wthomas57

the bigger concern.... is how long they been setting on supplier shelf before you bought it. :/

ive been toying around with blending 6006 with another wax to help with wicking... but not sure what that would be. Id love to keep what I have now but with something that stays a bit firmer below the MP (more cool) so that wicks stay centered better. That would open up so many options.

yes i agree.. mushrooms really drive me nuts. But any other option seems to give me worse results. LX - sometimes mushroom.. but also lean a bit and don't stay centered as well Premier - incrememental sizing and flame is good but mushroom the same as zincs HTP - love them but flame gets too big and too hot and lean off center in my wax CDs - lean, flame gets too big causing soot and smoke CSN/CDN - not enough testing RRD - fine but mushroom I always end up using one of the top 3.... but not LOVING any of them

Im glad you mentioned the lx wicks. I keep wanting them to work because i like the flame the best and is pretty consistent. But i get more soot with lx than zinc... almost every time.

I haven't had the best results with CD in parasoy either. Too hot, and the leaning of the wick always caused big problems for me. I like wicks that can lean (like CD) better in a wax that holds them a little firmer (464 for example). I just always had hot haywire flames with too much smoke/soot using CD. But I know everyone has different results. Premier and Zinc almost always are the best wicks for me with nearly any fragrance with parasoy. I have had descent results with CSN as well although a mush smaller sample size

I am curious on this too. To be hoenst, I haven't found ANY woodwicks that I like. Either no crackly, poor burn, or cant relight (wont stay lit after first relight)

Thats a good question.. and it may alter it a tad. But my guess on this is that it helps it more in hot melting wax and keep the wick upright. A flame burns hotter than both of those temps, so I would think once the wick is burning at the flame, it wouldn't matter a ton. That being said... we all know even the smallest difference can alter results significantly.

Ive noticed the same thing with other wicks as well. I kept thinking I was labeling my testers wrong... but I wasn't. Just sometimes for whatever reason.... this can happen. Its frustrating, because you are left thinking... "well what the heck do i do now"

I think in a perfect world all wicks would be dipped. I like no smoke. But I dont think most customers dip their wicks. Heck, 8 out of 10 customers I ask don't even know they are supposed to trim a wick. Not good. Lol

cool. thanks

That is true.... and I apologize for not considering the beeswax. I just was assuming the standard container waxes I figured she was referring to. But you are correct... good point.

Agreed. My standard is 7%. Weak scents Ill bump to 8% if they perform well. Strong scents (dragon's blood, etc) I known down to 6%' Those are my general starting points anyway

The way I look at it.... Most of us preheat jars. If our jars can handle that amount of heat, they can handle close the same amount of heat when burning. I rarely have a candle get that hot though unless I powerburn. But if that's the case the customer isn't following the guidelines on a warning label and there isnt much you can do about that. If your candle is getting too hot during normal burn then its a problem. As far as MP in the original question. I dont think you will EVER be satisfied with any answer to this. I know I never have been. Here is the problem... you have those that burn a candle "properly" and most that dont. If you make a candle to suit the proper burners, then it becomes a big problem for the incorrect burners. Unfortunately that is the bulk of customers. However, if you wick it for improper burns, then the good by-the-book customers will be disappointed and for good reason. What I do: I like to wax to at least "start melting" to the edge. Some hangup I am fine with... completely. It will catch up. If you try to get it perfect on first burn, you are bound to have problems later. So when I test, I do the following burn tests on EVERY candle for consistency. Burn 1 - 4 hours Every candle I sell has a label saying to burn for approximately 4 hours at a time. This works for single wicked candles. And larger jars with multiple wicks better work for that as well. This first test give me idea of melt pool, scent throw, flame behavior, and whether or not I am headed towards tunneling or, conversely, being over wicked. Burn 2 - 3-4 hours Same reasons as above... plus I want to see if I will run into any tunneling issues for a second burn that may be a little less. A proper wick would be just fine. Burn 3 - 4 hours This is my last "standard burn". Just really making sure not overwicked, looking for soot, melt pool should be looking good, no tunneling, etc. Burn 4 - Power burn time. Depends on jar size. Small masons Ill do 7 hours for example. Tumbler and larger jars, Ill for 10 or more. This is a MUST. You HAVE to see what happens when the candle is burned for much longer than suggested. Customers WILL DO THIS! Your goal should be to find the smallest wick size possible to have good results for Burn 1-3 to minimize the problems from Burn 4. In other words.. do your best to wick properly for Burns 1-3 while planning for the worst for Burn 4. I do this EVERY time for EVERY candle for EVERY Wick. Hope this helps.

This isn't a bad idea but I wouldnt rely on it for more than just "do I like the scent or not". Most of us do not use the same wax in our container candles as we do melts. Melts generally throw fax faster and stronger (depending on the size of jar you are using). Not only that, but the wax in the melts will throw the scent differently as well. Every scent I use in candles, I also sell in melts. Plus I have WAY more in melts than I do candles simply for the reasons mentioned above. Some are just great in melts but not so great in my candles. Thus, they are available in melts but not candles. So I dont know that I would base candle success of the melt test. Not saying my method is any better than others, but Ill share what I do regardless. I start off by simply making a 1 regular candle in whatever jar and fill it just half way. This is all you need to determine if the FO will be a good choice with that wax as far as scent goes. Once you decide on that, then you can start wick testing, etc. You are not out that much at all do this inital test. A buck or two at most. Wick testing and different jars is where cost starts adding up.

