Forrest

No, but I think I have Eco 2 and maybe 1s, I'll have to try them.

In this burn I used the Fresh Lavender from The Chemistry Store with about 10% Honeysuckle and I like it very much, but I am going to continue to tinker with it until I get it just right. Normally in burn test I use FOs that don't have good hot throw to make the test more valid and get rid of some excess FO. I've got some 8oz tureens with different wicks to test that I put some Volcano FO in them because I haven't gotten it to throw well for me.

Apparently either my wife is better at training husbands than you are, or I'm easier to train than your husband I like working with the zinc core wicks, but perhaps self trimming wicks would be better.

I have had soot with the zinc core wicks when the candles get near the bottom, and the mushrooming is always issue. I'll be pouring a couple more of these when my new wicks arrive and I'll keep trying until I get it right.

I ordered new wicks yesterday as those are the smallest I have. I'm going to try a smaller zinc core and a Premier 700 series, maybe a WI-745. I haven't noticed the glass being hot, but I'll check it tonight, and I always trim my wicks, doesn't everyone?

This is the second 4 hour burn on my 11oz tureen in 6006 with 44-24-18 Zinc Core wicks and a 9% FO Load. From the side the depth looks to be a little less that the first burn, probably due to the jar being wider at that point. The one that concerns me is the view from the top. It looks like the wax is melted all the way to the bottom.

I think there may be something to this "well marked" thing, maybe I should try that

I’ve only been doing this one year and my wicks are out of control, and I just order five new sizes. I’m sure my little wick collection is nothing compared to most of you. I would love to hear how you keep them organized.

Thanks, based on my previous test I believe you are correct that I will need to downsize my wick. The FO load is 9% and I let it cure for 4 days. That is my smallest zinc core so I'll have to order a smaller size, gosh I could order some more FOs when I do that

This is my second test of an 11oz tureen with 6006 and 44-24-18 Zinc Core wicks. In my first test the wax on the sides in between the wicks didn’t melt evenly so I moved the wicks closer together. That helped but I think if I bring them 1/8 inch closer the melt pool will be even. The burn here is at 4 hours. It looks good to me but I would like some opinions from more experienced candle makers. Also I would like to know what to look for when I burn it tonight.

Well I guess I better run a test, I wouldn't want to burn my daughter's house down.

Maybe I could put an inch or so of sand in the bottom to prevent heat build up.

My wife bought a lovely ceramic container for a candle that is 4 inches deep and a little over 4 inches in diameter on the inside. To make matters worse she wants me to have it ready to give to my daughter in two weeks. Given the time constraint and the fact that testing would take a lot of wax I’m viewing this as a one shot deal. Or perhaps I should say I’m putting my daughter in charge of wick testing. I’ll be using 6006 and 44-24-18 Zinc Core wicks. My question is should I place the wicks half way between the edge and the center, 120 degrees apart, or should I place them closer to the edge? My thinking is that I should move them closer to the edge as the center will be getting heat from three wicks. I am a complete novice as I will be running my second ever test burn on a double wicked candle tonight, so any advice, other than divorcing my wife, would be appreciated. .

As I’ll be going to FC to pick up wax in a few weeks I thought I should check out their selection of FOs and save on shipping. Less shipping means more money for oils. So I made list of the FOs I might want to try. I thought I would ask the board if any of you have experience with any of these. I’ll be putting them in candles of 6006 wax. If you have recommendations for FC FOs I would love to read them. 25:43 Black Ginger & Bamboo Black Ice Blackberry Sage Botanical Orchard & Nectar Egyptian Amber Floral Muse Glowing Amber Fragrance Oil Lemon Lavender Mulberry Patchouli Pomegranate Noir Red Currant Supernova Tarocco Orange Tiare Flower

Does anyone have the number for the FO addiction support group?

You are welcome to it. Everything I know about making candles I learned from this forum so anything I can do to help is my pleasure. If you put the lid on a board and clamp it down with a couple of C clamps it will hold still. I used a gel super glue to glue the PVC in place, but there are much better products for that task, it was just what I had at the moment.

That was the tricky part. I used a drill bit and then a dremil tool, but I don't recommend that. I think you could get a hole saw that would do the job for $10 or so. I put a black dot dead center on the bottom of my container so I could look down the PVC pipe and line it up before I glued it.

Thanks for the recommendations, I will definitely try some of them. I'm about 2 hours north of them, but as they don't carry my wax it isn't worth the trip. They are nice people, and very helpful. My wife likes the Kudzu so much I'll be able to place a FO order with them without getting "the look", but I have three candles from my last order I need to test first.

