Using Electric Griddles Safely

[Quentin]

Before I go and buy one on impulse, I wanted to get your opinions. I watched a video the other night on either Candle Science or Candlewic. Not sure which one it was. The lady in the video was using an electric griddle to melt her wax. She said she liked that method because she could make two colors at the same time. No double boilers. She just set her two pots directly on the griddle! Directly on the heat source! One of the first safety tips I ever read, in several books and on the internet all said that was a MAJOR NO-NO. One night, while not paying attention, I carelessly placed my pot full of wax directly on my hot plate. I turned my back for only a few seconds to get my molds or jars lined up and ready or something like that. When I turned back around, the thermometer in my melt pot was already well over 200 degrees and getting hotter by the second. I thought I was going to burn the house down. I don't get it.  What's the difference here?

[birdcharm]

I think it's best to use a double-boiler with paraffin wax, as if it should begin to smoke, that's not a good thing.  For soy wax, however, I don't use a double-boiler, just a hot plate.  It would have to get quite a bit beyond 200 degrees before beginning to smoke, just as melted shortening would, and, if it did happen to for some very careless reason, it would be similar to smoking vegetable oil ... not a good thing, but not a petroleum product.  If you set the hot plate at a setting where it cannot get beyond what is safe, imo, soy wax directly on it in a melting pot is okay.

 

[Jcandleattic]

You can use a griddle just like you would a presto pot. I wouldn;t (and haven't since my very first candle) use the double boiler method with paraffin. You risk getting water splashes up in the wax from the boiling water. 

What you don't want to do is heat paraffin on a direct heat source (like a hotplate and pan) when it's a presto or griddle, it's not direct heat, and will melt it fine. A hotplate and a griddle are 2 different things with the heat source not conducting the same way. 

I've never had paraffin wax smoke and that's even with accidentally setting my presto to 300+ degrees for a couple hours thinking I turned it off. 

 

[TallTayl]

Griddles tend to cycle on and off like a presto. They have temp adjustments that are fairly easy to set also. Hot plates, at least those I have, keep the power on for longer periods and stay much hotter. 

 

Griddles are not the most most efficient way to heat more than a couple of ounces of wax at a time. Too much heat is lost to the top and sides to be efficient.

[Ramr]

Water boils at a set temperature. (Approx. 212 F.) Boiling water does not get hotter the longer it boils. It just reaches a certain temp, boils, remains at that temp and thus the wax you are melting in it will only ever reach that certain temp without getting any hotter. Your wax can attain 200 degrees, but it is also losing heat to the air as it is being heated. Short answer, melting your wax ( in a pot set in)  boiling water is a safety mechanism because the likelihood of overheating it to bursting into flame is pretty much nil.

 

Steam is another story. DO NOT futz around with steam. Not unless a bad burn is on your do-list. A double boiler should have plenty of room for steam to escape without building up pressure. We're making candles, not locomotives.

 

Having said that, back in the day when I was batiking I never used a double boiler. Never knew I was supposed to! Just plunked my pot of wax on the stove, on low and away I went. I never left it unattended though. Once or twice I did have smoke rolling off the top of the wax. Uh oh. Apply a lid and remove from heat.

 

Since my 'inherited' candle supplies came with a big pasta pot for water and melting pot for wax, that's what I've been using.

[Quentin]

9 hours ago, birdcharm said:

I think it's best to use a double-boiler with paraffin wax, as if it should begin to smoke, that's not a good thing.  For soy wax, however, I don't use a double-boiler, just a hot plate.  It would have to get quite a bit beyond 200 degrees before beginning to smoke, just as melted shortening would, and, if it did happen to for some very careless reason, it would be similar to smoking vegetable oil ... not a good thing, but not a petroleum product.  If you set the hot plate at a setting where it cannot get beyond what is safe, imo, soy wax directly on it in a melting pot is okay.

 

But I can't safely put pots of paraffin directly on an electric griddle. Absolutely a NO-NO. Not ever? I think that's what you're telling me. If I want to make two colors of paraffin at the same time, I'll just need to pull out a second double boiler. Is that correct?

[Jcandleattic]

14 hours ago, Quentin said:

But I can't safely put pots of paraffin directly on an electric griddle. Absolutely a NO-NO. Not ever? I think that's what you're telling me. If I want to make two colors of paraffin at the same time, I'll just need to pull out a second double boiler. Is that correct?

I think that's what she is saying but it's incorrect. I put my repour wax in my pour pot that I set directly on my electric griddle all the time, sometimes as much as 6-8oz of wax for a large repour and it's always fine. I can fit 3 of the small pour pots on my griddle comfortably. I've never tried 4, I don't think that many would fit, however, if you had a bigger griddle... 

[birdcharm]

18 hours ago, Quentin said:

But I can't safely put pots of paraffin directly on an electric griddle. Absolutely a NO-NO. Not ever? I think that's what you're telling me. If I want to make two colors of paraffin at the same time, I'll just need to pull out a second double boiler. Is that correct?

 

There are many books that say using a double-boiler with paraffin wax is considered the safest method which is probably true, and for some people who don't keep a close eye on things, they should ... that's probably why, as you stated, most books say it's a "major no-no."  I only melt a small amount of paraffin at a time, and I just use my melting pots.  However, I don't leave the room, and if the phone rings or I'm called away for some reason, I remove it and return to melting later.  ☺️

 

Edited September 14, 2018 by birdcharm

[Quentin]

On 9/12/2018 at 4:48 PM, Jcandleattic said:

A hotplate and a griddle are 2 different things with the heat source not conducting the same way. 

Thank you. I've got to ponder on this one. I've got a 55 lb wax melter. The heat element on the melter is "hidden" just like with a griddle. I've never experienced anything that seemed dangerous with it. So placing a melt pot full of paraffin on a griddle should be the same. Safe.

