birdcharm

I've never used the ECO wicks before or coconut wax, but I'd like to try that wax! Here's a graph of the differences with the ECO wicks: ECO info For instance, I've been using a square braid cotton #2 with GW464 in a 6 oz. Ball jar and it's burning nicely. I should experiment with some other wicks in that container too. When I compare, for instance, the #2 graph (here) to the ECO graph, it looks as though the ECO 8 & 10 have a higher ROC (rate of combustion) as well as flame height than the #2, which makes me wonder if those ECO's are too big. You can see the various graphs of many wick types on that site.

E. What does a wax coating on the wick do vs a raw wick? I know that not everyone primes their raw wicks, although I do, as it does make them stand straight, as mentioned. Supposedly, priming a wick fills in any gaps within the fibers of the wicking to ensure consistent burning.

Sure ... it was from Chemessence. Nice & smooth, not too much cinnamon, sweet apple, buttery crust. (Hmmm, I'm getting hungry.) I may suggest a co-op buy with them someday if there's any interest.

Thanks for the advice, Moonstar -- I'm going to check it out a bit further, as I have never ordered from them. I recently ordered Apple Streusel from Flaming Candle, and it did not get my scent buds going at all; also recently ordered an apple type from Candle Cocoon, and it just was not what I'm looking for, but I'll get there. I'm hoping to find a good baked apple or apple pie by next fall or I'll order my old standard next year -- it's a nice one, but it's a 2-lb. minimum and I wasn't up to it this year since I don't know how it does in soy candles. I may check out this sale, although I haven't much time to decide on an order, esp. since it usually takes me so long to decide!

I'm curious if anyone has used their Apple Pie in soy?

Just give me an old Gaffers & Sattler or Magic Chef stovetop, a coffee can, a double-boiler and I'm good to go! The newfangled is much too complicated for me!! I'm still having trouble using a decorator bag for piping whipped wax!

They're so easy to make, gives new life to old little critters and they're whimsical air fresheners. I've only made them with straight paraffin, but most likely a blend would still work. When they are made with a harder wax, they take on a more glossy effect. I made some little birds (cardinals) that worked well, but don't tell anyone I took the tags off of Beanie Babies.

(Let's see if I can figure out how to upload a pic here.)

Remnant wax can also be used to make wax critters -- those can come out really cute too.

I agree ... periodically trim the wick to about a 1/4" ... there could be some air flow issues in the hurricane lamp ... try burning without the glass chimney for a session, trimming to 1/4" and see how it goes ... then, try return to using the glass and see if there's a difference. Regarding burning a candle overnight, this isn't really something I would encourage.

Try this ... trim your wick at 1/4" to start. That may solve the problem, as it seems to me that your wick is very long.

I make simple sprays with a 50/50 mixture of Polysobate 20 and F/O, then fill the rest with water in a plastic mist bottle which I think is HDPE.

For me, 444 & 464 have similar tops ... smooth, not real shiny; but I think some people achieve shinier tops by pouring a bit hotter than I have been doing. The 415's that I poured did have a more rough-looking, matte finish on the tops. I use the same wicks all around, based on the diameter of the glassware -- I use a squarebraid cotton (a 2/0 for smaller candles, #2 for 2.5-3"), which I know is not that popular among some members here, but I haven't had any negative issues with them myself. I have tried a CD wick, but it seemed to lean a bit, which I guess takes some getting used to. One day soon, I'll explore some of the other fine wicks that have been mentioned.

I just got some 464, still have candles curing, so we'll see how I do. I've been using 444 (I switched to that one last year after using 415 since the 444 has greater fragrance load), but I thought I'd like to try working with 464 to see if it throws well while using less scent than 444. Moonstar ... in regard to additives, from what I understand, both 444/464 have a soy-based additive, although I'm not exactly sure what that is, but I believe it's for frosting reduction. I've been told that vybar does not work with soy, but I have not tested this. There are two types of vybar based on meltpoint of the wax (Vybar-260 would be the one) , but I haven't found any information regarding if it's beneficial with soy wax. If it works with soy, I would think it would also help with smooth tops. Maybe someone here has tested it in soy and can help with that question.

