EmJean

I have tried wicking down and they are much too small and don't give off the same strong throw. As it is, I'm getting a small flame midway through the candle (maybe 2-3 burns towards the middle of the candle) but then it picks up again and looks great for the last portion of the candle. I didn't think it could be a curing issue because the first part of the candle lets off a very strong throw. I stir A LOT (is it possible to stir too much??) so I'm pretty confident the scent is incorporated in. My first thought was that the fragrance is burning off too but how, and why? And how would you avoid that? I would think that if the scent is fully incorporated then all of the unmelted wax would still be holding it's scent? I have had a couple other people comment on the same thing (without me mentioning it first) so unfortunately, I think I have those unbiased opinions already. I could try using more FO but my experience with that in the past was even less hot throw. And I've heard that Carmel Apple is so strong (and it starts off that way) so it just baffles me! Chris - are you saying that when you use less FO some scents are stronger in the beginning but weaken with each burn? As far as the wick type, I do have LX that I could try. If you get to that Moonshine, let me know what you find out!

Usually towards the middle of the candle I get a very shallow melt pool (1/8"?) for a couple of burns. Then towards the bottom quarter it picks up again (1/4"). By the last few burns it's a little deeper and the jar gets hot (but not too hot) so I've been wicking for that bottom portion. At that point, the scent is still just not strong enough. It's almost like the scent is just all used up by that point.

Any ideas why I might be losing scent throw towards the bottom half of the candle? The latest scents I'm testing start off nice and strong and then start to weaken the lower the wax gets in the jar. The wicks seem to be the right size. The melt pool doesn't reach the edge on every burn but stays pretty caught up with no hang up. If I wick up, they seem to burn a little too hot. Jar: 8 oz square mason Wax: Ecosoya CB135 Wicks: CDN12/CD12 Scents that I'm having trouble with: Lemongrass and Sage, Carmel Apple - both from Peaks. ~7% FO Any ideas? I don't think it's candle nose either because I put them away for a while and came back to them....still smelled much weaker. Thanks in advance! Emily

I use the Ecosoya 135 and I wait until the wax is around 105 F before pouring into my containers. This is the temperature I find works best for avoiding frosting and rough tops. You will need to experiment with that a little bit to get the best results for you. Emily

Thanks everyone!

Does anyone know where to find CDN wicks smaller than 08? I really like the CDN's but want to do some smaller containers. Wick It looks like they have everything but I can't make a min purchase of 3000.... Another question...does anyone sell CDN's in a roll for pillars? Or do you just use the tabbed wicks and cut the tabs off? Probably a dumb question but I want to start experimenting with pillars and don't know where to start with wicking! Emily

I recently received some feedback that a customer's tarts arrived "beyond melted during the hottest week of the year" (in CA). I did ship on a Monday and I don't know how long it sat outside the customer's house before they came home to get it. I feel like I should do something more to avoid this. Does anyone use ice packs during shipping? Any opinions on the best ones to get? I've also seen other candlemakers ship priority and require a customers signature so packages aren't left in the sun all day. However, I find it difficult myself to get to the post office when they are open so I'm not sure if that's the best option. Ideas? (My blend is Ecosoya CB/PB) Thanks! Emily

Yeah, let me know how those 5 year candles do! I've been curious about that but none of mine last long before I test.lol. I've tried LX and did get a good hot throw but the burns I needed seem to be in between all of the sizes. I might need to back track a little and try again with LX and Peaks cotton cores, right where I started. That would really be going around in circles but I have learned a lot since then so maybe I'll see things differently. lol.... you gotta really love this candle thing to stick with it!

Yes, I use 135 and fill with 7 oz (sound similar to yours). Now that I think about it, I may have had a little more in the ones I tested that turned out so hot on the first burn so hopefully that is why. I've been doing all of my mason testing with Peaks oils but I've been testing the same four scents for quite a while now so I'm starting to think my nose is not picking up those scents like they used to. I actually used to get a much better throw but there were other things I wasn't happy with so I've been tweaking these wicks for months. Do you remember the % scent load you used with 135? I have a bunch of candle science samples that I can't wait to test - just want to get these nailed down first. I've tried some lonestar samples in melts but I just can't get them to last long enough. I'll have to give them a shot with the candles.

Thank you Moonshine. You are always so helpful. My house is pretty small (~1100 sq ft) so I feel like it should be strong in the living room and kitchen and still detectable at the very end of the hall. The last few testers were great on the first burn and just where I wanted them with scent throw but the neck of the jar got VERY hot after a few hours of burning. Then, each test burn after that did not have the same HT but the jar temp was much better. I feel like giving up on this jar right now!

