strugglebrother

Beer cozy tried... Can't say I'm a fan of Rams but that's what Target had to offer me today

Unfortunately, it didn't make any difference. It's weird that the break is about 1 inch always. I snuck the cozy over it as soon as I poured super hot. Then I flip it so the bottom should actually be warmer but...

I don't mind it that much actually, I can live with it. I have emailed Lipidchem in Malaysia, the maker of all these waxes. Let's see if they have any more tips.

Soy wax is just a very bad wax in general, period. It works only with a handful of fragrances, flakes, crusts, looks ugly over time and apparently these days you have to test EVERY batch.

In Sweden back in the 80’s and 90’s people got an oven inside there houses to burn environmental friendly wood pellets instead of using electricity. We all get it, electricity is stupid for heating up a house. It seemed great in the beginning and the government was pushing it as the new environmentally friendly way and funded it.

Well, the pellets need to come from somewhere so you have big trucks coming and delivering it to your house. Is that environmentally friendly, no? Loads of fuel used for no good.

Today nobody would invest in pellets for the house in Sweden, it wasn’t that great. Now you drill a hole and take heat for free from the ground instead. The technique is called Downhole Heat Exchanger. A lot of people took the punt on the technique from the 80s that was supposed to be “so good for the environment”. Selling a house today with pellet heating is considered almost bad for the selling price. You are stuck with it or have to rewire and install a completely new system.

It's not until you sit in a good car you realize how bad the one was that you have been driving for years. This applies to soy wax for me. And now soy is being harvested so much that palm is probably a much better choice for the environment.

Why does CS keep pushing soy wax and no coconut, apricot or palm wax? I have no idea, but it feels like they went to bed with AAK in some way as they continuously pushing bad products.

I spoke to the owner of another big wax-manufacturer here in Los Angeles who used to stock AAK wax. They received 444 and 464 wax that was completely soaking wet. And they went back and forth with AAK until they stopped working with them as the wax was too terrible and they didn’t want their customers to get angry.

So, I’m pretty sure CS got those moist and wet barrels of wax from AAK too but they didn’t care and sold it anyway. When people complained they said its nothing wrong with the wax it's your fault.

After the big storm, they were forced to make that video when everyone was already screwed over. Yes, you can get a refund but what about those hundreds of candles you made that you already stuck fragrance oils in and used up containers for, and all the work behind that, which you now can't sell at all. You can’t even give them to your neighbors as they won’t even scent a room or the flame will drown in the wax.

Rant over

This is just an uneducated guess but maybe I should try and stick a beer cozy on the top of the candle when I pour?

I also get a drop in the top surface instead of it being totally flat. I would usually just fix this with the heat gun but I can't in this case. If there isn't a special trick for the heat gun. Or maybe you have to do a repour to get a flat surface?

But maybe @Candybee, @Jcandleattic or @bfroberts would have a better idea if they have a great experience? I can't find much about it when googling?

Yes, tall and mighty

The wax is 5801-A, I buy it from a supplier here in California but I can see Bitter Creek is selling it. They all get the palm wax from the same manufacturer in Malaysia.

https://cart.candlesupply.com/5801-A-Pillar-Votive-Granite-Palm-Wax-pr-19991.html

Palm 1 from CW is to my knowledge 5401-A, it comes packaged in the same big bags with the item number and Malaysia on them. I have tried Palm 1/5401-A but I think this wax makes a more beautiful pattern

Hi,

I'm pouring palm wax hot, 205-210 degrees and the wax cools slowly. I flip the candle when surface starts to form to prevent the air pockets. Does anyone know why I still get a tad less crystallization just the top of my candles? And is there anything I can do to prevent it?

If I do poke holes instead of flipping and treating the surface with a heat gun it doesn't look good after. Or simply heat gun to even out the tops of the candle the crystallization still gets ugly on top of the candle.

Can you heat gun the tops of a palm wax candle and still get a good pattern? If I was to repour wouldn't that ruin the crystallization also? Or do I need to heat gun longer so the wax gets super hot?

Isn't paraffin supposed to be consistent?

Yes the answer from CS is not okay, I'd go back for a refund on that one. 

The $500 get $100 I seem to have missed. Must have been a deal. I can find it in google searches but it's not on their website anymore.

