Forrest

It looks to me like they bend away from the V, but that may be my way of interpreting it. There is a V on both sides, but one is upside down. I'm burning two candles that I had wicked down to an HTP 93 from a zinc 51 and both are burning beautifully; the MP is only slightly off center. I had to stop testing a candle that was overwicked wit an HTP. I get the feeling that perhaps having the right size wick is more important than the type.

I did a test on 6006 with CD, zinc, HTP, and LX wicks and the results are in the Wax & Wick Test section of this forum. That should provide some good information, at least it is better than a wick chart:)

I can see the V, so clearly I need to make a test candle today:) I'm burning a test candle right now in an 8oz tin with an HTP that is clearly overwicked; the MP is touching the tin on one side and a full inch away from the other. If the wick was 1/2 inch over it would be centered.

I am not bfroberts, and she has way more experience than I do, but, I use zinc core 51 wicks as my base wick for 8oz tins, based on her recommendation, and when everything works mushrooming isn't a significant issue. When the zinc core is too large they do tend to mushroom; I use a higher FO load than she does so it is worse for me. CDs also work well in 6006, but tend to smoke badly when over wicked. I'm just learning about HTPs, my problem with them is they curl and this causes the MP to be off center. I did a test with CD, zinc, HTP, and LX wicks and the results are in the Wax & Wick Test section of this forum. As for cure time what I do know is that if you have a longer cure time you would need a bigger wick, so if your candle is a little over wicked at two weeks it might be perfect at 8 weeks.

A while back I did some research on wicks and what I read about HTP wicks made them sound like the perfect wick, and it might all be true except for one little problem they forgot to mention. They don’t smoke, mushroom and they are self-trimming. The problem is they curl, which means the bend over at a 90 degree angle, see picture. That would be fine except it moves the heat from the wick to one side, causing the MP to be off center, see picture. It is very frustrating. If I knew which way they were going to bend I could compensate by putting them off center. The best Idea I’ve come up with is to burn the wick a little to see which way it curls before attaching it to the container.

To quote Arch Rock "don't expect a FMP on the first burn and yet you need a nice flame height with a good consumption rate." This was good advice I was given in another topic.

Check out my test results in the Wax & Wick section. Last week I poured 8oz tins with HTP 93, HTP 104, LX 18, and Zinc 51. I poured the zinc to compare the results to the test I ran during the hot summer months. I'll be posting the results when I burn those, I may cut a couple of days off the two week cure because They won't let me go to work and sitting around here waiting for candles to cure is difficult.

I'm testing 8oz tins right now with various FOs and have been surprised at the differences in how they burn, even ones that don't need a different wick.

Well I was young and inexperienced back then, heck I was still in my mid 50s

I had some black pepper EO and never could find a use for it, but in this case it spices up my lavender blend

I'm not sure. I haven't ordered from them too much, but those two are very strong. The Rosemary Pepper can be a little overwhelming, unless you really like pepper scent.

Aztec Blackberry Sage is a must have FO. Their Rosemary Pepper is great for Lavender blends, but just use a little.

Check out the 6006 test results in the Wax and Wick forum. It should provide a good starting point for testing 6006.

I finished my test and the results are in the Wax and Wick forum. The HTP 73 and 83 made deep craters, but the HTP 93 had a good melt pool. I poured tins with the 93 and 104 yesterday. I can't wait to see how they do.

Not at all, the HTPs curl and I didn't notice any smoking. The CDs tend to make good MPs while the HTPs tended to be deep. CDs tend to have tall flames. I do know that the HTPs don't do well with air currents, but the CDs seem to do much better.

had two primary objectives in doing this test. The first was a side by side comparison of the four wick types in 6006. The second was to make a list of wicks to use when wicking up or down. I feel like I accomplished both goals, and learned a lot in the process. One thing I learned is that there is no perfect wick. The Zinc core wicks mushroom, the CDs smoke, the depth of the MP for the HTP 73 and 83 was startling, but the HTP 93 didn’t have that problem; also there was something odd about the LX 14, it mushroomed and had a bigger MP than the LX 16. Lastly something went wrong with my Zinc 51 on day 3. Before now my go to wicks have been the Zinc core and the DCs, but based on these test results the LX or HTPs may be better in some applications. I should also note that the room temperature during the test was 62-65, warmer temperatures would likely yield slightly larger melt pools. I’m posting pictures and some data, I have lots more. Any advice or observations would be very welcome.

I’m working with 8oz tins these days, having more or less mastered my tureens. OK mastered is probably too strong a word, but I can wick them without wanting to smash them into little pieces when I burn them. I’m finding that the need to wick up or down with various FOs is much more pronounced with tins. My question is, how do I know when my wicking is right. My current rule of thumb is the smallest wick that melts all the wax in the tin. Does that seem right? As I’m starting to work on next year’s Christmas candles I really want to get the wicking right.

I'm testing Zinc core, CDs, LX, and HTP wicks. I hope to do the first burn this Saturday. I'll post the results in the Wax and Wick Tests section in a week or so.

At first I was leaning toward the melting method because the outcome included five new candles, but that method required the curing to start over and I'm already a week in. So I did exactly what you said and it worked perfectly, I even fixed the one where the wick was off center. There was one thing, I'm down to one CD10 wick. I've learned to look at these things opportunities instead of problems, so I have the opportunity to place another order with Flaming😊

I made this great blend that involves four FOs from four different suppliers. I now have all the FO I need to make a small quantity of it. What can I store it in? I have some empty FO bottles, but I don't know if that would be a good idea or how to clean them. How do you store your blends?

Maybe not, because these were new tins. I always have to work at getting the wick tabs off of new tins, but unless extraordinary lengths were gone to in cleaning the old tins the tabs slip off with ease.

If I did that I could probably re-pour the tins with an FO that needed to be wicked down. I'll have to look at my list to see what might go with Orange Peel and Cinnamon in case there is residue in the the tin.

Last week I made five tins of Orange Peel and Cinnamon . I checked my records and it said I needed to wick up and I had a brain cloud and wicked down. So now I have five candles that are significantly under wicked. So far my best Idea is to scoop the wax out and use it in the melter.

Generally speaking more light is better so long as the light isn't uneven on the subject. If you don't have enough light you probably won't get clear, crisp pictures. Digital pictures are free, so take lots. I recommend trying different lighting until you find the one you like best.

Well I may just put on my red suit and order everything on my list, but first I better get down o the jewelry store and get that bracelet my wife wants. I would hate to be hit in the head with a presto pot and burned to death with a heat gun.