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Presto Pot Melters


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I have just finished gathering what I need to make my first candles. I decided to go with a presto pot. From what I read it seemed easier. Now, I'm going to ask a stupid question, do I just put my soy flakes in the pot and melt them?  I don't add anything? I know I can add color and fragrance to the wax later, but I just mean when I start the melting process in the beginning.  Flakes in pot, pot gets hot, melts wax? That simple?

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9 hours ago, bklynmyke said:

I have just finished gathering what I need to make my first candles. I decided to go with a presto pot. From what I read it seemed easier. Now, I'm going to ask a stupid question, do I just put my soy flakes in the pot and melt them?  I don't add anything? I know I can add color and fragrance to the wax later, but I just mean when I start the melting process in the beginning.  Flakes in pot, pot gets hot, melts wax? That simple?

 

Yep! 😁

Just keep an eye on it, especially if it's a small amount, they can overheat if you're not careful.

Enjoy!

 

9 hours ago, bklynmyke said:

 

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Wax into pot, turn it on*, put the lid on (optional), and give it a stir once in a while.

 

*Be very careful with the temperature dial. Those pots can easily reach temperatures high enough to scorch the wax or worse, and even though the temperature needed for the wax isn't labeled on the dial (it isn't on mine), you can still reach it. I haven't used mine in a while but I think it was somewhere between the A and R in "warm".

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10 hours ago, Kerven said:

Wax into pot, turn it on*, put the lid on (optional), and give it a stir once in a while.

I know the OP said they are using soy, however, I'd be very careful putting the lid on when melting wax. 

 

I know I would never ever put a lid on my presto when melting paraffin. I've seen and heard horror stories about that, although I've never experienced it myself. The minute I open my prestos I either throw the lids out or use them for other things, never when melting wax. 

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2 hours ago, Jcandleattic said:

I know the OP said they are using soy, however, I'd be very careful putting the lid on when melting wax. 

 

I know I would never ever put a lid on my presto when melting paraffin. I've seen and heard horror stories about that, although I've never experienced it myself. The minute I open my prestos I either throw the lids out or use them for other things, never when melting wax. 

I have never melted my soy with the lid on either.  I do put the lid back on when the remaining wax has hardened, to deep the dust out

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On 9/15/2018 at 1:48 AM, bklynmyke said:

I have just finished gathering what I need to make my first candles. I decided to go with a presto pot. From what I read it seemed easier. Now, I'm going to ask a stupid question, do I just put my soy flakes in the pot and melt them?  I don't add anything? I know I can add color and fragrance to the wax later, but I just mean when I start the melting process in the beginning.  Flakes in pot, pot gets hot, melts wax? That simple?

I'm a beginner too,  just a little over a year. Looks like you've figured out a lot of things much sooner than I did. I thought, until maybe 3 or 4 weeks ago, that the dye could be added anytime during the melt. My thinking was "Hey, it's only dye. As long as it gets melted and well mixed with the wax, then the sooner I add it the better." Then the folks on the forum here informed me that I was doing it the wrong way. They probably told me much earlier and I just wasn't paying attention.:whistling:

2 hours ago, Jcandleattic said:

I know the OP said they are using soy, however, I'd be very careful putting the lid on when melting wax. 

 

I know I would never ever put a lid on my presto when melting paraffin. I've seen and heard horror stories about that, although I've never experienced it myself. The minute I open my prestos I either throw the lids out or use them for other things, never when melting wax. 

Now @Jcandleattic  has raised another question in my mind. Another learning opportunity!:yes: When I've read "presto pot" on this forum (Presto is actually a brand name) I assumed it was being used here as a generic term that also included things like my 55 gallon melter. The melter takes forever to get to whatever temperature I'm trying to reach. The only way I've been able to get to my desired temp is by putting the lid on. If I take the lid off, the temperature drops like a rock and then it's like starting all over again. Maybe someone can clear up my misunderstanding on this too.  @Jcandleattic you're needed back at the office.:lol::icon_highfive:

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9 minutes ago, Quentin said:

  @Jcandleattic you're needed back at the office.:lol::icon_highfive:

LOL 

when I say Presto, I am talking about an actual presto pot that will hold about 8-10 lbs of wax, not the 55 gallon melter - that is HUGE and way way to big for any type of production I would put out. 

