12 hours ago, TallTayl said:

I’ve been churning this in my head for a bit.  It seems a lot like soap... The initial couple of weeks of cure environment can make a big difference early on, but they all end up at the same place over time. 
 

your garage heat likely did help the candle do that last 5-10% or so of crystal formation more quickly than the one in the cold refrigerator.  Chemical reactions usually happen more quickly with warmer temps than cold. I remember your comment regarding my Faire environment likely helping shorten the soy candle cure. You were on to something. 

I think I need to rerun this test and skip the FO, I could use the size of the MP to judge results.

On 7/10/2020 at 5:58 PM, Kevin Fischer said:

@Forrest... dug this one out of the archives.  I don't remember if you posted the results anywhere else but call me interested!

Something happened, I can't recall what, and I had to leave town right as I was going to report my results. So thank you for reminding me. The results were not what I expected, the temperature had no effect on the curing process.  The candles burned the same, and I couldn't tell a difference in the CT or HT.

I thought I should update where I am with the Lab & Co FOs. I posted the four FO I had chosen in a previous post, and I ordered 11 more FOs to try. Of those 11 I picked three that I am extremely happy with.

Gardenia + Grapefruit

Iris + Ginger Blossom

Kakadu Plum + Amber

My absolute favorite is the iris and ginger blossom, but the others are all outstanding.  A few other observations; in 4627 these FOs need at least two weeks cure time. I gave them a couple of days when I did my wick testing and I noticed that they got stronger with each passing day. The next thing I noticed is that they required much smaller wicks than my other FO. Of the seven FOs I am using I only use two different wicks, and they are just one size different on my wick list. I have made properly wicked candles with each of the FOs and the only way I could be happier is if they cost less. I have achieved what I set out to do, it took me three years, but I’m there now. I’m not sure what to do next. I might try wicking my 11oz tureens with these FOs, but I promised Trappeur I was going to try and double wick some 22oz tureens, and that’s a promise I intend to keep, no matter what it cost me.

He had everything he wanted
Until it all
Turned out to be a job

Neil Young

I switched from 4630  to 4627 and I believe there is a difference.4627 is softer and seems to have better HT. They say it can take a higher FO load, but I haven't tried that yet.

3 hours ago, candleshiba said:

Still 2 weeks eh? Can't win'em all I suppose  😔

If your Paraffin has ever even thought about dating a soy wax it is two week cure time

3 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Hope you got free shipping! Hades is in a pretty remote zone. 

No, it's just regular mail fees for the USPS, it's still domestic mail.

I think all my wicks are manufactured by Lucifer in Hades; they’re just distributed by different companies.

12 hours ago, TallTayl said:

 

the last line, well, lolol I choose grateful hahahaha 

The jury is still out on that one

On 5/20/2020 at 2:40 PM, karinz40 said:

How didi you re open claim online?My CD 10 is sooting in the 8 oz tin.  Is sooting normal;?

Here is something I learned from listening to TallTayl (TT) watch your flame, it will tell you if your candle is over wicked. Look at your candle an hour after you light it, the flame shouldn't be too tall, flickering, or sooting. If it is you probably need to wick down. The best advice I can give you is pay attention to TT, if it weren't for her I would have given up candle making a long time ago; I not sure if I should be grateful or angry about that, but there it is. 

13 hours ago, Barbara AL said:

Unless she wants a lot of one fragrance making brittle those pans can hold up to 1 lb. Do you have any kind of silicone molds you could pour wax in?

I need to get rid of 30 Lbs. of 6006 so I don't get that look every time I buy new wax. I could buy my other daughter a melter and divide it between them.

That had a different meaning when the Wicked Witch of the West said it. My situation is I’ve taken my candle making in a different direction, which has left me with a supply of 6006 wax and FOs that I need to do something with. My daughter in Texas asked for some melts, and as she is about to provide me with a new grandson making some melts is the least I can do, and boy will she be getting a lot of melts. In addition to my 6006 I have some rock hard paraffin I bought for making melts, 4625 maybe.

I have some clamshells I could make melts in, but making them in a foil lined pan and cutting them into chunks seems more efficient, I could use some advice on this point. If the pan is the best idea how much wax should I use for a 9x13 pan?

My next question is should I increase my FO percentage? I normally use 7%, but as I’m not wicking this wax why not 9% or even 10%?   

Any pointers or advice would be appreciated. I’m home alone, I have a three day weekend, and I need to get rid of 40 Lbs. of 6006.

5 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

Cool.  Some peeps on this forum use 4 or 6 oz tins 🥰

I have some 4oz tins, but I doubt I have a wick small enough for them. I thought about getting some bigger tins, but my next project is 4627 in 11oz tureens with the Lab & Co FOs. I believe I'm ready to make the candles I've always wanted to make.

9 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

Are you both using the same size tins?

I think so, I use 8oz tins with a 3" opening, usually purchased from Flaming.

7 hours ago, karinz40 said:

While I'm think of it and if you wouldn't mind my asking , what wax do you both use for your candles and tins?

I used IGI 6006 for a long time and 4630 for a while. Now I use 4627 in my tins to get better HT. I looked back at my data and the biggest CD wick I put in a tin was a CD6. I would recommend you start small and work your way up. I find it easier to work my way up than to work my way down. Most of the tins I’m doing now have wicks smaller than a CD5, but the FOs I’m using seem to like small wicks.

