back2basics

TallTayl - I am not concerned that it hasn't reached a full melt pool but what concerns me is that the melt pool depth is not even 1/4 to 1/2' deep....it's barely got the layer melted where there is melted wax...it's not throwing scent at all which is why I am concerned. Maybe it's just not a scent that is going to throw in this combination....I don't know....I was just asking for suggestions and for help not to be made to feel bad about why I am concerned over the candle reaching a full melt pool or as Candybee did in her post....that I am just all over the place with my combinations...don't you think I realize that? I am now just pulling at straws and trying different combinations to see if one is a winner....I'm really sorry I asked anyone on this board for help.... I just thought if I could find a winning combination of any sort I would be overjoyed and happy and be willing to share my results since I have been so frustrated for so long.....I just don't want another candle maker to go through what I have and to have an easier road although we all get different results....I just wanted to let people know what has worked for me and ultimately what hasn't so that they don't waste their time and hard earned money. I know what it is like to be frustrated and ready to give up...I'm about there...but I cannot let myself throw in the towel on something that I want so badly. I want to make candles because I want to be successful. I love candles and think that candle making is the hardest thing that I have ever done besides parenting but I will get to where I need to be and be ready to share my success story and what has worked for me with others....

Ok I am testing the Tarroco Orange from Flaming Candle at an 8 day cure... I am testing with a CDN 12 wick. The picture is the two hour mark into the burn. The melt pool is not even 1/4 to 1/2" deep just in the process of melting....I am thinking that this is a little underwicked. It is not throwing any scent at all. Please help. The wick is not attached to the bottom of the jar. Therefore I am thinking of pulling this wick out and putting in either a cdn 14 next burn or a Premier 765 or even a cd 12...maybe even an eco wick....Any suggestions???

Moonstar - the Iced Lemon Biscotti is great. I did not like the Japanese Cherry Blossom but many people do.

Last week I posted about my frustrations in selecting a wax and moving forward. I have completely eliminated the EcoSoya XCel. I found a candle from last May that I made and decided to burn it. It was made with EZSoy wax, 1 oz per lb, no dye, Very Vanilla Scent from BC added in at 175 degrees with a CD 12 wick. While it threw ok, I decided to continue to pursue the C3 wax. The following scents that I have made so far are as follows: Butt Naked - TN Candle Supplies - 2 drops coral and peach dye which came out a little darker than I had planned. Perfect color for Mango Papaya though. :-) 8% fragrance oil added at 185. I did not wick this container yet. will poke a hole with a skewer when the two week cure time is up. Tarroco Orange from Flaming Candle - 2 orange dye chips per lb 8% frag oil added at 185. No wick - see above MacIntosh Apple from Flaming Candle - 2 red dye chips per lb 8% frag oil added at 185. No wick see above. Cranberry Citrus - peak candle - 2 cranberry dye chips per lb - 8% frag oil added at 185. No wick see above. I will provide updates on these scents and what wicks were successful after these candles have cured. The MacApple and Tarroco Orange I made on Friday, April 1, 2016. The Butt Naked Candle I made, Saturday, April 2, 2016. The Cranberry Citrus candle I made today, Tuesday, April 5, 2016. I will tell you this: The Cranberry Citrus from Peak is stronger in the bottle and the wax it seems than Fillmore Container Cranberry Citrus.

Thank you again everyone for your comments and suggestions.

Thank you moonshine....you have been so much help to me as well...I will try the cdn 12..I appreciate your help so very much.

I am in the same boat that you are. LOL What a crazy ride this thing called candlemaking. I couldn't agree more about the need for in between sizes of wicks. I have used c-3 and 415 (EZSoy) and 8 oz jj. I have tried the premier wicks, eco wicks, cd wicks. I am now in the process of ordering cdn wicks. Cierra Candles also recommended that I try some HTP wicks which I have not as of yet. She stated that she gets excellent results with those. Out of the eco, cd and premier....I do like the premier...just can't seem to find the right size for my combination. Please know that I do understand your "pain and frustration". The eco wicks for me were not a good fit at all. What would happen is they would burn great for a while and then would trim themselves and barely burn and my melt pool would shrink and the flame would almost go out. The cd wicks work nicely...however...I got some soot with the cd 12 and the flame was too high...the wick would burn great in the first part of the jar but where the jar is tapered towards the bottom it would become too hot. The cd 10 just would not produce a good melt pool at all. Don't worry we will get it all figured out. Hang in there and keep your chin up. :-) Hope it helps to have someone understand what you are going through.

Old Glory- you answered all of my questions about shipping during the summer and the wax "growing" so to speak. Your post was very thorough. GoldieMN - thank you for sharing your shipping rate information. :-)

kandlekrazy - You are right as well....I'm probably making myself more crazy with all the variety. I guess I was just hoping that out of one of my potions something would work. LOL Thank you so much for helping and encouraging me. It really does mean so much. :-)

Old Glory - thank you so much.... I do have sweet potato and brown sugar in from Aztec. Yay! I will give it a try and see what happens. You don't know how very much I appreciate your help and your willingness to share. Where do you live and do you find that you have had trouble shipping 464? That is the only thing that concerns me about that wax. I did have a few candles "grow" on me in the past and bury the wick. Not really sure what causes that but it's kinda awkward when that happens,.

