Bia

Did you find an answer to this old question?

On 9/10/2017 at 1:11 PM, ellajoan said:

I use the 8/9 oz flint straight sided jar with Premier Wicks.  Here's a pic of our jar/label for one of our fall scents (this is Flaming's "Leaves").

Very nice! I'm finishing my first batch of labels and they have given me much more work than I expected, between graphic designer and printer.  Did you do these yourself? Or did you hire a professional. Some printers want a minimum of 100 labels of each fo and 1000 labels at a time, so I wonder, how do chandlers produce nice labels for let's say a new fragrance of 80'candles?

On 9/10/2017 at 10:50 AM, Trappeur said:

CS Christmas Hearth I sell all year long.  It is a very versatile scent.  You smell the pine, the burning fire and other woodsy elements in it.

I rename for an all year long fragrance to:

Hearthside

Fireside

Rustic Lodge

Mountain Hideaway

At the Cabin

 

Trappeur

I purchased 5lbs of this fo for xmas. I became worried when I sensed a lot of clove and orange.  I'm so glad it's a success for you and sells all year long! What a relief. Everyone sense of smell is different. Fo you sense what I sense?.

CD wicks have worked well for me w this wax. Buy a sample pack bc each online supplier has their own wick chart w different recs. 

I buy most of my FOs from candlescince but they rec ecos for this wax and I seriously think ecos are the worst in 6006. They do work beautifully in GB444. I've also had success with LX in 6006.

btw one thing I learned in these chatrooms and am grateful for but find unfortunate at the same time, is that the same wick type and size can vary according to supplier! Which totally sucks bc it reduces your chances of streamlining your buying process and saving on shipping! 

11 hours ago, wthomas57 said:

Just overall didn't perform as well. More sooting and carbon buildup then others. They weren't the worst by any means, but not my favorite either.

Sometimes they worked well, but in most cases even the zincs worked better for me than LX. 

 

What I DO like about LX is the night tight flame. But I just had better luck (most of of the time) with the following wicks:

 

Zinc, HTP, RRD

Next would be CD and Paper Core just a tad above Premier and LX

 

Ones I did not like with 6006 were:

ECO

Which supplier do you usually buy your wicks from? I have bought from several different ones before knowing it made a difference. I'm trying to streamline but realize most supplier do not carry all types. I'm going to try the zincs and wick down the CDs. Thanks!!

I just tested two candles in a reclycled champagne bottle with 4in diameter. Igi 6006. Candlescience FO 10%. In one I used cd 18 and the other I double wicked cd 10. They both provided very nice flames.  After 4h the cd 18did not burn to the edges, but it was a nice large pool albeit was off centered. The double wicked looked spectacular, great pool but after 3 h one of the wicks went out bc it dipped into the wax pool. The wicks got VERY soft. Any advice? What did I do wrong?

1 hour ago, Nickie said:

I would start at a 50-50 or a 60-40 and go from there. This is all about testing. Blending then testing. The blend is really up to you depending on the characteristics you would like in the end. 

Those are the percentages I plan on doing.  

Do you blend the wax dry or melted?

Since soy and paraffin have such different pouring temperatures, how do you decide your blend's pouring temperature for best results?

On 9/5/2017 at 11:47 AM, Jcandleattic said:

I found raw CD in spools at Candlewic. I tried ecos, and I didn't like them as well as the CD's for my palm pillars. They were okay, but the CD gave me a much better burn with a nicer scent throw. 

Thanks though.  

How much % FO do you add to your plain palm pillars?  I'm going to try CDs with mine, thanks for the tip.

Hello Experts!

I've been asked to create a soy-parrafin blend with Global Wax 464 and local pure paraffin.  I'd like to know from you, the experts, what percentages you recommend AND how you think is the best and most efficient way to go about testing the percentages.

Thank your

What about the 220? Are you all hoping it provide less problems than the 210?  I mean from the comments in this chat, I'd be doomed to even test 210! ;-)

Why not use Global Wax 444 or 464?  I totally understand wanting to explore the benefits of a newly formulated soy wax, but just wondering about the GWs.