2 hours ago, karinz40 said:

One more question actually 2

1. How big should the burn pool be in how many hours and should it have a good fo when? How long to burn each tine etc..

2.To test should I do no color and no fo or do a test one just like I want to have a a final?

I’ll throw my 2 cents in here. I have several 8oz tins that I consider to be as close to perfectly wicked as I’m going to get, and after six burns of three hours each none of them had a FMP. My goal is to have the smallest wick that will burn all the wax in the candle. Having some unmelted wax on the walls of my containers seems to help my HT. Your second question is a matter of preference and the subject of much debate. My opinion is that it is good to establish a baseline wick, but you’ll still need to test every different FO. I did that with my old wax, but with the advent of the wickectomy I felt I didn't need to with my new wax.

2 hours ago, bfroberts said:

Yes, I have a shelf full of some very old candles, testers, etc.
I have also seen some seepage in my 6006 candles after a really long time.  When I wipe off the excess and burn them, they still perform well and they throw great.  I always heat my wax hot enough, and I don't use more than 6% FO.  I don't know why after a long time certain ones will seep, but I don't think it's anything worth worrying about.  I don't.

Well, if it happens to you also then I feel sure it isn't something I did wrong.

A couple of years ago I gave my daughter a candle in an 11oz tureen made with 6006 wax and 7% White Tea and Ginger FO. I had inked the container so she used it as a decoration and didn’t burn it. Every time I have been to her house I have opened the lid and smelled it. The CT was very strong. This trip, when I opened the lid the candle was sweating FO. I checked another one I had made at the same time for my granddaughter and it was doing the same thing. They haven’t gotten too hot or cold. Has anybody seen this before?

What I would do is to continue testing until the very end, if at that point you still have a lot of wax on the sides I would wick up. But others here know more than I do when it comes to jars.

Curing is a process that is on going for a long time. One month seems to be a time when the candles are reasonably mature, but nothing has HT like a year old soy candle.

32 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

I do similar, but heat set after twisting.  Either seems to get to the same end. Yours might be much tidier since the coating won’t crack like it does when twisting cold.

 

In some cases I have had extra success by  dipping the cooled twisted wick into a high melt point wax (Palm usually) to help stiffen a bit more for use in soft waxes.  
 

Now to figure out for sure if the twisting is enough to overcome the HTP shortcomings... the flatness / coreless feature of the wick still results in it being pulled to lean off-center during burns just by its own weight in taller jars. the curling of the top is more than enough to slowly drag the wick over. Extra support needs to be from the bottom at  the weakest point: where the tab ends and the wick is pinched to secure the tab. Usually the tabs are folded over to fit in the bags. 

In my very limited testing it still bent slightly. I'm hoping that the bend will rotate as it burns down. In a previous test I got an off center MP to rotate 180 degrees

I like HTP wicks, but the bending has always been a problem for me. The two solutions I have seen are putting the wick off center, or twisting them. I have tried twisting them with limited success, but I came up with an idea that seems to work for me. I hold the wick by the tab and the top and heat the part of the wick that will be in the wax with a heat gun. As soon as the wax coating on the wick gets soft I gently twist the wick and take it away from the heat. The wax hardens quickly and the wick stays twisted. The wick might untwist when you pour hot wax on it, but in my case I have a wick sticker on the bottom and a wick holder on the top so this has not been a problem. I have done this twice now and both times had good results both times.

These are 8oz tins with CD6 wicks in 4627 and a 7% FO load. This is the end of the first 3 hour burn. I’m thinking they are all over wicked and I should go ahead with the wickectomy, but I wanted some expert opinions first. I could go to a CD5, HTP93 or LX14.

2 hours ago, CandleRush said:

Well, I could not wait! They smell better in wax! 2 out of 3 are strong. The lighter one to my nose is the rose patchouli/amber but still descent. These blends from lab and co are so unique. I can’t even compare them to the mainstream fo, not that the mainstream fo are lacking, I love many of them it’s just that these are so different. I would love to do more tests. I just think their addition of essential oils may add to their uniqueness.I do like that you are blending some of yours and I’m open to that. I’m really liking them. I did use the Alex method but added fo lower then 150.

These oils are my new obsession. I made four candles today and still have 11 new samples to put into wax, I smelled a few of them today and they were amazing. Yesterday I tried the Black Current and Rhubarb with some Tangerine Dream and came up with the perfect fruit blend. 

2 hours ago, CandleRush said:

I received my samples from lab and co. First impressions: to my nose, pear and honey, not fruity and not sweet.I don’t smell pear at all, not much honey either. It’s perfumy but I’ll see once I light it. Strong ct. Dark rose and Labdenum, beautiful! If you’ve ever smelled essential oils of either one of these, the f.o. Is right on! It helps if you love rose, no chemical smell. This one has a strong ct. The Rose patchouli and amber does not smell like rose or amber to me. Weak ct. I’ll have to see once I light these next week and will share here.

I didn't get much pear out of the Pear and Honey, I'm going to try and blend it with another pear FO. I did get the rose in the Rose patchouli and amber. I just got my new order today, I can't wait to make some candles.