Anyway, I just bought a 25lb drum the other week and there is free shipping on those? So it should be fine to order in bigger than 10lb to get free shipping!

I'm debating about the 150 Primo or a Coogar Melter.

Have anyone had any experience of the Coogars? They have been around for years. The cheaper model seems a bit too fragile without the stainless steel sides...

CS Melter https://coogarproducts.com/melters/cs-melter/ Price $1150

CS Melter Semi Elite https://coogarproducts.com/melters/cs-semi-elite/ Price $1445

VS

Primo 150 http://www.waxmelters.com/PRIMO150-Eco-Melting-Tank-p/primo-150-wax-melter.htm Price $1695

Somehow I have a feeling the Primo is slightly better as the design is newer and also easier to clean as it's round on the inside. But hey, there is also tried and tested.

Anyone have any of these melters and use/used them?

In that container I use a HTP 105 wick if only soy wax but the more of paraffin you use in the blend you might have to go down in sizes. What ratio in the blend do you use and how much fragrance?

Have anyone tried out the Primo Wax Melters from Waxmelters?

http://www.waxmelters.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=primo&Search.x=12&Search.y=10

We are finally expanding and I have my eyes on the 150lb melter! It looks easy to clean between scents as I look to blend straight in the melter.

They as advertised as faster than the water melter and have a digital temperature control. I'm pretty sure PF Candle Co have one or two in their facility and you can upgrade it with a hose if you expand later

2 minutes ago, debratant said:

Yep, agree with strugglebrother, HTP.  I use HTP with 4627  and it is the only container wax

I use.  If you pick them up, also pick up some 105 wicks in addition to the ones struggle mentioned

above. Some scents I need a 105.

Yeah true that, the more soy you use in the blend the bigger wick you need... 105 is definitely good to have on hand too!

Try the HTP wicks... Possibly 83, 93 & 104

They might mushroom a bit if you can live with that (I can) but shouldn't soot. HTP is the recommended wick from IGI for 4627.

On 8/16/2018 at 2:56 AM, kandlekrazy said:

Yeah I agree Candlescience liquid dyes smell bad.  Think I have some from Aztec or Lonestar that aren't as bad.  White liquid only Candlewic have I seen it but I haven't looked for white specifically.

http://www.candlewic.com/store/product.aspx?q=c73,p815&title=White----Highly-Concentrated-Liquid-Dye-

They don't seem to have it in stock anymore.. I will email and ask!

26 minutes ago, kandlekrazy said:

I don't use your wax but have you tried liquid colors?  I personally don't like the flake or chips although you can melt them down with a bit of wax so they are easier to incorporate into the batch.  I guess white wouldn't be as much of a problem if doing only white.  Every additive to wax will change your burn, so yes testing again is necessary.

Problem is that I haven't found any liquid white dye. Have you seen any?

I also prefer to use liquid dyes even though some of them have an awful off smell, Candlescience liquid dyes smell the worst. General Wax liquid dyes don't smell as bad as Candlescience does.

I can report back on the white dye flakes...

It did whiten the 4627 and took away about 50% of the yellow-ish color which the wax picked up from the fragrance oil.

The dye flakes definitely clogged up the wick  - even though they are promoted not to do so.

The flame died pretty quick, will test to wick up 1 and 2 sizes and come back with the results.

Hi everyone,

I have been following @pughaus very detailed and helpful wick testing results in this wax.

Have anyone any feedback on how hot throw/cold throw is with this wax. Better than Accu-Blend Coconut 83? Comparable to the amazing hot throw of IGI 4627?

Also, does anyone know the ratio of paraffin in this wax?

Looks like they have taken the white liquid dye away

http://www.candlewic.com/store/product.aspx?q=c73,p815&title=White----Highly-Concentrated-Liquid-Dye-

Anyone else who has shopped white liquid dye for candles anywhere? I can't find any?

Hi,

As IGI 4627 wax has a very grey'ish color and almost looks like vaseline. A quite unappealing color in my opinion. 

Have you tired and alter the color to more white (without blending it with soy)?

Have anyone tried these dye flakes

https://www.candlemakingsupplies.net/dyes/cate_31/p___P0837642.html

"These flakes will not clog your wick and do burn off more easily. Our new white dye flakes make whiter wax and won't clog your wick like some inferior white dyes."