Thanks!

On 8/29/2017 at 11:11 PM, wthomas57 said:

 

 

Id check another fragrance or repeat your process and double check you didn't do something inadvertently out of the norm or accidentally incorrect. And pick a scent that is a "known good". The reason I say this is... I was extremely surprised to see how strong both the CT and HT throw were in less than 24 hours. I would never use 18%.. thats hilariously ridiculous. But, I tried between 8 and 10 to just see how worked. Thats a bit more than I normally use, but I wanted to see. the CT is superior to any soy ive ever used at such a short amount of time curing. And the HT is wonderful. Never, NEVER have I had a 100% soy candle throw this way after only about 20 hours of curing. 

 

Also, I agree its super shiny and looks beautiful when burning.

 

HOWEVER......... this wax has a big drawback so far that I have noticed. (I am sure Ill find more as I continue to test).

And this particular drawback has nothing to do with performance, but with costs. The cost of the wax isn't crazy bad or anything.......

But, the density of this wax is much higher than other waxes, at least that I have used. What does that mean? Well, normally when I sell a 6oz candle,

the wax fills the jar all the way. (Very important to customers). When I poured 6oz of this wax it was noticeably less fill. I think at the very least, the same jar is going to now require at least 7oz. This is a problem. This means, you either take a hit to profit per candle OR increase your prices.

Yes... customers are getting more candle. But they dont really know that. They compare size of jars. So when your jar cost $3 more than it did before or compared to the next candle, its going to be a problem. Very rarely are customers looking at the net ounces on a candle. 

 

And, if you dont increase your fill and leave it at the same weight (but less volume fill), customers are gonna bark at that. They will think your jipping them on the fill. I see it and hear it a lot with other vendors.  All of this may sound nitpicky... but really, cost is an issue and this is a step back for us. Some won't have a problem in their market either taking the hit to their profits per sale or by increasing their price. But many will.

always very insightful and useful, thank you.

On 9/1/2017 at 9:56 PM, Jcandleattic said:

I only use primed wicks for my containers, because my wicks come pre-primed. 

 

I used to prime my raw wicking for my pillars, until I decided to do a couple tests with primed vs unprimed and there was literally absolutely no difference in the burn at all, so I eliminated that step altogether and now use raw wicking for my pillars. 

 

I WISH I could find raw CD wicking, because the longest I've been able to find is 6" and my palm pillars that use a CD wick I always have to either short wick, or short pour to be able to use that wick. So if anyone knows of anywhere that sells raw CD wicks, I would love to have that resource.  

do you need the CD raw or just longer than 6"?  I made palm pillars with raw ecos (spool) and they worked pretty good.  

Hello,

When does one use waxed vs unwaxed wicks?  What is the advantage of one versus the other?

I've bought spools of unwaxed wicks and waxing is a big job, so I would like to know if it's really worth it!

Thanks!

Hi!

Do you know how stearic acid works in candles?  How does the amount of stearic acid affect the wax and the candle?

Thanks for your insight!

14 hours ago, wthomas57 said:

 

I wouldn't say that yet, you still will want to get your own feel and thoughts on them. I recommended them because they are less finicky than others and perform well most of the time. But they are no savior by any means. You mentioned libbey tumblers. Unfortunately, in my opinion those straight sided tumbler jars are the most difficult to wick (at least with 6006). They struggle sometimes being a little too wide for one wick (especially zinc since its cooler) but they aren't wide enough for 2 wicks. They are in no man's land. So they can be challenging. Most my jars are either a tad less wide and use one wick or larger styles with 2 or 3 wicks. With those tumblers, you may be forced to use something like CD or premier, eco, lx, rrd, etc. Zincs can struggle with that width being single wicked. There are large zincs but to keep up with the width of the jar, they really start getting awfully big mushrooms.

oh wow...maybe this is why i'm having so much difficulty and i'm blaming the wick!  Aleluia!!  You have enlightened me! Thanks so much!!!

Hi Friday nighters ;-)

I'm trying to centralize my wick buying to one supplier to save on shipping and maintain the consistency of my wicks.