For those who use the 8 oz square mason - what size room would you expect to have great hot throw in? I've finally got my wicks narrowed down to CD and CDN's but I'm starting to wonder if my expectations for hot throw in this jar are too high. I get great hot throw in a bedroom, and even in my kitchen but not sure how far I should really expect it to travel. Any rough guidelines you use when deciding if your throw is good enough? I'm using ecosoya wax and CD/CDN wicks. Emily

eh..I think it will be fine when I go up a wick size (the one I don't have!)......guess I may as well stock up on some more samples while I'm at it!

I am sure she has her little circle of followers but I'm guessing it doesn't extend very far. If I were to read constant posts from someone like that, I would have very little respect for them and wouldn't take anything they said seriously. Publicly bashing only makes yourself look bad and I am sure there are many people who see through her crap!

hmm..that makes sense. Anyone have a hard time wicking Pink Sugar? I bought all these new wicks, thinking "there's no way I will need one THAT big" and of course, nothing is good enough for Pink Sugar. I hate ordering 1-2 packs of wick and spending twice as much in shipping costs! Thinking I might put that one away for a while and master a few others first....

That looks like a whole lot of fun!!

Hi everyone, So my plan is to test my sample scents in tarts first, and then move on to candles if I get a good hot throw with the tarts. Theoretically, if I can get it to throw in my wax in a melt, should I be able to find a wick that would throw that scent as well? Or do you find there are scents that work great in melts but just don't work in wicked candles? I'm using ecosoya CB135 for my candles and a blend of 135/PB for my tarts. Emily

I just recently purchased the Soap Maker program. You log your shipments (receipts), recipes, batches and sales and it keeps track of all your inventory for you. I haven't been doing this very long and most of my products have been testers so it wasn't hard to fill in all the info for 2013. I just ran a report for my taxes tonight and exported it into excel. Pretty slick!

Well, I ordered from Southwest yesterday. I thought about being able to cut those 12" into multiple wicks but CC didn't have all the sizes and I wasn't sure what I would need. So the candle I'm burning right now looks like it may need something in between the CD10 and CD12 - would a CDN 12 be a good place to start? I've noticed a little bit of soot with the CDs I have tried so far (much less than the LX) but what would it look like if it "clogged"?

Thanks everyone. Seems like all I do lately is wait for new wicks to show up in the mail...

OK, so after some very helpful advice from people on this forum, I'm going to order some CDN wicks to test along with my CDs. From what I have read, there are only two suppliers that carry them - Candle Cocoon and Southwest Candle Supply. However, Candle Cocoon doesn't seem to have all of the sizes. I would rather order from them since they are located much closer to me. Does anyone know if they usually do carry them and maybe they are just out of stock? Or maybe this is a different type of wick than the ones Southwest has? Candle Cocoon has CDN12-22 and Southwest as CDN08-20 Thanks in advance! Emily

Has anyone else used this service from Wicks Unlimited? Looks interesting...will you let us know how it turns out, JennaV?

I use Ecosoya CB135 and add my FO at 180-185 to get a good hot throw. When I first started I was adding around 150 and could only smell the candle from right on top of it. I've been testing with ~6.7% FO (.50 oz FO / 7 oz wax) and have been getting better results than when I used 10% FO and added at 150.

OK great, I was also thinking that maybe I just had to accept the first couple burns being a little hotter. I was testing a CD10 in Amish Harvest and CD12 in Pink Sugar. Neither of them reached full MP after the 2nd or 3rd burn so I repoured a couple with one size up this morning. Will cross my fingers and hope for better results. I think the hot throw issue will resolve itself with a bigger wick because they did have great hot throw on the first couple of burns when the MP looked good. We shall see.... And yes, I've found plenty that don't throw well in this wax. I debated trying some other waxes but I don't know if I have the energy to throw another variable in there at this point.

LadyinCali or Lorelei - How much wax do you put in the jar? I am using 7 oz and beginning to think maybe I need to use less. I'm experimenting with the CD wicks now and get a full MP and great hot throw on the first burn or two (where the jar is a little narrower) but then as it burns down the candle, the MP doesn't fill in the 3-4 hour test period. It's catching up fine and cleaning the wax off the sides of the jars but the hot throw isn't like it should be. I'm going to try a bigger wick today but I'm thinking that first burn or two will be way too hot. I Can't think of any solutions other than using less wax at this point!

OK, I can't contain my excitement much longer and my husband is sick of hearing about it....I'm only on the 1st burn but these CD wicks look AMAZING! 1/4" MP so far and the jar is only warm. Wax pool looks nice and clear and hot throw is great!!! Trying not to get my hopes up but I think I'm getting somewhere