Thanks for your words of wisdom Old Glory. It does mean a lot to have someone else just "listen" or in this case read and understand where you are coming from. I have made candles on and off for years but never have found a combination that I was quite happy with. I appreciate your input very much. So far from what I am reading and I have talked to Aztec, Flaming Candle, RE/AH, and Candle Science all recommend 464 wax. I do have some of that in stock so I will pull my stash out here in a bit and go to work. I don't think I will wick the candle right away but let it cure and then take a skewer and poke a hole in the wax. Old Glory - From what Flaming Candle says and CS - add the fragrance oil at 185 ---I was adding it at 175 --do you think that is why I have had so much trouble with every wax that I have worked with? Thanks in advance.

Dear Friends, I know some scents are not made for a specific blend of soy wax and all but I am so frustrated. I used EcoSoya Xcel and 464 in Flaming Candle Watermelon Lemonade, Sweet Strawberry, and Cinnaberries. For each combination I used 1 oz pp and even went up to 8%. I added the frag oil at 175. I did use a scale to weigh my oil and wax. I did cure 2 weeks. I used 8 oz jj. For the 464 wax I used Premier 765 wicks. For XCel I used Eco 10 and for 415 I used 51-32-18 cottons. I did get a decent melt pool on all but not much throw. I understand an 8 oz jj will not scent a large area because of the diameter, but I do expect to smell something in a small room. I used to use EZSoy which is close to 415 from what I read. I used CD 12 wicks which in most applications for me is too large but CD 10 is too small. I'll be honest Bittercreek's shipping is a little high for me. I can pick up the 464, or EcoSoya XCel locally and even C3. Can someone please help me out, please??? I will do my own testing but I just need a general direction to go in. What could I be doing wrong. Please don't be afraid of offending me. I need all the help and support that you could offer. Thank you in advance. :-)

I actually like the premier wicks in the C3 only. I couldn't get them to work right for me in any other wax so far. I haven't tried them in the 464 yet though. That may produce a different result. :-) I love the folks at Wick It as I am still using the sampler pack that they sent me. They were so kind and sent me I think it was 7 of each wick size for a fee of $5. Now that is customer service in my book. I got oodles of wicks. LOL I used the 767 wicks in the 8 oz jelly jar with 9% of fragrance oil. With 7% of fragrance oil I used the 765 premier.

In addition to testing C-3 and 415, I am also testing EcoSoya XCel and 464 wax. I bought the candle making kit from The Flaming Candle. It came with Eco 10 wicks, 4 jars, 2 oz of scent, dye chips and wick stickums and 2 lbs of EcoSoya XCel wax. I have used this wax before with no luck so I increased my fragrance load to 8% and I'll see what happens. The Sweet Strawberry smells divine. The candle didn't set up quite as I had hoped it would. Probably user error when pouring but I'm not sure if I like the sticky texture of this wax either. Oh well...I'll give it a fair chance and report back once I test burn this scent in a week or so. 415 wax and 51-32-18 cotton core wicks At 6% fragrance oil and the wicks listed above, I tested Strawberry Rhubarb from former KY now RE/AH. Added scent at 150. Smells good with a 5 day cure ---could be a little stronger but got a great burn. I also tested ICS Cranberry and Orange Muffins - not overly happy with the result but will test again in a few days once it has cured two weeks. 464 wax - Tropical Fruit from the Flaming Candle This wax has a sticky texture but not as sticky as EcoSoya XCel. Using 8% fragrance oil and 1 orange dye chip and added the fragrance oil at 175. I will say the scent smells like a bowl of fresh fruit which is making me crave fruit salad.I am not going to wick this candle quite yet but will place a hole in the wax once it has cooled so I can pull the wick out if necessary for testing.This seems to be a very popular wax and I'm really looking forward to testing it. I tested c3 wax with Fillmore Iced Lemon Biscotti at 9% and got a wonderful throw with 767 premier wick. I do like the way that these wicks burn and the appearance of the c-3 wax. So far out of the 415 and the c-3 wax - the c-3 seems to carry the scent further and has the overall best appearance characteristics. I will continue to report back with my findings and I hope that this will help someone not to struggle the way that I have so far. Candlemaking really is a nerve wracking experience but so rewarding when you finally achieve that winning combination.

