bfroberts

Personally, I’m happy to see this topic addressed. https://candles.org/ncas-report-on-botanical-candles/ National Candle Association Determines Botanical Embedded Candles Can Be Fire Hazard The National Candle Association (NCA) has become aware of a growing number of candles on the market that contain flammable materials including dried flowers, leaves, herbs, and wood embedded in the wax near the flame (this concern does not include non-flammable items like metal and stone). Unlike the long-standing style of candle that has elements embedded around the outside in wax that safely remains solid throughout the life of the candle thus shielding the embedded elements from the flame and heat, these candles do not. This new style of embellished candle allows decorative elements to become part of the liquid wax pool when the candle is burned. This exposes these flammable materials to both the candle’s heat and flame throughout the candle’s use while also coating them in wax, allowing the materials to sustain flame themselves. NCA purchased several candles and had them tested according to the ASTM Candle Fire Safety Procedures at an independent third-party safety testing laboratory. The results are provided here.

Wow...it is a small world. We are from the Goldsboro area originally. Mt Olive actually, but no one knows where Mt Olive is...LOL. We moved to WV in 2010 to start a business, and my daughter moved into the home we have there. So in 2017 we bought another home in Oriental, which is a little town east of New Bern. It's a sailboat community. We grew up going to Topsail and my mom still have a place there. It is a great area.

What part of NC? We have a home at the coast where we spend the winter months. I know the house gets super hot in the summer, and that's why I started keeping the FO's in the fridge there. Our other home is in WV. That's where most of my supplies are. We turn the heat down as low as it will go (45) when we leave, and my oils over winter fine at that temp too. I think light and high temps or extreme temp changes are more detrimental to oils than cold storage.

This is purely anecdotal but.... I've been storing some FO's in the refrigerator since 2017. Some will thicken or develop crystals, but that goes away when the FO is warmed. I keep them in the fridge because we have 2 homes, one for winter and one for warmer months, and I know they would not survive the high summer temps, nor am I inclined to move them back and forth between states. I tried the fridge and it's worked out fine with absolutely no loss to date. I'll try to remember to ask my rep about it to get a professional opinion.

C3 has been consistent for me so far, although I don't buy nearly as much as some do. I use paraffin mostly but C3 is my preferred soy.

I am using plain old mottling wax, and I regret every day, week, month and year I spent working with new & improved wax blends.

Just trying to figure out where you currently are in the process. Are you making or testing candles now?

I think they just use normal fragrance oils. Diva smells like Chocolate Amber from Flaming to me.

I feel ya. My wax was out of stock from 3/30 until 5/13. I can't work like that. I considered ordering something, anything just so I could carry on, but I was afraid anything I chose would be wonky and I'd spend half a case retesting. I swear, it didn't used to be like this.

All day, every day. I am fortunate. No one in my area cares one way or the other. They just want a great smelling, clean burning candle. That I can do.

A bouncing flame can be a sign of over-wicking, among other things. You may need to re-evaluate what you are looking for in a successful candle. If you are striving for a full melt pool in the initial burns, you may be unintentionally over-wicking trying to achieve that goal.

I think Eco 14 is too large for a container of that size. I'd go down a few sizes, cure for a full 2 weeks, and retest. Or better yet, try CD or CDN if you have access to those. Even HTP. Eco's are just a hot wick in general, and being over-wicked can often completely kill your throw.

It's frosting. I get it from time to time. Could just be due to normal wax inconsistencies. Increase the 4627 a bit and it will disappear.

It would be really beneficial to know the diameter of the container. Eco wicks burn hot and you may be over-wicked, which can definitely inhibit throw. The melt pool is just one of several considerations when testing wicks. Have you tested other wicks?

How long are you curing and what is the diameter of your container? Eco 14 might be too large.

You know, the unfortunate thing about questions like that is they are nearly impossible to answer truthfully and still tell the customer what they want to hear. There are so many blatant lies out there about candles, FO's and waxes, she can easily find someone touting their candles as 100% natural/organic/whatever. What I would say in this case is that you use plant based waxes and non-toxic fragrances formulated for candles. You can also offer to provide safety data if she wants, but in my experience, they never take me up on that particular offer. I'm sure someone can offer a better answer than I did, so hopefully that someone else will chime in.

For me, cooling quick eliminates the mottling. I have to pour hot and cool very slowly to get full mottling, but I am using a container wax and it may react differently. I really don't know. Glad you found a workaround.

Vybar is the only additive I know of that will reliably prevent mottling. I would try adjusting the cooling rate. When I want to encourage mottling in containers, I heat my jars and cool slowly. If I don't, the wax doesn't mottle. Perhaps pouring into cool molds and cooling the candles under a fan?? It might be worth a shot if you have no means to get vybar.

Looks like mottling, which is a normal characteristic of paraffin without additives. You can control it somewhat using a high % of stearic, which I see you are doing, and experimenting to find the optimal pour temp and cooling rate. Have you considered allowing them to fully mottle, rather than working against the natural inclination of the wax? Mottled pillars are beautiful.

No, they are not toxic. If a product isn't subject to California 65 warning label requirements that's because it doesn't contain chemicals recognized by Ca to cause cancer or reproductive harm.

I think the brand name is problematic for obvious reasons, but that's neither here nor there if OP doesn't actually stick around for feedback. That leads to a certain assumption as to the motivation for the post. People DO shamelessly scatter links all over the internet just for backlinks and exposure. IME, if that's what it looks like, that's usually what it is. If OP genuinely wants to be a part of the community, she will be welcomed.

In previous years and older inkjet printers, I have refilled ink cartridges. Results were always mixed for me. Sometimes the cart wouldn't work after refilling, sometimes it would. It can be a messy business, too. Finally just got fed up with ink in general and I wanted a better end-product. I now use an HP Color Laserjet & polyester weatherproof labels. May be a little bit more costly than a cheap inkjet and refilling carts but not much more. The reliability, end results and lack of waste make it the better choice for me.

Possibly your wick was too large, burning too hot. That can diminish the cold throw and discolor the wax.

I'd like to say the same for dough bowls too.

I prefer regular wicks. Wood wicks, in my experience, can be both unpredictable and unreliable.