, your melt pool will be too deep, you won't be able to touch the jar because it will be too hot, and it will be a fire hazard. 

These actually look good to me, depending on how long they've been burning. 

 

On that size jar I would burn 4 hours at a time. Keep good notes, and continue to burn the whole candle in 3-6 hour increments. Once it does reach the sides, then you want to see how deep your melt pool is after a 4 hour burn. It should not be deeper than 1/2 inch at most. I like to try to keep my melt pool between 1/4" deep and 1/2" deep. 

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1 minute ago, Jcandleattic said:

You shouldn't reach a FMP (full melt pool) on your first burn, and most of the time, not on the second burn either. Most of my candles do not reach fmp until the 3rd 4-6 hour burn. Then it will get to the sides and start catching up. In most cases if your candle reaches fmp on the first burn, the wick is too big, because by the time it burns down to the middle or farther down the jar, your melt pool will be too deep, you won't be able to touch the jar because it will be too hot, and it will be a fire hazard. 

These actually look good to me, depending on how long they've been burning. 

 

On that size jar I would burn 4 hours at a time. Keep good notes, and continue to burn the whole candle in 3-6 hour increments. Once it does reach the sides, then you want to see how deep your melt pool is after a 4 hour burn. It should not be deeper than 1/2 inch at most. I like to try to keep my melt pool between 1/4" deep and 1/2" deep. 

Oh, silly me. :lol: I was expecting it to burn evenly within a short time. No, they have been burning for an hour actually...Ill let it burn some more then. 

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31 minutes ago, craftwerks said:

Oh, silly me. :lol: I was expecting it to burn evenly within a short time. No, they have been burning for an hour actually...Ill let it burn some more then. 

Not silly! It's a common misconception, and you are fairly new, and we are always here to help! :)

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They look great to me also.

 

If you don't mind, could you possibly put up your sizes in inches and not in millimeters so for the ones who don't know what sizes they are,( like me)  we could maybe help...

 

Jars looking good so far...I've always wanted to try out the amber jars.   I think those colors are gorgeous.

 

Trappeur

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2 hours ago, Trappeur said:

They look great to me also.

 

If you don't mind, could you possibly put up your sizes in inches and not in millimeters so for the ones who don't know what sizes they are,( like me)  we could maybe help...

 

Jars looking good so far...I've always wanted to try out the amber jars.   I think those colors are gorgeous.

 

Trappeur

Sorry, I forget that Americans dont really use mm. Ill edit my post :icon_tiptoe:    

 

Edit. I wasn't able to edit so Ill write here> 65 mm / 2.5 inch

:)

Edited by craftwerks
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So this is my medium sized candle after it has burned for about 4 hrs (not 4 consecutive hours)

 

The candle seems to be burning well and the wick size seems to be good. However I'm not a fan of the trail of wax that is being left on the sides. Is this normal?

17200226_10158257516495177_1021693396_o.jpg

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1 hour ago, Jcandleattic said:

How many burns is this? First burn? As Goldie said, as the candle burns down and the jar gets warm that residue will melt down into the candle. It'll catch up to itself. 

This is the second burn.  It has cleared up now :)

I have another question. It has been burning for apr. 5-7 hours and the glass is pretty hot. The part from the melted wax and above. 

Is it normal that the glass is so hot? It is so hot that if I was to pick the jar up by the top, I wouldn't be able to. It was mentioned to me on this forum that I should decrease my wick size if its that hot, but the wick is perfect for this wax...An

 

 

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Edited by craftwerks
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Half way through and it's hot, and the melt pool is deep. Not terribly deep, but you might want to try wicking down 1 size and see if you might get a little better results. You're getting there. :) 

 

Quote

It was mentioned to me on this forum that I should decrease my wick size if its that hot, but the wick is perfect for this wax..

If it's too hot to handle, than no, it's not perfect, and should be retested with a smaller wick. You have to test the entire candle burning it intervals all the way to the bottom of the candle before determining if a wick is correct or not. The farther this burns down, the hotter the jar will get, and the deeper the pool.   

(Sorry, I missed this part in my original reply) 

Edited by Jcandleattic
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17 minutes ago, Jcandleattic said:

Half way through and it's hot, and the melt pool is deep. Not terribly deep, but you might want to try wicking down 1 size and see if you might get a little better results. You're getting there. :) 

 

If it's too hot to handle, than no, it's not perfect, and should be retested with a smaller wick. You have to test the entire candle burning it intervals all the way to the bottom of the candle before determining if a wick is correct or not. The farther this burns down, the hotter the jar will get, and the deeper the pool.   

(Sorry, I missed this part in my original reply) 

Yikes, okay...I will try order a size smaller then. :confused: So a correctly wicked jar is hot, but not so hot you can't hold it? just so I know what I'm looking for...

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22 minutes ago, craftwerks said:

Yikes, okay...I will try order a size smaller then. :confused: So a correctly wicked jar is hot, but not so hot you can't hold it? just so I know what I'm looking for...

It should be a bit warmer than luke warm. Uncomfortable, but not hot. If you need to move it a short distance you should be able too, even though it's not advised to move a burning candle, or a candle with liquid wax. 

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  • 1 month later...

Im back! After a long break...

I have tested my wax and bought new wicks BUT it doesn't seem right. 

 

The melt pool is just right and the candle burns all the way to the edges, but the flame is flickering constantly. 

 

I feel like giving up. What do I do from here?

Edit: the picture is the candle with a diameter of apr. 2.3 inches. The wick has also been reduced in size...

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Edited by craftwerks
added a picture
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Someone with more experience than me will respond, BUT if this was my candle and I had a good hot throw, jar wasn't too hot to handle, sides cleaning up nicely as it burned, I wouldn't care about the flickering flame.  I would be very happy. :laugh2:

Goldie

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3 hours ago, GoldieMN said:

Someone with more experience than me will respond, BUT if this was my candle and I had a good hot throw, jar wasn't too hot to handle, sides cleaning up nicely as it burned, I wouldn't care about the flickering flame.  I would be very happy. :laugh2:

Goldie

I agree with Goldie.....;)

 

Trappeur

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6 hours ago, Trappeur said:

I  think you might want to go down a wick size.  That melt pool is going to get deeper and the jar hotter.

 

Trappeur

it is like a never ending nightmare finding the correct wick. *shudder* I guess I will try and find a smaller wick then. 

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