geekrunner

Bre has it pretty much nailed down. geek

I would concur with the jar as the cuprit, although it doesn't explain why the MP in a pail gets discolored. I finally gave up on the 16 and 24 oz Melting Pot jar fo rthat reason. It would burn just fine till it reached about halfway, then the wicks would begin to drown and the wax would discolor with soot. It never failed, no matter what FO/wick combo I used. The shape of the jar contributed to bad airflow and starving the wicks of air. I could single wick without the drowning issue but it is nearly impossible to wick a 4" wide jar, and the sooting was still there. The sad part is that I really liked that jar. Oh well, I'm gonna try out Metros next. geek

You have made a wise choice with the 444. Over the past year it has become a favorite of many chandlers here. I would switch to it myself, if I didn't already have a wax blend that behaves about the same way. geek

You are now a member of the Rolls-Royce of candle boards! Welcome and good luck! geek

I'm a bit biased to the GB waxes. The 444 works pretty well, but I can't say how the Ecosoya works in comparison. If you're still in the playing around stage of candlemaking this would be a good time to try the 444. geek

I've been busy with my mountain bike projects lately, and now that my four bikes are done, I'm getting ready to make about 30 or so to send to my brother who will try to sell for me to his friends and co-workers (candles, not bikes ). The 444 is a nice wax, and doesn't need anything extra in it. It would be pretty close to a 415 with 2% USA added. If you haven't already decided on a wax, I would try it first simply for the ease and time savings. That price is very good, provided the shipping doesn't eat up the savings. You can pour it at about 135, and it needs at least a week to cure properly for best hot throw. HTH! geek

That is a fine specimen. You should be very proud of yourself! I usually push them down with my finger and zap it real quick. geek

Sorry to be jumping in here so late, but alot of great comments and tips from our core group of GB wax users! I can only add what has worked for me, which is what Millcreek has recommended for 415: Heat to 185, add FO at 175, stir well but not too hard to prevent introducing air into the wax, cool to about 110-100 or when it gets cloudy and pour. If you use 444 or mix 415 with 2% USA, pour at about 130-135. Good luck! geek

Hi Lightning Bug, I once tried mixing 415 and J50 in a 70/30 but the mix would not adhere to the jar at all. I was hoping to make it work since I still have 40 lbs of J50 leftover. I now use KY parasoy, which is somewhere near 50/50 and it adheres much better. Preblended parasoys do much better and are easier to deal with. The slabs are not as sticky and cut very easily. KY is reasonably priced too. HTH! geekster

Hi Jane, I'm just basing my comments on experience with three wick paraffin pillars. The ones I've made were 6 inches wide, and used three wicks with no problems. Since the burn time will be relatively short, you could get away wiht overwicking it a little so it starts throwing scent faster. Filling it only part way will be a good idea, to prevent spilling wax in case some wedding guests drink too much of the "special" punch Fortunately you only have to test one jar/wick/FO combination, and have plenty of time for that. Good luck! geek

Hi Jen! We love noobs. You can't go wrong here! Lots of friendly people, and we don't flame any one (unless they demand to be spoon-fed). It is a very addicting and can get expensive, so go slowly and have fun! geek

I'm having a field day here! Two noobs in one thread Welcome noobs! geek

What kind of spigot did you use? It sounds like you may have a defective spigot. It should have cleared up after heating the pot back to that temp. If you made your pot like the instructions on the candletech website, you can unscrew the old spigot and replace it. Also check and see if there isn't a big piece of crud blocking the hole in the pot itself. HTH! geek

I know I'm rehashing an old subject, but I was at a Mardi Gras party this past weekend at a community clubhouse. There were two Beanpod candles there: a 22 oz Vanilla Coffee, and a 14 oz Cherry something-or-other. They both smelled great, but both burned off-center and tunneled badly! I can't say for sure if they were burned properly, but they were four inch wide jars with single wicks! No way in heck a single wicked 4 inch jar of soy wax will burn right even if marathon burned! Just my observation. As always, your geek

Are you pouring more than one candle out of the same pot/batch? Or mixing and pouring just one candle at a time? If I have a large pour pot that I will pour two or three candles at a time from, I need to stir thoroughly right before pouring each one, or else I get a weird one. HTH! geek

Woo Hoo! Good on ya! BTW keep your cold weather up there geek

They really are great! I have two, and they same me a bunch of time. geek

I'll be cleaning out test jars, and repouring a bunch for final wick testing. My test of Amber Romance didn't work out. Smelled great OOB, and still smelled good from candle but the throw was way too light. geek

When you can, let us know some specifics on how you are making your candle. Wax brand, how hot you heat the wax, how much FO used, what type wick, etc. Then maybe we could help better. Sometimes if you get frustrated, it is good to just step back from it for a few days to relax your brain a bit. Then something may come to you and you'll get wound up again to try it. Believe me, we've all been through it! geek

Usually one doesn't add vybar to soy, but here is a thread on one who tried a little and had a good result: http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43676 geek

Hope I don't make this more confusing. If you need 70 oz of wax at 7% load, it means you will need 4.9 oz FO and 65.1 oz wax total. You already have x oz of wax with a 9% load, so lets assume it is 20 oz of wax at 9%. The tester wax would have 1.8 oz FO and 18.2 oz wax. To make up the difference, you will need to add the differences in the wax and FO to make the total amount you need: Wax: 65.1 - 18.2 = 36.9 FO: 4.9 - 1.8 = 3.1 So you will melt down the tester wax, add 36.9 oz wax and 3.1 oz FO to give you the 70 oz with a 7% load. Naturally, you will use the actual amount of tester wax, I was only using 20 oz as an example. HTH! geek

That is quite a unique idea! It looks like a candy dish. Did you pour slushy or at a particular temperature? It looks like a textured but smooth top. I tend to agree that heat gunning may cause a little frosting on top. Yes, the conventional wisdom is that vybar will inhibit hot throw, but vybar used in the correct quantity in paraffin tends to hold more FO and increase hot throw, but too much will bind the FO and kill it. A teaspoon is not that much vybar, though. Definitely want to find out how it burns and smells! Good work! geek

Welcome! Probably the best advice you can get on what wax to work with, is to find a close supplier and work with that wax. If you can find a supplier within an hour's drive (or less) you can save a bunch of money in shipping. Quite a few suppliers carry a soy referred to here as GB415, which is a house brand for several suppliers. MillCreek, Southern Scentsations, Candlemaker's Store, Peaks, among others, carry the 415 under their own name (MC soy, EZ Soy, etc). The 415 is a great 100% soy that many have extensively tested. But primarily if you find a supplier that is in the same UPS zone as you, you will get better shipping rates, and if you can pick up without driving a long way, save even more. Beyond that, just search the site and ask us questions! We won't spoonfeed you, but we are a pretty helpful bunch. Have fun and be prepared to shell out some coin, candlemaking is not a cheap hobby even if you want to just make gifts for friends and family! You will get hooked! geek

In general, a soy candle cracks because of uneven contraction due to dry air conditions. Many of us that use Beeswax in our soy have to use a little less in the winter so our candles don't crack. In the warmer months, when it might be more humid, we bump up the BW a little to keep the wax nice and hard. If you are using an additive such as BW or USA, you might back off of it by a percent. Let us know the pertinent details of your candle wax and maybe we can be more specific geek

That's one of the reasons I have turned to blending 415 with 402, to hopefully mitigate any batch variations. geek