[Quentin]

On 9/12/2018 at 5:21 PM, Ramr said:

Water boils at a set temperature. (Approx. 212 F.) Boiling water does not get hotter the longer it boils. It just reaches a certain temp, boils, remains at that temp and thus the wax you are melting in it will only ever reach that certain temp without getting any hotter.

That's good logic. More is not necessarily better. If I take two aspirin for my headache and the headache goes away, taking two more aspirin want put my headache below the zero mark into negative headache numbers. 

[Quentin]

On 9/13/2018 at 4:20 PM, Jcandleattic said:

however, if you had a bigger griddle... 

 I'll bet Amazon has a ten foot long griddle! They have everything.

[Pam W]

Never got into the griddle thing....but I do heat my wax in a presto, pull out what I want to work with into a pour pot...I set the pour pot in a pan of hot water (temp regulated to what I need) scent and color in the pour pots........all that said, I do not sell so anything I pour is usually on a small basis...........I can see the reason for using griddles........more than one pour pot can be kept warm at any given time

[Echap77]

Ok question....could I heat jars on the griddle?

[Quentin]

9 hours ago, Echap77 said:

Ok question....could I heat jars on the griddle?

Now that is a GOOD question. Hopefully someone who knows will clue both of us in on that.

[Quentin]

On 9/16/2018 at 7:20 PM, Pam W said:

I do heat my wax in a presto, pull out what I want to work with into a pour pot...

I've seen Presto pots with and without spouts. How do you get it out of the presto without a spout? Spigot might be a better word than spout.

[Jcandleattic]

On 10/7/2018 at 10:13 PM, Quentin said:

Now that is a GOOD question. Hopefully someone who knows will clue both of us in on that.

You can, but you can fit more in an oven on a cookie sheet, but my question would be why? I mean, I know people do this to try and prevent wet-spots but as soon as that candle changes environments, the wet-spots will be back, so really, what't the use in taking that extra step, wasting the extra time and energy when the thing you are trying to prevent will just show up anyway. (Maybe there's another reason I don't know of for warming jars?) 

 

On 10/7/2018 at 10:16 PM, Quentin said:

I've seen Presto pots with and without spouts. How do you get it out of the presto without a spout? Spigot might be a better word than spout.

I threw my presto with the spigot away after about the 3rd use. It was a total pain. I just pick the presto up and pour the wax into my pour pot. Or I use a ladle and ladle the wax out. 

[TallTayl]

In my waxes heating containers controls cooling to reduce cavities. 

[Quentin]

4 hours ago, Jcandleattic said:

You can, but you can fit more in an oven on a cookie sheet, but my question would be why? I mean, I know people do this to try and prevent wet-spots but as soon as that candle changes environments, the wet-spots will be back, so really, what't the use in taking that extra step, wasting the extra time and energy when the thing you are trying to prevent will just show up anyway. (Maybe there's another reason I don't know of for warming jars?) 

Actually that leads into a couple of questions I've had about warming jars. First let me say that I've been sporadic about doing it and I haven't gone near the oven. I only think about it if I see specific instructions to do so.  I've just sort of "brushed" them with my heat gun while waiting for the wax to melt.  How do you do it in an oven without creating one of two problems?  1) If you've pre- wicked the jars like I normally do, don't you run the risk of the oven melting the wax from your wick or causing your wick sticker and wick to release from the jar?   2) If you heat the jars first, then don't you have the difficulty of trying to handle a hot or very warm jar while trying to wick them, and all the while, the jars are cooling off again?  

 

I've just now noticed the post above this one and I see another reason for heating them. 

5 hours ago, TallTayl said:

In my waxes heating containers controls cooling to reduce cavities.

 

[TallTayl]

 The first v8 moment for heating jars was when making large ceramic candles. I had just washed a set in hot, soapy water. They were pretty warm to the touch, but not so hot as to need gloves. Wick stickers stuck just fine. The ceramic material was a nice heat sink and cooled slowly. Not a single cavity anywhere. Adhesion was perfect. Tops level and smooth. 

 

You dont need them scorching hot, just warm enough. 

[Echap77]

I was just thinking of getting them warm on the griddle while i melt, pouring and then moving to the rack to cool. I haven't had any wet spots but i don't like the slightest movement of wax away from the container or wick, no matter how unnoticeable. I notice 🤷🏼‍♀️ Seems to me the oven would be more of a pain. But I'm probably gonna be too scared to use the griddle anyway. I was terrified the first time I needed to warm containers to get wax out so I could reuse them. I know...I'm a wuss.

[Quentin]

1 hour ago, Echap77 said:

I was terrified the first time I needed to warm containers to get wax out so I could reuse them. I know...I'm a wuss.

Yeah, when I saw that in a book I thought that was crazy. I tried it, and all was well, but I sat on the floor in front of the oven and looked at it the whole time like I was watching TV. 

[Echap77]

Glad I'm not the only one!

[Jcandleattic]

On all of my multiple tests, for my wax, and my applications the heating of jars is an absolute waste of time. It literally adds nothing but time to my production. 

[Pam W]

On 10/7/2018 at 9:16 PM, Quentin said:

I've seen Presto pots with and without spouts. How do you get it out of the presto without a spout? Spigot might be a better word than spout.

Q:  I just dip out what I want to work with into my pour pots, place in a pan of hot water to hold and/or adjust temps for adding FOs.  I have several stainless steel measuring cups with padded handles that I use for dipping wax and just about everything else I do.....heck, I even heat small amts of lip balm in them with my heat gun....I don't think I could function without my little stainless measuring things....and then there are my little stainless steel coffee creamer things.....they are absolutely perfect for pouring small amts of wax....got them at a restaurant supply company