I have noticed each site recommends its own wicks on its wicks charts, which is bad because it's biased information, but...

I don't understand why the big suppliers don't sell all the types of different wicks, would be so much easier for us.

I would like to know which you think is the best, most convenient wick supplier.

Thanks!

9 hours ago, wthomas57 said:

 

I would try the zincs. There is no indication that zincs are a concern. Of course there is always a risk later on that is found to be untrue. But that risks exists in everything, our oils, our waxes. (Even coy recently has been critiziced and is partly why its being reformulated). You will never know for sure. All you can do is go with what we know now. And, no Ive never had a customer complain about a zinc wire in the wick. I, have always worried about it myself and worried what customers think, but have never once been asked. Take that information how you want. But, you WILL have good throw with zincs and they burn cooler which is also nice. Mushrooms are the only downfall IMO. But at least customers will trim those off before relighting more often then they will trim and Eco that appears like it doesn't need to be trimmed. Then it smokes like a freight train when they relight it.

 

What jars are you using?

you have sold me on the zincs ;-)

I am using libber rocks tumblers, with the straight walls.  I've also been using libbey vibe rocks, which I love but will not be able to use in Brazil and those get a bit dirty because the top diameter is smaller than the base.

10 hours ago, TallTayl said:

What I meant is one of those little household plug-in wax diffusers. Or the kind you put a Tealight under for melting tart wax. If it throws in those little household melters and not in the candle it is your wick that is likely the problem

great idea! i will try one of those!!

4 hours ago, wthomas57 said:

 

Yes, I dont like the soot from either 4630 or 4627. It still exists with 6006 but not as bad. Yes, Eco does have a smoke/soot problem when relit. And you are correct that customers will not trim them often, especially since they curl and dont always look like they need trimmed. I prefer htp over Eco. However, you dind't mention either CD or zinc. CD works well but can also get sooty sometimes. Zinc is perfect in the wax and best HT in my opinion over all. But more mushrooming. Fortunately, mushrooms make it more obvious to customers to trim than do other wicks. Id give both CD and zinc a shot.

I may have to try the zincs...I was trying to avoid metal but...

I've been using LX for 4630 and Eco for 6006, which soots way too much when wick is not shortly trimmed and I don't want the result of the candle to depend on clients.  I would like my wicks to self-consume, ideally.

3 hours ago, TallTayl said:

If you melt the scented wax in a wax melter (like a scentsy for instance), can you smell it?

 

sometimes when I wick too hot the scent burns off before I can smell it. 

My melter is a 50lb so I don't test on it.  I usually just use a stove top to test with smaller quantity.  

I usually measure out my FO while the wax is heating and set it aside.  I can smell it evaporating a bit.  When I add it to hot wax, i can definitely smell it more and as I pour and as it cools.  Makes the house smell amazing for hours.  

I then let the candles sit and rest for a few days.  I make a CT conclusion after about 3 days.  Usually if I have no CT, I usually have no HT.  Is that usually the same for everyone? (no ct, no ht?)

I have noticed the FO with vanilla in the mix do better (CT and HT)...

4 hours ago, wthomas57 said:

 

Yes, I dont like the soot from either 4630 or 4627. It still exists with 6006 but not as bad. Yes, Eco does have a smoke/soot problem when relit. And you are correct that customers will not trim them often, especially since they curl and dont always look like they need trimmed. I prefer htp over Eco. However, you dind't mention either CD or zinc. CD works well but can also get sooty sometimes. Zinc is perfect in the wax and best HT in my opinion over all. But more mushrooming. Fortunately, mushrooms make it more obvious to customers to trim than do other wicks. Id give both CD and zinc a shot.

I tried CD 16 and 18 with 3"d with 6006 band the flames were really high and obvious soot. I have purchased 12 and 14 and will try them out.

I've heard good things about Zinc's functionality.  I've been hesitant to try because you are burning off metal right?  before it was lead and that was proven to be bad for you after so many years of people using it.  I worry similar news will soon come out about zinc.  How do you feel about this?  Do customers question this?  

Thanks again!

