Burn tests

[Natasha2106]

Hey, just wondering if anyone can help out here. 

Ive been test burning my candles, 4630 In a double wick 4 inch wide jar, the first half of jar burning wicks work Well, however I've noticed that once jar gets to around third left and burning for 4 hours or more the wicks lose their rigity and move slightly and end up closer to the jar and this can cause the jar to become too hot. 

 

Does this mean the wicks are too big? 

Any advice would be great, thanks

[TallTayl]

17 minutes ago, Natasha2106 said:

 

Does this mean the wicks are too big? 

Any advice would be great, thanks

That is my experience, yes.

 

Are the wick tabs still stuck to the bottom? Just the wick slumping in the melt pool?

[Natasha2106]

The tabs are still stuck as there is still some unmelted wax.

 

I tried with smaller wick but they were looking like they were drowning on the first couple of burns, there was barely a flame. 

[TallTayl]

Have you tried more than one wick series?

[Natasha2106]

Only used the one brand of wick.

Do they vary that much between suppliers? I thought they would be the same being htp wicks 

[Jcandleattic]

9 hours ago, Natasha2106 said:

Only used the one brand of wick.

Do they vary that much between suppliers? I thought they would be the same being htp wicks 

The same type of wicks can vary between suppliers depending on which wax they use to prime their wicks. There are a few threads on the board about this. 

 

TT was asking though, have you tried different series of wicks (not suppliers) such as CD, CDN, CSN, LX, or other series of wicks and not just HTP's. Different series can give you different results, and may end up working better in your application. 

[Natasha2106]

I use 4630 wax and they recommend htp wicks.  I haven't tried other series, I will try some others and see what the outcome is. 

I did try cdn once but they didn't work well.  Will see if I can get any other series.

Thanks 

[Sarah S]

Natasha, I believe the CDs also work well with that wax, maybe give them a try.

Another suggestion would be to use a single HTP, but a lager size, if you happen to have a variety of sizes in that wick series. 4" is big for a single wick, but you never know, and if you have the wicks already it might be worth a go before you invest in a new series.

With that being said, wicks are pretty cheap, and the ladies above dispense great advice! 😉

[debratant]

what size of htp are you using to double wick?

also, what is your FO load?

 

you could try 1 htp 126 or a 1212, but the 1212 is very large and would likely be too big.

[grama]

 

On 1/10/2018 at 3:30 PM, Natasha2106 said:

however I've noticed that once jar gets to around third left and burning for 4 hours or more the wicks lose their rigity and move slightly and end up closer to the jar and this can cause the jar to become too hot. 

What are you using to adhere your wick to your jar.  Sounds to me like you are using wax to adhere your wick to container?     

[birdcharm]

I've read on this board that HTPs are good for that particular wax. 

 

If I were to use that wax and that container with a double wick, I think I would start my test with size HTP-62 which is recommended for container candles of a "small-medium, approx. 2.5-inch size" -- two of these in a 4" candle might work according to the guidelines. 

 

[TallTayl]

Just an observation about double wicking I have noticed... 

 

if you divide the candle in half, that diameter would be two 2" candles. Don't worry about the extra around that as the heat makes it catch up quickl. A lot of extra heat is generated when ultimate wicking. It is more of an exponential effect than 1+1. What this means is, when doublewicking, I always need to choose smaller than i think i need. Sometimes two to three sizes. 

 

The most important part is the last third. The flame gets less oxygen, and burns hotter and hotter til the end. Think of this like a wood stove. When the damper is wide open (plenty of oxygen like at the top of a candle) the fire is kind of lazy. When the damper is closed in a wood stove that fire intensifies and you start to see the super hot, short and sometimes blue tinged flame. That fire is HOT compared to the lazy flame. That is the candle toward the end in a vessel. 

[GoldieMN]

@TallTayl  With that in mind (flame getting less oxygen as candle gets smaller in a container), would you use a wick that has a very, very small flame, but the container never gets too hot to pick up?  Or should this be another thread?

GoldieMN

[TallTayl]

The goal, IME is to balance the rate of consumption with the container width.

-------------

 

🚦🛑. this part may be too long, so stop here if you don't want to read my thoughts and observations.

 

This consumption rate got my attention as I kept having to wick down with cd wicks in last year's 415. To keep the top of the candle from melting too fast we all wicked down. Throw was immediately diminished compared to prior years.

 

As the candle approached the middle, the mp started to look almost normal, but throw was still lousy. The melt pool was actually kind of cool (temp).

 

By the end we could still hold the candle and walk around comfortably with it, but the mp was really deep. 

 

That wick series produced enough heat to melt the wax, but was not big enough to suck up and burn what it had melted. This reduced the temp of the melt pool, so icold not throw was nowhere near as good as we were used to. 

 

This year I started with 444. I burned a cd 16 side by side with an eco12 and an rrd50 in tins. 

 

For the first third they appeared to be almost equal. By the half way, the cd and RRD were just melting wax and could not keep up. They both began to mushroom horribly, sooted,  and did not throw at all. They were *scary* looking candles. 

 

The eco was using the wax almost as quickly as it melted it. Throw was amazing. No mushroom. The eco wicks seem to be bigger "straws" in 444. Eco are nowhere near perfect. I hated them for years. The flames can get pretty tall. If even a smidge too big they are too hot for my case of wax. If trimmed religiously they have been great in my waxes including coconut. 

 

 

[GoldieMN]

That is what I'm seeing with the RRDs--mushrooming quickly.  Thought I had things figured out with these tiny Mason jars then decided to do a second test burn just to be sure.  I can keep the jar cool enough to carry around to the end with the RRD 29 but it is a pitiful flame.  HTP 41 gives me a nice flame but halfway down, the top starts to get hot.  Melt pool is large as well.  HTP 31 was cool but the wick struggled and went out eventually.

 

Thanks for the explanation.  So you are still testing or have you found your wick?

GoldieMN

[TallTayl]

Still testing. Just getting into all the fragrances now. The first total success was an evergreen for scent with eco12.  Was perfect from too to end. Will re-test to be sure.

 

next up is lemon biscotti. It's cooling now. Using eco10 and 12 side by side. Working hard to not get impatient. These will get a full 2 weeks before lighting. I don't want to get pantsed again this year with soy!

 

[Natasha2106]

I'm going to buy some different series of wicks and test side by side.

It's just so frustrating.  

Wick down and they drown and there is no ht and wick up and they are too big at a third down.  

 

Really need to get these right this Year! 

[kandlekrazy]

8 hours ago, Natasha2106 said:

I'm going to buy some different series of wicks and test side by side.

It's just so frustrating.  

Wick down and they drown and there is no ht and wick up and they are too big at a third down.  

 

Really need to get these right this Year! 

I use the HTP wicks for some applications but I ran into the same problem with glass jars, there aren't enough sizes to work in all applications.  Too much difference between sizes.  In travel tins you can get it down but once you get 3" or above it seems to be same problem for everyone regardless of wax.  I don't like a hot jar so had to switch wicks.  If you can get another type you'll be happier with results in the large jar.  Premier wicks have the most sizes, almost crazy how many but I don't know if they work in your wax.