Or does anyone recommend anything, in particular, to make the 4627 look more appealing?

3 hours ago, Forrest said:

Yes, my little picture there is the rocket park where I work. I'm not a rocket scientist, just one of the thousands of engineers it takes to make our projects work. People think you have to be smart to work at NASA, I think you have to be smarter to make candles.

Yes, including that you have to have the most patience ever making candles...  Super cool that you work @ NASA!!!!

36 minutes ago, Forrest said:

Amazon has kitchen scales that will handle 500g down to 0.01g for under $20. The link below is a lab scale that would do the job for $169 if you wanted something better. Sadly now I realize how inadequate my scales are, I must get new scales. 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Precision-Analytical-Electronic-Laboratory-Calibrated/dp/B074Q9QSF4/ref=sr_1_13?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1531416289&sr=1-13&keywords=digital+lab+scale+0.01g

I realized how bad my scale was too when I did color samples of candles. Just one candle each. When you try to color dye 2-4 ounces of wax the scales are so incorrect by 0.5g that when you do a bigger candle later the coloring is completely off.

I always weigh all my dyes on the precise scale now, otherwise, it isn't accurate at all and final candles turn out too dark or too light.

Thanks for posting the link... I might be having to get something more expensive. Just looking at the reviews on that one I can see "For the "price it's an ok scale. It's not super accurate below 0.1 tho." among the reviews. I guess it's fine for weighing nutrients.

You might just get what you pay for  

I won't need it for the candles, nothing needs to be that precise for that.

I add fixatives and such in percentages of 0.5% or 0.1% of the compound so if I want to do compounds for 30 room sprays I'm down to 0.003oz of a certain fixative. A little overspill doesn't do much difference but 0.1g precision isn't enough.

Ideally, I  would be using a mason jar, add fragrance and fixatives and be able to do it and then spin that bottle with a magnetic stirrer as is. Now I have to do it in a smaller glass breaker and then transfer to a bigger mason jar for spinning. I lose a few grams like that but at least the compound sits together then, so it's a few grams overall.

Or I have to do a much bigger compound than I need to do which is unnecessary...

It might just be lab scales like this (can take 500 grams) that would accomplish this, breaks my current budget tho...  

https://www.amazon.com/Count-Resolution-Digital-Counting-Button/dp/B006X6XCSM/ref=sr_1_5?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1531408295&sr=1-5&keywords=scale+0.005g

But I thought there might be other options out there

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a scale that can hold a lot of weight but are also very precise.

I'm using this

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SVQHWY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For heavier things, like pouring fragrance oils in bigger beakers to use for candle making. It's really good as it goes as precise as 0.1g. The bowl is also great for spills to put things on.

And then I'm using this

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004C3G73U/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For super detailed stuff, compiling tester room sprays in small amounts and perfume. It goes as precise as 0.005g

So when I compile room sprays in bigger beakers the first scale isn't precise enough and the second one won't hold enough weight.

Is there any reasonable scales out there that can hold more weight and be as precise as 0.005g that you use or would recommend?

6 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Sorry I was wrong on the company name. Precision wicking 

http://www.precisionwicking.com/

 

conact their customer service, they can send a form with questions about your candle, containers, etc. that you are trying to wick. Their lab will help narrow down the wicks tat should perform best in your candles.

Thanks, appreciate it!

7 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Give premier wicking a call. They carry everything including the CSN (though they call it something like KST) . They can help you dial-in whatever type and size you need. Then once you know what it is that you required candlewic can custom make whatever you need in smaller quantities them from here.

 

 

1

Thanks

What company is premier wicking? Is it http://wickit.net/ or?

I'll give RRD a go also, thanks!

Hello all,

A client wants a tall prayer candle with palm wax... I have never worked with palm before but got some 'Crystallizing Container Fill Palm Wax - Palm-1' in from Candlewic. Looks great and takes on dye in much smaller doses than is needed for soy.

On recommendation from Candlewic I started trying out CD 10, 12 and 14. 10 no HT, 12 HT but the flame was way too high and lethal, 14 yeah way to overwicked.

I can't use CSN as they only come in 6 inches tall and I need 8 for this glass

What should I try? HTP - something else? I've scented 6-7 % with a generic CS FO and added a tad of dye just to start trying.