Vee Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 This happened to one of my gel candles...I am completely foxed... how can the surface of a candle catch fire. It was quite scary. Any ideas on why this could happen so that I don’t make the same mistake again. It is gel wax with no fragrance...I used a zinc core wick and there are a few sand and other embeds in it. Can the surface of a candle catch fire at all? I tried to light some wax to just check but it did not burn. Anyone with similar experience out there? Thanks guys for all your responses in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncraiders Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 47 minutes ago, Vee said: This happened to one of my gel candles...I am completely foxed... how can the surface of a candle catch fire. It was quite scary. Any ideas on why this could happen so that I don’t make the same mistake again. It is gel wax with no fragrance...I used a zinc core wick and there are a few sand and other embeds in it. Can the surface of a candle catch fire at all? I tried to light some wax to just check but it did not burn. Anyone with similar experience out there? Thanks guys for all your responses in advance I am not sure on most of this but given a hot enough flame it is possible for wax to catch on fire. Which is why i don't trust candles on ebay and the likes. I have seen how scary looking those candles can be I would not chance burning one as they put stuff in them that is dangerous to put in there.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trappeur Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 You say you had embeds in the candle? What embeds? Were they made of fragranced wax or were they like spices? Trappeur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vee Posted July 23, 2018 Author Share Posted July 23, 2018 Thanks! the embeds were shells and a small artificial plant. No spices and no fragrance...I lit the same candle today again to check and it has lit perfectly and has been going for the last 3 hours with no issues.It seems it was a surface thing tho there was nothing on the surface and it happened as soon as it was lit so no melt pool had formed either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trappeur Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 Well, glad that the candle is ok today.... You know I see so many make all these gorgeous different types of candles with spices, flowers, and plants on the internet and they sell them to the public. And as beautiful as they all are I have always thought just how much of a fire hazard these things could be. That is why I would never even attempt to create a candle like this because of my great fear of a fire like what happened to you. All I could really say is to be very careful as it may not happen now the possibility of an artificial plant wandering over to where your lit flame is once the wax is all liquified but....... it "could" one day... Trappeur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdcharm Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 3 hours ago, Vee said: Thanks! the embeds were shells and a small artificial plant. No spices and no fragrance...I lit the same candle today again to check and it has lit perfectly and has been going for the last 3 hours with no issues.It seems it was a surface thing tho there was nothing on the surface and it happened as soon as it was lit so no melt pool had formed either. Is this candle gel in the Versagel line or a different brand? I'm hoping your artificial plant is made of glass or metal ... please let us know on that one, as any other material might be the cause. Also, regarding your seashells, are they hard shells? Shells that are hard can be used, but soft shells, such as sand dollars or "shells" that aren't shells, but are coral bits, can't be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vee Posted July 23, 2018 Author Share Posted July 23, 2018 its meco gel wax that I get here in India. actually its the top surface layer that was on fire..it did not even get to the embeds. and yes they are hard shells. The embeds are way at the bottom. I relit the candle today and it was fine.In fact i lit it for a long time like 3/4 hours and kept a close eye on it. There was not even a full melt pool at the end of 4 hours as gel burns so slow. I am wondering if some dust particles or some other thing on the surface caused this to happen... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdcharm Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 I'm not familiar with that type of wax, but what I was thinking was if your artificial plant is made of plastic, then it could have maybe melted when you poured the gel, with some foreign material rising to the top. Anyway, if it's plastic, it shouldn't be used anyway, just to make you know. Is the feel of your gel wax oily at all when it's in the package? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runner14jc Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 Using too much fragrance or with gel wax, possibly too low of a flashpoint fragrance could cause the surface to catch on fire. Since it was fine with the second burn, I am thinking too much fragrance that pooled on the top surface causing the fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonshine Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 Zero experience with gel wax but I would be hesitant to keep burning that and contact the supplier you got it from for advice on how this happened with no fragrance oil added or embeds at the surface Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 I would be calling the manufacturer or reseller right away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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