I ordered the fragrances listed below from Community, they are the closest suppler to me so I thought I should give them a shot, very glad I did. As a group their FOs have by far the best hot throw I have seen. I learned blending EOs from a few years of research and trial and error. I make small melts to test new FOs and do a lot of mixing my melts up to get a fragrance I like. This worked very well for me with these oils. I will be ordering more from them. British Parliament- cheap men’s cologne Desert Denim- just didn’t like this one Red Currant- I tried hard to find a blend this worked with and failed Love Spell-The third and last of these I’m going to try, not bad, but not what I want Volcano-The third and last of these I’m going to try, not bad, but not what I want Kudzu- My wife loves this one and I must say it smells like Kudzu in bloom Coastal Gardens-Didn’t work for me until I blended it with honeysuckle and Jasmine, which worked great. Oak Moss & Magnolia- This one was too much until I calmed it down with a little more oak moss. Diva- not exactly the Tyler scent, but I added a little oak moss and I love it. Jasmine- I got this to blend and it certainly has done that well.

I think maybe I just didn't have many citrus and herbs, I like all the fragrance categories. I loved the Bay Rum OOB but when I did the melts I had to open the window. I will say that I thought all the scents I ordered would be great in soaps. Sadly my skin is sensitive to fragrances and I have to use unscented soap.

I have gained so much knowledge from this board so for what it’s worth I’m giving back a little bit. I have been searching and reading this board for recommendations on fragrance oils and suppliers and the three words I always see are “hit or miss”, my experience shows me the truth in that. But Lebermuth seems to be held in much higher regard than the other suppliers. Reading the recent thread on them definitely peaked my interest but ordering directly from them didn’t seem workable for me as an amateur so I ordered seven of their oils from The Chemistry Store. There smallest size is two ounces so it cost more than other suppliers to check out a fragrance, but what got me was shipping was one third of my total bill. They shipped quickly and seemed to be a professional organization. OOB the quality really came through. I ordered seven fragrances made melts of all seven the day after they arrived. I have tested all seven I must say my hit rate was much better than other suppliers I use and I will buy from them again. My reviews are below, but as you know everybody has different taste and mine seem to be a little farther from “normal” than most, so take them with a grain of salt. Fresh Lavender- I liked it the first time I burned it but the second time there was just something a little off, so I added a little bit of honeysuckle and that did it. Bay Rum- This is a best seller, apparent most people love it, but I am not one of them. Let’s just say I’m not giving it a second chance and definitely not letting my wife smell it. Best to throw because with my luck she would like it. Lemon Grass & Sage- Very nice, and just what I was looking for White Tea & Ginger – Loved this one but not sure it is better than the other White Tea & Ginger I need to do a side by side test. Fresh Ginger Lime- I really like this one Coconut Lime Verbena- Didn’t care for it, it was clearly a quality fragrance, but just wasn’t for me Linen and Lavender- I had high hopes for this one, but it wasn’t at all what I expected and I didn’t like the scent at all

At least for my 8oz tureens I solved my problem of not being able to center my wicks, as a bonus I could wick a large patch quickly with this device. I just made a hole in the lid, inserted the PVC pipe, centered it, and glued it in place; I mashed the little tabs that allow the lid to screw on so that now it just lifts off. The PVC pipe has the same diameter as the wick tab there isn't much room for error. This concept would work for any container where you could get the lid on and off quickly and drill a hole in it big enough for the PVC pipe.

What's your name? Forrest, but you probably figured that out already How old are you? I am not older than dirt, I don’t care what they say Where do you live? Huntsville, Alabama How long have you been making candles? About one year How did you get started making candles? Well, I was dumb enough to think I could save money if I made my own candles, OK, you can stop laughing now Are you married? Any kids? Two grown daughters and one granddaughter If candle/Soap making isn't your primary job, what do you do? I’m a rocket scientist, OK, not really, but I am an engineer at NASA Anything else we should know? For the time being I am strictly an amateur, but thanks to all I have learned in these forums I’m starting to look into the idea that a candle business could be a source of supplementary income when I retire in a few years.

Yes, that does seem to be the problem. When I did my double wick container I put a dot in the bottom of the container with a sharpie to avoid that and it seemed to work, but adding an extra step wouldn't be good for large batches. I know a bunch of mechanical design engineers at work who could design a wicking device if they weren't so busy. Maybe if things slow down sometime before I retire I can get them to help me out.

You couldn't be as bad as I am. I draw a circle the size of my container and put a dot in the middle so I can see exactly where to put the wick, I still get it wrong half the time.