Forrest

That would be the 44-24-18 paper core, not available from most suppliers, but I found them for not much money. Candle Science recommends LX and HTPs for 4630, old post in this forum seem to favor the HTPs. So I'll try the paper cores as my base wick and use the HTPs/LXs to wick up or down as needed.

I thought about this topic for a while and I realized that the best throwing wax is that wax I got to make melts, you know, the wax you have to hit with a hammer to break off a piece. If I was going to throw some wax that would be the one. I've already thrown it on the garage floor a couple of times, and I keep a chunk of it on my bed side table in case I need to throw it at a bugler.Yes sir, if you want a wax for throwing, that is the one.

I use 6006 and I wouldn't put much stock in those post. The key is to make sure the wax and FO get blended and stays blended. I've heated the wax to 200 and warmed my FO, and I've heated the wax to 180 and used cool FO and I don't think it matters. What I have noticed is that if you don't keep it stirred it can kill your HT. The key is to get it blended and keep it blended. To that end stir well before pouring, and do not pour too hot. Once on a batch of candles I stirred for 30 seconds and poured right away, I got no HT and blamed it on the FO.

I’m going to try some 4630 in 8oz tins, and maybe even some 12os status jars. Any help on which wicks work well in 4630 and what size I should start my testing with would be greatly appreciated.

Well that brings up another question, or two three. It seems like Paraffin clearly has the best short term HT, but would a fully cured polymorphic wax have a better HT? What does the fully cured structure of a blend like 6006 look like? Does this mean Paraffin is fully cured once it is cooled?

My thinking is that paraffin cures faster than most other waxes, I'm thinking about getting a slab of paraffin to play with while I wait for my 6006 candles cure.

Me too, but being a masochist, and having tortured myself with tureens to the point I can't feel the pain any more, my new project is to make a years supply of candles and let them cure for six months before I start burning them.

Exactly! Instant curing and easy wicking.

Trapp’s post about the best throwing wax got me thinking about HT and cure time. We know the molecular structure of wax changes as it cures. My hypothesis is that different waxes cure at different rates and that the HT for fully cured candles will be approximately the same no matter what wax you use. Of course how long it takes to be fully cured varies greatly depending on the type of wax. I base this in part on my recent experience with a 16 month old candle I had made with 464. Two weeks after those candles were made they had almost no HT; at 16 months the HT was overpowering, it was as strong as any candle I have ever burned. Of course we don’t wait for over a year to judge our candles, we judge them in a few weeks after making them. So maybe when we say we want the wax with the best HT what we actually mean is we want the wax that cures the fastest.

My 6006 doesn't like it if I look at other waxes, she gets all bent out of shape and hard to wick😉. I found a candle I made with 464 that was a year old and had almost no HT after a two week cure, at one year the HT was amazing, I doubt any wax could do better. I've seen your 20oz tureens. I'm saving that project for later in the year, I'm confident I can double wick the 20oz I was close on the 11oz, but my smallest wick was just a little too big, although if my FO needed wicking up I could probably make it work.

I tested a 104 in an 8oz tin, but it was too hot and I had to stop the test. About all I can say is the gap between the 93 and the 104 is big, I would probably double wick anything that needed a wick that big. I've been busy trying to apply these test results to some real world candles. I did put some Premiere 700 series wicks in tins, to see if they work better than the LX wicks, I haven't been please with those.

When it's not cold and rainy, but nothing would make me happier than sitting and talking candles with you. I thought of another angle to your question; I believe the HT is probably similar for all waxes if they are given enough time to cure, but different waxes cure at different rates. 464 seems to take about a year to be fully cured, by this time next year I'll know how long 6006 takes. From the little I have read on this board I think Palm wax cures quickly. Just my thoughts on the subject. I would test some other waxes but 6006 can be a very jealous wax, and I don't want to upset her.

Well I only know about one wax, but it seems to me that you should want the best throwing wax that is easy to wick. But what do I know, I'm married to 6006 and it is neither the best thrower or easy to wick.