To all of those on here that have helped me in the past. I was previously listed under jtiff66578, ctiff123. Couldn't remember the passwords/user information, etc. so I started a new account. I wanted to thank each of you for your help and support during my venture with candlemaking. I took a hiatus for a bit to get myself back on track. Last Sunday, I pulled out my candle making supplies again. I made a candle and here's how I did it. 8 oz C3 wax .7 oz frag oil - Fillmore's Iced Lemon Biscotti 2 drops of yellow Cajun dye 767 premier wick I added the fragrance oil at 175. Stirred 3 minutes. Poured when slushy. I know you can pour c3 at a hotter temperature, but I pour when it is slushy and it sets up beautifully. Test burn #1 5 days cure time The melt pool was approx. 1/4" on the one side of the wick and had a bit of hang up on the other which I am confident that will burn off in the next burn or so. The scent throw was fantastic in my bedroom, bathroom and through most of my dining room in a three hour test. There was no smoking or flickering of the wick. No mushrooming of the wick. I have previously tested this scent at 6% and 7% and did not get a scent throw as nice as at 9%. Overall very happy with this result.

Sneaky buggers. LOL I laughed so hard I just spit soda all over my computer monitor. I needed that laugh after the day that I have had so far today. LOL

I like the blocks and chips because the liquid makes such a mess for me especially the ones that have the rubber droppers. I will tell you if you decide on liquids Cajun's liquids do not have the rubber dropper and I had better luck with those than any other liquids that I tried.

I love the dye chips. I do get some frosting but I make a royal mess with the liquids. Dye blocks are nice also. Some say it is harder to replicate batch to batch but I usually just use 2 per lb. The liquid dye is just so messy and some of it smells horrible. One time my dropper was clogged and I was looking to see what was wrong with it and I squeezed again. Well I looked like the jolly green giant for almost a week. Ack!

I know it's hard to wait but I get a much better throw letting my candles cure. I do wait the full 2 weeks. It is really disheartening though when you wait and the silly candle has no throw at all. Some scents just don't work with certain combos. This has been the most stressful and time consuming adventure of my life but when you find a combo that works that feeling cannot be replaced.

I may be the odd ball here but I add mine at 160. I think altitude plays a key role. Just my opinion. I am at sea level and I get a better throw adding lower than higher. Some of the thicker oils do need to be added hotter to incorporate into the wax.

I love the 8 oz jelly jars and the 8 oz square mason jars. The jelly jars are tapered at the bottom and sometimes finding a wick has been a challenge for me because the top is wider than the bottom and if I wick for the top part of the jar by the time it gets to the bottom it's too hot. These are my old standby jars though and I just love them. I love the square mason jars because they are just cute and the perfect size for a customer to test a new scent. I have had luck wicking those with415 and 62 cotton wicks. Love them and they are a little bit wider therefore producing more throw that the jellies. They just have that country look to them.

I actually bought myself a warmer and a few cups when Yankee was having a sale. I have to admit I really like them. You take the cup after removing the lid and place it in the warmer. Then after a few hours you turn off your warmer unless it comes with a timer which mine did. Then when the wax hardens you can lift out the cup and discard or change your scent. It makes no mess whatsoever unless you pick up the cup while the wax is in liquid form like I did. I was talking with the lady at the store and although my unit has a timer it doesn't have the lights like some because you cannot replace the lightbulb in those I was told and then a new unit must be purchased. The unit that I have has like a metal ring in where the cup holder goes that heats up. I have no clue what kind of plastic this is that can go in these units but it does feel rather sturdy. The scented units that you buy typically last 24 hours or so and are approximately $5 a piece.

Hey folks! I used to make soy candles and visited this board frequently a few years ago. Well I decided today that there was an emptiness so I am returning to candlemaking. I took a break and bought myself a sewing machine. As much as I love sewing, I missed my candles. So I am going to do both. I previously used EZSoy and dabbled some with C3 and 415. Today I made 2 candles. I used the 415 wax with some scents that I purchased not too long ago and just never got around to using. The first one is Cranberry and Orange Muffins from ICS and the second one is Strawberry Rhubarb from KY - AKA AH/RE. I am using 8 oz jelly jars. I used 2 dye chips per lb for each batch. I tend to make a mess with the liquid. And by mess....I mean covered....the last time I made candles....I dyed myself green.......LOL I am either going to wick with a cd 10 wick or a 51-32-18 cotton core wick. I don't particularly like the cotton core wicks but they work. LOL In the past I had horrible luck with the ECO wicks and CD 12 was way too hot. So I am going to attempt to use cd 10. Before I was adding my fragrance oil at 175 and not getting the throw that I wanted even with a two week cure time, so I added the fragrance oil at 150 and so I will let you know if I detect a difference. I am curious as to what is happening with all the good suppliers. Today I went through my fragrance oils and then searched the suppliers and some of them had gone out of business such as Scent Works and also Moon Works so I just threw out those oils. No sense in testing something that I cannot get later and falling back in love with a fragrance. Also, what is going on with Bittercreek? I noticed Bittercreek South had closed and on the message board Bittercreek North isn't very active. I loved Bittercreek oils and bought quite a bit from them.