Wick length test results, with pictures

[Forrest]

So TallTayl I can adjust my wick length to compensate for environmental conditions, and although I believe everything she tells me I wanted to quantify it. So 12 days ago I poured three 8oz tins with 6006 wax and 51 zinc wicks. This morning I cut the wicks to 1/8, ¼, and ½ inches and ran a four hour test. Some of the results were expected and some weren’t. The half inch wick mushroomed quickly, and reached a FMP in less than two hours. The thing that surprised me was that the quarter inch mushroomed some after two hours; however, given that my house is at 80 degrees I would have expected it to be over wicked. To sum it up there was more than a wick size difference between the 1/8 and ½ inch wicks.

Just after lighting the wicks

After one hour

  After four hours

[TallTayl]

Is it my eyes, or are those all remarkably different? 

That wax is not very forgiving! 

Looks liek three entirely different wick sizes in those, with the shorty being almost perfect. 

[Forrest]

32 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

Is it my eyes, or are those all remarkably different? 

That wax is not very forgiving! 

Looks liek three entirely different wick sizes in those, with the shorty being almost perfect. 

Well you were right, as always. The short wick had a 2.3 melt pool at 4 hours while the middle one reached 2.6. The short wick had a 3.1 g/min burn rate vs 3.6 g/min for the middle wick.  The long wick was so hot it was a safety issue. I'm thinking  just a hair longer than 1/8 in would be perfect at 80 degrees.

[bfroberts]

Are those candles scented?

[Forrest]

35 minutes ago, bfroberts said:

Are those candles scented?

No, but I felt I had learned all I needed from the test so I melted them down and made scented candles. If the forecast is right I'll need to cut my wicks to a little a quarter inch by the time I burn these. On a side note if my scented candles need wicking up or down I can just adjust the wick length and get good use out of the first one and then adjust the wick.

[Kerven]

Are you testing trimming lengths for candles that will be sold? I ask because, IMO, most non-savvy users aren't going to trim to 1/8 and most trimmers that I've seen trim closer to 1/4 (maybe a hair longer).

The addition of FO may soften the wax further, so it might be worth anticipating that.

[Forrest]

8 hours ago, Kerven said:

Are you testing trimming lengths for candles that will be sold? I ask because, IMO, most non-savvy users aren't going to trim to 1/8 and most trimmers that I've seen trim closer to 1/4 (maybe a hair longer).

The addition of FO may soften the wax further, so it might be worth anticipating that.

For now I'm strictly an amateur, and you are absolutely correct, 1/8 inch is difficult in tins and would be almost impossible in some containers. I did a test on cure time, but later realized that not controlling my wick length made the results questionable.  I weigh and measure the melt pool width every half hour when I'm testing and I'll do the same for the tins I make using FOs so I can understand how the various FOs effect the burn.

[Trappeur]

You are doing a fabulous job on all your candles in testing stages of every which way to go Forest.   Actually I have learned quite a bit from you.  You really put me to shame I have to admit!

 

Trappeur

[Forrest]

43 minutes ago, Trappeur said:

You are doing a fabulous job on all your candles in testing stages of every which way to go Forest.   Actually I have learned quite a bit from you.  You really put me to shame I have to admit!

 

Trappeur

Trap, I’m an engineer, you are an artist. All I am doing is paying attention to what TT says and running test to prove her right. I was thinking that when the weather cools my house down to the low 70’s I’ll be able to double wick the 11oz tureens. I can use wick length to compensate for the uneven burn. I’ll never be able to sell them, but they’ll look pretty in my den.

[TallTayl]

Forrest, I wick mine for summer, knowing people won’t remember to trim very often regardless of the season. So basically I wick down 1 size from what most others would wick at and all’s well for the most part. 

 

If someone trims as directed, all the better as their candle will last that much longer. 

[Forrest]

I'm wicking mine for a average room temp of around 72, which is why the short wick in the test was perfect at 80. I burned a scented one I made two weeks back yesterday and by cutting the wick to 1/8 I got a perfect burn. The great thing is I can pour an 8oz tin for a new FO and even if it needed to be wicked up or down for the FO I can still enjoy the candle by adjusting wick length.

[Trappeur]

5 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Forrest, I wick mine for summer, knowing people won’t remember to trim very often regardless of the season. So basically I wick down 1 size from what most others would wick at and all’s well for the most part. 

 

If someone trims as directed, all the better as their candle will last that much longer. 

So are you saying Tall Tayle the way I'm understanding it, that whatever wicks I use for my candles I should really just put in a next size down in all my jars and that would be the perfect wick for that jar?   So the way I understand it, that since most people don't trim the wicks the correct way, they most likely have over wicked candles that I make....It's bad enough to have to test our candles for the wick that is proper, so now I need to start rewicking all of them down a size?   And then what about the ones who do trim properly?   Then the candle would start tunneling...Your damned if you do and damned if you don't.....hmmmm

 

Trappeur

[TallTayl]

@Trappeur I don’t use your wax, so I can’t reliably recommend.  What happens when you don't trim at all? Does it soot? Carbon ball? Melt deeply?

 

if the wick does anything like that if not perfectly trimmed before each and every burn, then I would consider wicking down. The only person that can decide that is you, really. 

 

 

[xxxAlpha71xxx]

Post Revival Time:

 

I've been fighting this issue since I started this.  One of the larger candle manufacturers (I won't mention their name but it rhymes with Yankee Candle) suggests 1/8" wick length, so tha't's what I've been doing.  It's been killing me because no matter what I did, no matter what wax, no matter what fragrance, percentage or dye my wick needs didn't match hardly anything I had seen browsing through the board.  Looking at the wick list Forrest made the smallest wick I needed for an 8 oz tin was larger than the largest wick on their list.  I know there are differences as variables change but it just didn't make sense to me that every combination I tried was way out of the top side of that list.....until two days ago.

 

I took a few candles to my wife and told her to trim them as if she had just bought them and brought them home.  Yep, more like 1/4" or so.  Made a huge difference and the tins are now testing more in line with the results that Forrest published.  

[NightLight]

Uh this candle is for sale online. Yikes, that’s some torch of a wick!

[TallTayl]

1 hour ago, NightLight said:

Uh this candle is for sale online. Yikes, that’s some torch of a wick!

Maybe, maybe not.  Have you ever lit a self trimming wick and watched the burn? The end burns up and disappears like the old western movies where you light the dust of a bundle of tnt 🤣

 

I’ve lit cd, CDN and CSN and let burn to the tab. They all behaved the same. 

 

I’ve left well-sized self trimming wicks several inches long and they were fine.  Remember when those curled piggy tail wicks were all the rage? Tested those too. The wick material can only draw fuel up so far before it burns the fibers and dies off. 

 

If the wick was well sized there there were no ill effects.  If oversized then it would be just as If they were over wicked and trimmed to a normal length. This is the same phenomenon when an over wicked candle is trimmed to a nub (1/8”) and later during a normal burn needs to be trimmed regularly. 

[Sarah S]

I rarely trim my wicks shorter than 1/4". I've gone as long as 1/2" with bigger candles. I use HTP and CSN, and they always self-trim to the right length. Now, I might need to pinch off a shroom or tame a big flame toward the end of the jar, but generally speaking I don't trim my wicks much.

[NightLight]

I would not sell a candle tin with a wick like that. Bigger candle makes sense.