 

I have 4 of these - minus the basket and lid. 

415TG4C6NHL.jpg

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I put the lid on because of the smell. Incidentally, there's almost always a residue on the lid after doing so. Makes me wonder what's getting into the air without the lid. Nevertheless, I haven't had any issues except small temperature changes (read: more stirring needed) with or without the lid. Best to err on the side of caution, I suppose.

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Not to highjack the thread, but something just occurred to me. When I switch away from soy wax, how am I going to flush all the soy from the pot? Huh... I haven't given that much thought. It still has a decent amount of wax in it.

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I use the lid to prevent the cooler room air from forming a skin on the top of the melting wax and to keep it from cooling too fast when making multiple things from the same pot. This is especially useful When using low temp settings. It helps to keep the heat from escaping out the top. Set timers (and a probe with temp alarm if you have one) and never leave a pot of wax unattended. 

 

The smaller the amount of wax the faster it heats, and will overheat. Anything less than 1lb seems to be melted to temp in a minute or two, so watch it like a hawk. 

 

If worried, prop the lid a bit with a spatula or stir stick. 

 

Lids do also keep out debris from cooled wax, so I do as an above poster. 

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  • 4 months later...
On 9/16/2018 at 2:47 PM, TallTayl said:

I use the lid to prevent the cooler room air from forming a skin on the top of the melting wax and to keep it from cooling too fast when making multiple things from the same pot. This is especially useful When using low temp settings. It helps to keep the heat from escaping out the top. Set timers (and a probe with temp alarm if you have one) and never leave a pot of wax unattended. 

 

The smaller the amount of wax the faster it heats, and will overheat. Anything less than 1lb seems to be melted to temp in a minute or two, so watch it like a hawk. 

 

If worried, prop the lid a bit with a spatula or stir stick. 

 

Lids do also keep out debris from cooled wax, so I do as an above poster. 

 

Hi, I have a question if you don't mind..I just got a new pot for melting wax, Upgraded from my Presto to a bigger pot.. There has been lots of testing to get the temperature perfect. The Presto was such a breeze Haha Well, yesterday I melted over 20lbs and finally had that setting all perfected, but then today there was a little amount of wax and we had the heat up too high for the bigger batch😨 well the little bit that was left in there melted super fast and was temped at 212 or so and usually we keep it below 200. It does have a sort of burnt smell to it..I've never had this happen so I'm wondering what to do or if anyone else has experienced this. I'm currently testing an ounce that I blended just to see if it smells off. But just wondered if you had any thoughts on this? I'd hate to throw out that wax but if it has me questioning it I won't bother with it. Any help would be appreciated, thank you!

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Do not put the lid on!!!

 

This is what I do and it keeps you from making a mess of your pot and give you an easier time pouring wax. Use the presto as a double boiler. Put about an inch of water into presto and set temp slightly above warm. Measure your wax into pouring pot. Place pouring pot into presto pot. The presto works as a safe double boiler - safe as in you’re not going to walk away and think everything is okeydokey.

Wax melts, measure temp, add fragrance and pour at your required temp. Done! No messy presto pot.

 

This method is for smaller batches, test candles, but if you have a large enough prestopot and pouring pot you are good to go.

if you have wax left over from a large pour in the prestopot, turn pot on a few second and then immediately turn off the residual heat will melt the wax enough for its removal, then use pot in pot method.

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I'm curious how many times wax can be reheated using the presto pot if there's no dye or FO in the pot. Does it lose anything if it hardens and melts multiple times? I do smaller batches but I really like the convenience of the presto pot over the double boiler.

