littlebrownbug

I would heed Stella's advice and wash the jars instead of heating them only. It's very good advice. Try that first and see if that doesn't help. You might also try letting your candles cool at a slower rate than they are cooling now and see if that helps too. Mike

That's a very beautiful palm votive. You did a great job with it.....I think palm wax rocks :-)

If you choose to use them for candle making I would also recommend Peaks or Candle Science as they also offer top quality fo's. As for the ones you listed I would not be able to help you as I have not used them. However,I am sure they are also top quality as well.... just keep on researching em and you will make the right decision. Mike

I also use the frosted and the gg from CS and I have to agree with Debbie,a good HT and a good CT. I also like both waxes as both are beautiful in their own way but customers seem to like gg just a bit better as far as looks go. Mike

Just to add another thought..... we have always used glue dots from Enchanted Lights and they have always held really well and never let go when hot wax is added. The only things we buy from them now are the glue dots and our jars and lids....prices have been fairly reasonable and the quality of the jars has been very good as well. Mike

I too have not been on CS for awhile and I thought the video was very,very basic and not enough detail to really teach someone how to make a quality candle....however,that may not have been the intent of the video.I see it as just enough information about how to make a candle to maybe spark some interest in making candles by folks that might be thinking about making candles for gifts etc. ....... just a thought??????? Mike

I did a google search and a domain search but not the reverse search yet. I still haven't found anything about this dude. He evidently found one of our older soy candles in Maryland and contacted my business partner. She is on her toes that's for sure as she didn't give out any SSN's or other important info. She felt the same as I did when she told me about it. She thought the guy was asking way to many questions that he didn't need to know the answers to. Mike

Has anyone ever heard of a Mike Dininar or Mike Mike Promotions or mike@mikemikepromotions? Just curious as he has been inquiring about our candle business and I am just a bit suspicious about the whole thing. I've never heard of him before last night when my business partner told me that he had called her a couple of weeks ago asking lots of questions. Might be legit but I think it has scam written all over it if I can do enough digging. So far I have not come across him or his site at all. All the more reason to be wary. Anyway,I am just curious if any of you have ever heard of him. Mike

Hi dancwbirds, I have tried single wicking palm wax candles with poor results. I then started double wicking and testing those with much better results. I also use the 10 oz. and 16 oz. apothecary jars which are about 4" across. I am now starting to test with much smaller wicks because the ones I have been using seem to get the jar really hot. I do not like a really hot jar if it is avoidable at all. I would also follow Stella's advice and poke the relief holes and do a second pour. Mike

We use the 10 oz. and 16 oz. apothecary jars from Enchanted Lites. Their prices are very good and the jars appear to be good as well. Mike

I wouldn't pass on Candle Science's Very Vanilla. This is one good vanilla..... very strong scent and it smells so goooooood! Mike

I would not have a business partner I would select two or three fo's for each season of the year and test them through to perfection (if that's possible). I would slowly build from there one fo at a time until I decided it was worthy of production. I would have not tested so much with soy wax as I seem to have lots of hot throw issues with soy wax. Mike

Really great looking candles..... excellent job!! Mike

No,I didn't and I did ask if it was needed and they told me no it was not needed. They told me that it was a blended wax with lots of stuff in it and that I wouldn't need it. It almost sounded like they already had it in with the wax????? Mike P.S. They wouldn't tell me what all was in it when I asked so it must be top secret.(Imagine that) Mike

"It is heated to '200 and then poured at 85-95." I hope this is a typo, but just in case it isn't, (I haven't seen it addressed yet)I will continue with my observation. Palm wax is great when heated to 200 degrees but is even better if you pour it at 185-195 degrees instead of 85-95 degrees. I would believe that would be the case (crusting)with some soy waxes perhaps but never with palm wax at the correct pouring temperature. I have never experienced crusting with any palm products with a pouring temp. of 185-195 degrees. I have had some crusting with soy waxes when pouring that low but never with palm at 185-195. Anyway....this is just my observation. :lipsrseal Mike

You may want to call EL and talk to Bruce,he will give you some starting points as far as wicking goes. We started off with htp 105's for our 16oz. apothecary jars and moved up to the htp 1212's and did try some RRD wicks as well. The RRD wicks do work well with MB so you may want to try those as well. However,we ended up sticking with the htp 1212's for the most part and they burned well too. Mike

Hi tootie04, EL's millennium blend is the first wax we used to start making candles.I really like the company and Bruce is great to work with. However,I do not like the millennium blend much at all for its hot throw capabilities. No matter what we tried we just could not achieve a very good strong hot throw. We tried different pouring temps. and different fo amounts and even consulting with Bruce and still couldn't get a very good hot throw when burning candles with that wax. We have decided to test and improve our candles by switching to palm wax instead. I test all fo's and like Stella,if it doesn't work well (hot throw ),we move on to a different scent or a different company that makes a similar scent and if that doesn't work,we don't use it in our developing line. We certainly wish you the best with your usage of EL's MB and hope you achieve great success with it. Mike

If you are using the newer,less expensive fo's from Alabaster, you are probably not using their original fo's. They recently bought out Larado candle supply and they were trying to sell out of them as quickly as they could. That could be why some fo's may be somewhat weaker than what you are used to using....just a possiblity! Mike

Thanks for your post Trappeur. I have been contemplating using c3 as many folks on here successfully use that wax and it's nice to know that what may work for you may also work for me and it gives me a starting point as well. Just remember that Teresa isn't the lone ranger here... there are others that wake up on the wrong side of the day more often than not.... me included Yup I agree with some of the others as well.... an apology should be issued here. Hi Hooo Silvverr ...... oh shoot, where is my horse when I need him.... guess I'll walk :-) Mike

For those of you who would use soy wax and like the C-3,Candlewic has it for $49.50 per case as of now. I don't know if they will raise their prices on this once the supply runs out,but with soy prices going the way they are(palm wax will probably do the same in the future as well),they more than likely will go up accordingly. So for now the C-3 can be bought for only....lol $49.50 per case. Mike

You do excellent work jakalex. That is a beautiful candle Mike

How hot do your jars get using the CSN 9's or the 11's? When I have double wicked with the CSN 9's my jars get really hot to the touch and I don't like that.However,it does burn well and little to no smoking or sooting with them and I get a really nice clean burn. I have not had to wick up yet for any fo that I have used but may try wicking down on some to see if that will still work without the jars getting so hot to the touch. Mike

Double wicking that size of jar is probably the best way to go for now. The 1212's are kind of big I think for double wicking that size of jar. I would try wicking down a little at a time until you find the right double wicking combination(scent release,melt pool and temp. of your jars). Mike

try Wick -it.com and see if they can help you. They will send you samples if you pay the cost of shipping. That being said,they only sell in quantities of 1000 but their prices are fairly low compared to other places.....just a thought. Mike

The best smelling black cherry that we have found and really like is the one from Candle Science it is awesome. I am sure there are other really good ones out there,it's just that CS happened to have the one that we thought was closest to what it should smell like and our customers really love this fo. It currently is our number 2 best seller...... to bad there are so many makers of black cherry fo's out there. We would love to try em all Mike