19 hours ago, wthomas57 said:

 

I think you are looking at this the wrong way. If there is less competition there its much easier for you to stand out than it is in the U.S. They dont have to be luxory candles to do well.

And I agree with Flicker. I have many "cheap" scents that will blow you away. It depends on the FO, wax, process, etc. 

Maybe...but I am entering the market with a "high" price point in a market that doesn't yet have a tendency of spending on candles.

35 minutes ago, wthomas57 said:

You said most of your oils are from CS and you're having issues? CS is a great supplier. I have many from them, along with NG, AZ, etc.

If you are having lots of issues with throw from these main suppliers, Id double check you are picking higher rated oils as well as double check your

process and ensure you are keeping a keen eye on your temps during mixing and pouring, etc. Even the slightest adjustments sometimes can make a big difference.

 

I see you are using 4630 and 6006. 6006 has been a little spotty lately because its a % of soy which has been inconsistent lately. 4630 usually is a great thrower but I dont like to use it by itself. Too sooty/smokey for me. Blending the two works well though. What wicks are you using?

6006 - I cant believe these companies cant maintain consistency.  They have a formula that is so secretive they can't even tell us the percentages in the product so we can become more knowledgable and know what we are using and they can't abide by their formulas and maintain quality?  they sell sub quality to us and we have to waste our time and money testing.  That's just wrong.

4630 - I used 4627 before and I thought I'd end up with a broken wrist.  Switched to easier 4630.  IGI rep told me it had more throw than 6006 but I HAVE noticed a lot of soot! Thank you for sharing this because I thought the problem was my wicking and I was starting to go a little crazy.  I've tried paper core, htp, eco, lx with mostly the same result.  I have realised that if I cut the Eco wick really short before lighting it does not really soot.  But if I don't and the wick is not even that long it soots continually and it's horrible.  Looks like a diseased candle!  And this worries me because we will tell clients to cut wicks short, but we all know most don't.  So basically Eco is not appropriate for clients...

Not sure how to resolve this!

20 minutes ago, wthomas57 said:

You said most of your oils are from CS and you're having issues? CS is a great supplier. I have many from them, along with NG, AZ, etc.

If you are having lots of issues with throw from these main suppliers, Id double check you are picking higher rated oils as well as double check your

process and ensure you are keeping a keen eye on your temps during mixing and pouring, etc. Even the slightest adjustments sometimes can make a big difference.

 

I see you are using 4630 and 6006. 6006 has been a little spotty lately because its a % of soy which has been inconsistent lately. 4630 usually is a great thrower but I dont like to use it by itself. Too sooty/smokey for me. Blending the two works well though. What wicks are you using?

I have mainly bought from CS and I only buy 5 starred, which usually have the three leafs for soy rating (but I am not a soy chandler...).  Not sure how else I can pick the "higher rated oils"...is there another way? 

I just bought some to from Candlemakers Store as Flicker mentioned and I thought it was awesome that they offered different ratings!!  This made me hopeful.

I keep an eye on the temperatures.  The only mistake I have made is sometimes letting the wax go beyond 195.  seems the temp shoots up after 190.  but I always let it cool to 185 and then add FO, stir to mix, and always pour at 170F.  These instructions have been given to me by CS and IGI.  I have read that some chandlers pour lower but not sure how that would make a difference considering the wax would be cooling in the aluminum pot as opposed to the warm glass container.  Maybe the pot lets it cool slower?

I also usually cover my candles with a cardboard box to let them cool slower.  Not sure that makes a difference?

Thanks again for helping and sharing

14 hours ago, Flicker said:

You really don't short of testing. Truly it won't matter, some scents just throw better and some simply do better in some waxes. Example...Twigs & Berries from The Candlemakers Store knocks my socks off. And it's cheap

I visited their site and found lots of useful information! Thank you.

Did you notice they have 1,300+ scents and not only review from any customer?  I thought this was weird.  I'm hoping they redid their site or something because people love to give reviews.  Made me think of a ghost town site!  All this because I was thinking of trying a few of their Grade A scents but from the lack of reviews it almost looks like no one has bought anything!