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On 2/9/2019 at 4:02 PM, aptommo said:

I'm curious how many times wax can be reheated using the presto pot if there's no dye or FO in the pot. Does it lose anything if it hardens and melts multiple times? I do smaller batches but I really like the convenience of the presto pot over the double boiler.

That is a good question, but I’m not sure anyone can answer it unless they have seen a difference in the re-melted wax. It the wax was pure it shouldn’t make a difference, but we don’t know what additives they put in it. I have never noticed an issue reheating wax, but I haven’t reheated a lot of wax.

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I personally never empty my Presto pot. When it gets low, I just add more wax to keep it at least 1/3 full all the time. I have heated, poured, left it sit for weeks on end with the lid on to keep out the dust, reheated, and poured again. I have never noticed any quality loss or problems with the wax. If I were to use more than one type of wax, I would want to have a separate Presto pot for the other wax so I would not have to be concerned about waxes getting mixed together between cleanings. I have not found it necessary to completely empty or clean mine at all over the past six or eight months. I have experienced no problems so far at all.

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13 minutes ago, geodon99 said:

I personally never empty my Presto pot. When it gets low, I just add more wax to keep it at least 1/3 full all the time. I have heated, poured, left it sit for weeks on end with the lid on to keep out the dust, reheated, and poured again. I have never noticed any quality loss or problems with the wax. If I were to use more than one type of wax, I would want to have a separate Presto pot for the other wax so I would not have to be concerned about waxes getting mixed together between cleanings. I have not found it necessary to completely empty or clean mine at all over the past six or eight months. I have experienced no problems so far at all.

 

Thank you! That is quite helpful for me. 

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  • 3 months later...

Additionally I have a small metal grid thingy I put in the bottom of my presto with the water, to make a double boiler. This works amazingly great. You can make and pour in different pots super fast. As I am always testing it makes it easy to try different waxes etc.

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On 2/5/2019 at 7:43 AM, NightLight said:

Use the presto as a double boiler.

 

Thank goodness I read this.  (along with the rest of the post and all posts concerning the Presto.  I bought a Presto before even buying wax).   I had read somewhere where a candle maker said they had one for every fragrance.   But I read this before starting.

 

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On 5/15/2019 at 7:19 AM, NightLight said:

Additionally I have a small metal grid thingy I put in the bottom of my presto with the water, to make a double boiler. This works amazingly great. You can make and pour in different pots super fast. As I am always testing it makes it easy to try different waxes etc.

 I guess that helps testing different waxes. But I will never do double boiling. Way too much hassle. I only need one wax and it goes directly into the Presto pot.

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It’s not a hassle at all. I put about one inch of water with a trivet. Put my pouring pot in and “presto” melted wax, now dries with spigot or cleaning pot or debris from the coating coming off of presto. This was my idea after my nice expensive pot with spigot immediately starting having problems with coating coming off.

i have different wax formulas, so it’s very easy to be melting different blends this way.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2/5/2019 at 5:43 AM, NightLight said:

Do not put the lid on!!!

 

This is what I do and it keeps you from making a mess of your pot and give you an easier time pouring wax. Use the presto as a double boiler. Put about an inch of water into presto and set temp slightly above warm. Measure your wax into pouring pot. Place pouring pot into presto pot. The presto works as a safe double boiler - safe as in you’re not going to walk away and think everything is okeydokey.

Wax melts, measure temp, add fragrance and pour at your required temp. Done! No messy presto pot.

 

This method is for smaller batches, test candles, but if you have a large enough prestopot and pouring pot you are good to go.

if you have wax left over from a large pour in the prestopot, turn pot on a few second and then immediately turn off the residual heat will melt the wax enough for its removal, then use pot in pot method.

 

Each to their own but that would take much much longer time than melting straight in the presto...

 

The presto is easily wiped out in seconds anyway.

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