Yes I agree and this is what I do. I have recipes for each candle and then mlutiple it by batch size. I was only giving 16oz batch size for the sake of the example. I'm with you Candybee

Yah I dont understand all these things I read about having a wick "re-primed" before being re-lit each time. Thats just nonsense. They will light just fine every time after (unless you're just using cheap non professional wicks). As far as the issues with this cracked jar. 1) Use wick stickums so the wick wont easily move all over especially the base of it. 2) Use appropriate wick size 3) Remind customer to trim wicks so it doesn't get too large and too hot 4) Experiment with cored wicks. If you are using wicks like CD, etc.... you have a higher risk. They are "floppy" for lack of better word. They move and lean more than others. Not saying you have to use zinc, but try wicks that have some rigidity. 5) Tell your customer to stop leaving debri in the wax. I doubt it will cause lots of issues, but it could be pushing the wick around. 6) I'd have a serious talk with your customer. If this person is selling your candles in their store and yet they are burning them so inproperly, its going to make you and your candles look bad. Will hurt sales for you and them. Show them what to do and if they aren't going to listen... find another store.

ok, so I am a bit more caught up now and think its pretty cool (although a ton of waste). I'm still confused (from what I am seeing here anyway) of how the other wicks are getting lit or staying lit after the initial lighting. What am I missing?

I'm with you. What am I looking at.... and why? Dont take it as an insult... I'm intrigued. Just don't understand.

I calculate it so that my FO amount is part of the final wax amount. In other words, if I am making 16oz total with 8% FO, here is how mine breaks down. Wax - 14.7 FO - 1.3 Total - 16 (FO load roughly 8% So, just take the total times the FO load and subtract it out. The difference in doing it this way vs the other method is this. Wax - 16 FO - 1.3 Total - 17.3 (but FO load is now 7.5% And, 0.5% can be a big difference per candle but also in the long run. Its up to you as long as your consistent. I wouldn't worry about if you are pushing the boundaries of the max load for a specific wax. IF you are cutting it that close, you are playing with fire anyway... literally The BIGGEST reason I go with first method is that it just makes more sense for batch sizing. Its easier to figure out formulas, recipes, batch sizes, etc when I assume that the FO amount is part of my total blend at the end. In other words, if I am wanting to make 1lb of my total blend, I want to know that is all included. I dont want to think.. well, I need 1 lb total but then I need to figure out how much FO added to the wax will get me right to 16oz total. The first method I mentioned (the one I use) inherently already does that for you. The second method does not.

Definitely need to wick down if double wicking... especially on those crazy hot burning CDs! I prefer not to use CDs myself. Also... with 10% load I am not surprised at all you are getting soot, etc. 10% is too much for me personally... I dont want to knock my customers out, but more importantly... the candles perform better. That being said... I do have some scents that are lighter than normal and use a bit more FO than normal. And if I dont have the wicking down perfect, the flames can get too big and soot

Hey Nicole, Here are my thoughts on the HTP. Ill preface this with saying that I primarily use two main waxes... 6006 and GW464. So my thoughts might not translate the exact same to C3. But should be close. I like HTPs a lot for a couple reasons. They mushroom less, they can easily melt pretty much any wax, and have great quick melt pools. The disadvantage for me is the heat and flame size. Ironically, those are the same factors that led to the benefits of that wick. But I find the HTPs just getting so hot so quickly. Really, this isn't a problem for those of us who trim out wicks. The sad reality is nearly all candle buyers do not trim their wicks no matter what we say or do. Its just a fact and we have to live with it. Well, HTP wicks become a big problem when left unmanaged.. at least for me. The reason I mention all of that (which you may have already known) is that this problem gets amplified when using soy, simply because you have to wick up for soy which just makes this problem worse. Again, I dont use C3 specifically...., so I am not sure if there are any better options. I know there is a lot of us who use CD wicks so they may be great for you. Personally, no matter how many chances I give CD wicks... they just are not my wick of choice. Too hot, hate the lean to one side, uneven MPs, and so on. Every wick has pros and cons. My favorites for how they burn without question are Zinc, Premier, and LX. Problem with all of those are mushrooms and soot. Ugh, why we chose this life. Ha

Thanks Dolphin. I have searched those and still not quite finding what I am looking for. I mostly find descent jars but no vented matching lids. Trying to avoid the standard mason lids and go with something a bit less common for small business candle makers. Currenty, I use the small glass mason jars with the vented daisy lids. Which is ok.... but it cost more. And most customer I ask so they would prefer plastic rather than glass in their bathrooms, etc for aroma bead type products.. especially since it losers the price as well. Plus, a lot easier and cheaper to ship.

My recipes per batch are pretty exacty so I never have excess anymore. However, when I first started and had excess.... or when I do tests and have excess, I just make personal melts out of it or something.

Hey everyone, I have been doing a lot of looking and cant seem to find what I am looking for. Im looking plastic style jars with lids that are grated or have holes/cutouts. Something like this here... http://www.yankeecandle.com/product/catching-rays/_/R-1351519?green=21986532-BAAA-58EA-B921-26716DFE5D34 Doesn't have to be like that exactly, but you get the idea. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks

i haven't turned on the turbo yet.. i assume I'll only turn that on when I'm actually making batches. I keep it on allergen otherwise (which i believe is the strongest