Trappeur is right, 10% oil will cause more problems than it is worth. 6006 can be difficult to wick and higher FO percentages just make it harder. The biggest problem is your wicks will mushroom . A better plan is to reduce the percentage of FO and give your candles more time to cure.

Tureens are special because as the wax gets to the wide part of the container you get really strong air currents and it gets very hot. I highly recommend not trying them. I'm working with 8oz tins right now, I'm having good luck with my zincs, CDs and HTPs when they are correctly wicked, but not the LX wicks. Tomorrow I'll pour some test candles with my Premier 700s. I found my test sheets from the Tureens, they didn't work well there, but if they do better than my LXs in the tins that would be great.

Thanks, I have a good supply of them, so I should have test data on them. It may be that they didn't work well in my tureens and I gave up on them. I've been trying the LX wicks, but so far I'm not liking them.

Could you tell me about when you use the Premiers? I have lots of those, I'm sure I tested them, but I haven't been using them.

As soon as the furlough is over and I get paid I’m planning on making a quantity of candles that I will allow to cure for six months or more. I have test results to compare a two week cure time with a two month cure, and based on that a candle cured for two months needs a bigger wick, maybe a half size bigger. I’m guessing that as a candle cures the rate of change slows. Based on this I estimate that if I needed a half size larger wick at two months I would need a full size larger wick at six months. Can anyone with some knowledge or experience in this area please give me an opinion on this? Naturally I’m a bit worried about making a wicking mistake I won’t discover for six months.

What container are you wicking. Wicks tend to smoke and flicker when the candle is over wicked, you might try moving down a size. A good rule of thumb is to use the smallest wick that will burn all the wax in your container. CDs, LXs, and zinc core wicks are popular in 6006, none of them are perfect.

I agree, but after my Wax & Wick test I poured 16 8oz tins with different FOs. Those have been tested and I adjusted the wicks in six of those and started testing them today. Once I get the wicking right I plan to pour a year’s supply and cure them for 6-12 months. Of course candles that are cured that long need a larger wick, but I’m hoping that my house being well below normal temperature will counteract that. Of course all of this will have to wait until after government reopens and I can start spending money again.

Well you have done now, I've been sitting home with nothing to do, out of wicks with no paycheck to buy more and just when I come up with a test that doesn't require wicks you go and burst my bubble, I'm only forgiving you because that is the answer I had hoped for🤣

I feel a test coming on. The question came from an idea I had to combine quantities of wax and FO and age it to make candles later. TT said it wouldn’t work so I took a candle that was a year old and melted all of the wax and let it cool. As always TT was right. If I have got this right ageing changes the structure of the wax, but melting changes it back. Of course nothing is absolute in candle making, so there are probably things going on that I don’t understand. When I make candles I like to pour some wax in the bottom of a flat bottom tin to use on the melter as my den needs some extra fragrance due to the air currents. So I think I shall go melt some wax to test the effects of time and FO load on these melts.

I know that as candles age the scent increases. I also know that if you take a well-aged candle and melt the wax the scent reverts back to the strength it was when the candle was made. So, does that mean I don’t need to age candles if I want to use them on a melter?

This test was done with 6006 in 8oz tins with 51 zinc core wicks cured for two weeks. Last summer one candle was burned in the garage at 88° while another was burned in the house at 78°. This week a third candle was burned in the house at 58°. After 0ne hour the MP diameters were 2.4, 2.0, and 1.5 inches respectively. The candle at 88° achieved a FMP after two hours, the candle at 78° achieved a FMP after three hours, but the candle at 58°did not achieved a FMP until the third hour of the third day of testing. After reviewing all the results from all three candles it appears that a 15° temperature difference would require wicking up, or down, a full wick size. As candle makers you can’t control the temperature other people burn your candles at, but you should be aware that temperature matters when burning candles. I doubt you will find many people who keep their house at 58° in the winter.

That is very interesting, I'll certainly try it. I wonder if it will inhibit the HTPs self-trimming quality.