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are gel candles safe


Canyonhorses

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Hi

I am new to candles. I am wanting to try making gel candles. I have been researching on the net and thought like any other candles if you follow the safety rules they would be ok. But the other day I had a gal personally tell me she tried making gel candles and had them blow up. I guess she does make some others. I didn't ask her what kind of gel she used or any other details like I should have. I would like your opinions on this topic.

Thank You

Paula

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A gel candle if made properly is a perfectly safe candle well as safe as any other candle. They don't blow up. What happen is for some reason or another the wax get to hot and the glass breaks when that happen it sounds like a shotgun blast.

We put this together to help new gel people.

http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2957

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Well the same can be said for wax candles. The wife and I was burning a commercially made wax candle on our fireplace mantle about a year ago. We had burnt it before. It was burnt down maybe half way...if that much. We heard a loud pop and there was wax on the wall and mantle and pieces of glass on the mantle and floor.

So, now I'm wondering ....does that mean wax candles are unsafe and explode. No.

It just means there was some type of defect...probably in the glass. It happens. No matter how careful you are. Glass can have a defect that you really don't see or notice. The glass gets hot. It expands...and pop...you hear what sounds like a little explosion.

Now you know why they put warnings on candles ...especially ...DO NOT LEAVE A BURNING CANDLE UNATTENDED.

Hope this answers your question...there are other reasons why a candle might explode... like not mixing your FO with your gel or wax completely..and it leaves a pocket of unmixed FO. when the wick flame hits it..it doesn't actually explode ...it flares up.

Bill

Jacksonville Fla

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I still hear people say they hear that gel candles explode. I tell them the safety factors in making them and that I have been making them for 6 years. I do tell them to keep the wick trimmed because gel does get hot. As with any candle you shouldn't leave it unattended. Read everything you can about making them and test would be my suggestion. Have fun.

Sue

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I still hear people say they hear that gel candles explode. I tell them the safety factors in making them and that I have been making them for 6 years. I do tell them to keep the wick trimmed because gel does get hot. As with any candle you shouldn't leave it unattended. Read everything you can about making them and test would be my suggestion. Have fun.

Sue

Is it just amazing how this urban myth still exists I have been making gel candle since 2000 I still get people that swear they explode.

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Hi...I've been lurking here at Candle Tech because I'm a timid poster!:embarasse I saw this post and decided to "come out"! I've been making gel candles since 1998, and oddly enough, just had a phone call this morning from a customer that asked about exploding gel candles! It never dies, does it?

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I think the reason this fallicy persists is because Gel candles are relatively 'new' in comparison to wax candles... they are a unique and specific category and they get extra attention for being so. It really stands out when something goes wrong with a Gel candle because people don't trust this 'new' version already simply because of the lack of history people have with them. It seems there are two types of people... those who want the newest greatest things and those who have an aversion and waryness to the newest and latest thing. But neither of these types probably follow the instructions and abide by the warnings, lol. So bad things happen and the stories fly!

I don't know but I doubt the statistics are all that different. Anything you put flame to has the POTENTIAL to be dangerous- but people don't stop buying candles, incense and citronella torches because of it. I would just remind them, that just like wax candles, they have warning labels for a reason and to follow the instructions, as with anything.

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Hi...I've been lurking here at Candle Tech because I'm a timid poster!:embarasse I saw this post and decided to "come out"! I've been making gel candles since 1998, and oddly enough, just had a phone call this morning from a customer that asked about exploding gel candles! It never dies, does it?

:wave:Hi Bernadette!! Please dont be a bashful poster!! With that many years of candle making experience under your belt you would be a real asset to this board!! Do you make other types of wax candles as well??

Welcome!!! :yay:,.. and I hope to be reading more of your posts!!

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You know, probably six years ago now, QVC and Valerie Parr Hill offered an auto delivery product in what I think was parrafin candles. Each season of the year you received a large oval pillar, a square container, a triangular container, and a votive - all the same color/scent. I ordered them because I have a marble hearth with the fireplace surrounded by marble, and I wanted these on the hearth. Thought it would be a safe place to burn these all together. One night I had them all lit, and since we have one of those familyroom/kitchen setups where you can see everything in the other room, went to the kitchen for a glass of water and heard this loud pop and shattered glass! I ran into the family room, and the triangle had blown up...exploded really...and because it hit the marble, it broke into a million pieces. There was even glass across the room!!! Thank God no one was sitting in there or they would have gotten cut for sure. And that candle was 2/3rds full! So it can happen with any candle.

Harley1231, thank you for the welcome. I make candles full time, so I don't know if I will find the time to post that much, but I do appreciate the invitation. Gel candles were all I've made until six months ago when I started trying pillars and hurricanes after making pie crusts and food candles(like cheeseburgers, etc.) and decided to try them. I've been afraid of parrafin since my SIL almost burned down her kitchen 30 years ago - with her in it!:shocked2:

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I believe this started with gel candles from China. There were a few that exploded and had to be recalled. In fact I think Target or Kohl's had a recall on gel candles a summer or two ago in my area.

I do craft fairs and still have people bring it up. I explain the testing and the materials that I use are gel safe. They need to pay attention to all candles no matter what wax it is made of because if a flame shifts and gets too close to the glass it could shatter it. I bring a candle from a famous chain store which shall be nameless :rolleyes2 and show them how the wick isn't centered. I try to educate the consumer on candle safety. Sometimes I can change their mind, sometimes not.

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I have to tell alittle story here, funy now but it wasn't at the time! One night I was sitting at the puter when I heard something that sounded like glass cracking. No candles were burning atthe time, looked around & didn't find anything unusual. Went to bed, was awakened by the sound of glass shattering. I got up, thinking someone had smashed a window to get in. I found my Mom standing in the kitchen with glass & Kapali (cheaper version of Kahluah) all over the kitchen! Early in the night I had poured the remains of one bottle into another. It was in the middle of summer, it had expanded from the heat(yes, it does get hot here in Maine!). The sound I had heard was the bottle cracking earlier. What a freakin mess!! The force had forced open the doors of the cupboard & sent glass & sticky brown alcohol all over the kitchen. I had Kapali leaking out of my hood over the stove for months!!

the reason i post this is because if candles are exploding, it's from the glass container not what is in them. To my knowledge there is not anything in gel that will make it explode.

the morale of this story-drink more so you don't have too much to fill up one bottle!! Kapali does expand when heated!!

Forgot to say: I have been making gels for about 4 years & never have I had one 'explode' .

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