I don't know a whole lot about it, but I agree with katmeltswax -- that's a lot of medicine!! Personally, I believe in some things that some people say don't work for depression, such as herb teas, aromatherapy, exercise, reading, hobbies, etc. -- but, they do work! I think taking too many meds eventually affects your liver and vitality in general. I hope Pam will research this and take kats advice to heart, there's got to be a better way and you only get one life.

"... 464 wax, a cd-14 wick, CS strudel and spice FO & 6%" Maybe this scent just doesn't throw well in soy ...? You can use up to 9% with GW464, maybe you could try increasing the scent, or use a stronger cinnamon or spice scent and mix them to see if it helps bring out your scent a little more.

With melt 'n' pour, you can't add too many additives in either the form of oil or water based, but you can safely add a little and still have your soap set up. I've merely dabbled in it a bit here and there, using plastic molds with soap designs, making it a few bars at a time. I would try the addition of a drop or two in each bar of Rose-Geranium essential oil, for instance, and maybe experiment with adding just a bit of green tea extract. You might also try making a tincture of burdock root and add a few drops; there are other herbs that are beneficial too, but I can't think of them right now.

Okay ... thank you!

I understand about the glass issue ... I guess I was thinking that if people use the high heat guns successfully, then perhaps the melt pots with a high heat glue may work. Pardon my wanderings, Trappeur -- I'm always one to experiment for some reason! Actually, with the stickums, I see that not all suppliers offer them, which would mean if I started using them without having another option (besides my gel method, which I'd like to get away from since I'm not making gel candles much anymore), then I would be somewhat "tied" to some suppliers that I don't usually purchase from -- my own problem, I know! I think I'll buy a high temp gun and see how it goes, but the pots with the non-streaming glue sounds inviting if it worked since I'm already in the habit, going on about twenty years now, of dipping wick tabs into a gooey liquid to plop them into the glass to secure.

So, the hot glue adhesives are not meant for glass at all? I thought some candlemakers used glue guns to fasten their wick tabs. Maybe I've misunderstood that completely! Thanks for your advice.

Here's the link to one of the glue options for that melt pot though, which seems as though it would be pretty sturdy. Surebonder B-2001 Diamond Cube High Strength Hot Melt Skillet Glue

Oops ... sorry ... it says 40 watts in the description area, but photo of package says 10 watts, so I guess that particular type would not work if the glue needs to be hotter.

For instance, here is the little melting pot goodie .... on ebay This says it's 40-watts ... so, I'm thinking these would work as long as I purchase the proper type of glue.

Yes, the metal wick tab that gets glued to the bottom of the glass container -- in other words, rather than using the wick stickers (I may try some stickems some time, but the glue dots seem to come undone for me). P.S. I apologize for the confusion ... I left a word out up there, I should have said that I have always used candle gel by dipping the wick TAB into the gel.

Most likely, this has been discussed before, but I went on a search and didn't come up with anything, so I'm going to ask! I've read discussions about securing wicks -- I've always used a high density candle gel -- dip the wick into the gel, land it in the glass, press down all around, wait for it to cool. And, I recently saw that someone here used tacky wax -- I found my little stash of tacky wax, so I'm going to give that a try and see how I like that. Anyway, I'm out of gel right now, so thought about getting a glue gun. I see that there are also dip/melting pots where the glue is placed into the little pot which looks interesting to me, esp. for wick tabs, but I would need to learn more about them. I've read (here) that a high temp glue gun is what to look for ... is that a 20 watt? I'm a little confused, as I've seen 40 watt ones, which may be the one I'm supposed to get; and, I've seen 10 watt that say "high temp," but I think they're lying. Does anyone here have experience with the melting pot method and if so, what type of glue is best used for those? It does seem that I will need to purchase glue gun sticks that are for the higher temp gun, as they do not appear to all be the same -- is this true? I'm thinking for a gun that I should get a dual temp and look into the melt pot method later. I saw that there is a type of glue they use with those that won't "string" -- I guess people use those with silk flowers. Thanks for any tips!