tamsoycandles

Maybe I'm wrong or maybe that's just a bad example - who knows? I'm here in my cube at lunch and quite frankly, nothing makes sense when you sit in a cubicle.

Ah, heck. That's my problem then. 11 years of cubicle living has dumbed me good.

How much of a taper are you looking for? I don't know if I've seen anything specifically like this, but I'll keep my eyes open.

Tony

i love the smell of soy candles and have been making them now for a few months. My problem is sometimes my candles crack a little , i let the soy cool down before pouing any suggestions?

You'll need to be more specific:

brand/supplier of wax

pour temp

using fragrance? Which? How much?

color? What type? How much?

What temp are you adding the color/FO?

Tony

I was wondering what those who do high volumes do to avoid jump lines with their repour. I use a soy that I have to do a repour. I find that if I do not zap each container individually on top before I repour I will get jump lines and then I have to fix those. It is not a real quick zap either to warm them up -- have to do it gradually so I do not aggravate the soy too much. This is REALLY timecomsuming with just the amount of candles I make. I especially have this problem in the winter because my candles get real cold during the night in the shop -- can't leave heat on all night -- would cost a fortune. Is there a special less timeconsuming trick I do not know about? If I ever do get real busy, I can't imagine having to do this with A LOT of candles at one time. Thanks for any advise.

Get a one-pour wax?

For those of you who are interested I poured these a couple of days ago. These aren't the best pix but might give you some of idea of what to expect.

If you look at the square mason, right under the "M" you will see what I would guess to be a crack for lack of a better description. The tall jj has the same effect close to the bottom of the jar and to the right of the word "Ball". I am now thinking that maybe the jars weren't warm enough and that may be from shock. The tops came out real smooth but I did notice a very, very faint crack from the wick extending to the side of the sq. mason. I wicked using htp 93, no fo or color. I have them testing right now and so far they look pretty good. I had posted a question earlier about cutting the slab and but found that the wax was pretty easy to cut especially because my hubby did it

Pics too small. Sorry!

Tony tony tony.... (my best soprano voice)

Which brings me to this question (not one of the cw reps i've met could answer it) what's in their wax besides soy? Not looking to steal it - matter of fact the only reason i even bring this up is because I've worked with soy blends that contain minute amounts of paraffin & they set similar to cw candles. Just curious

Don't know. But, as anti-paraffin as CW is, i doubt it is that. It is some proprietary soy/veggie blend.

It ain't ok to bash another's product. It is ok (IMO) to tout benefits of your product over another, if you believe or can demonstrate they exist.

Tony

I've had favorable results with Ecosoya PB. I'm now going to test the GB Votive/Pillar blend, since a local-ish supplier carries it.

I've been meaning to post some wick test pictures for EcoSoya PB. I'll get to it very soon...

Tony

[ATTACH]10060[/ATTACH]

Here's mine

Looks great! I too was inspired by Bill's photos and tried similar votives with 70% V-1 and 30% C-3. Ended up having to wick up to HTP 83. What kind of wicks did you end up using for the Ecosoya PB?

Honestly, I'm not sure what they wicks are. They are spec'd as a Votive wick from CandleWealth. I can tell you that they are an HTP.

Tony

Those heart jars look like they could be double-wicked... ya think?

Tony

I've successfully double-wicked, so give it a try. I'd tell you what wicks I'm using, but I don't know how they cross-reference to common HTP wicks. These are branded differently and are listed by size of container to burn them in.

Things I've noticed with CW reps..

1. No business license or tax id >

That's just plain ignorance. Has nothing to do with CW.

2. No insurance. noticed a cw rep with her name, address & phone on the candle. She didn't have any insurance & obviously no clue that if a customer had a problem with her product (with a flame) that the customer may end up owning her home & more.

I bet this isn't just a CW thing.

3. Part of one CW reps pitch was that all natural doesn't dry nice,

It burns me that folks without product knowledge are selling items with a flame.

They have to do their homework. There is no "business in a can", not even MLM.

I don't fall into any of your categories. Please don't generalize.

I'm not looking to become CandleTech's "MLM boy" or CandleWealth freak, because I'm neither. If I was either one, I'd have left a long time ago.

Just don't want to see a company get completely bashed by generalizations. I've enjoyed CW products and "networking" with other reps. However, I don't see myself a true MLM guy. If I find a wax as good as CW NVSoy (IMO), then there's a good chance I'll move on.

I appreciate all of the tips and great information found here. I knew I'd have to think outside of the MLM box

Tony

I gave my friend a wickless jar candle made with the palm container wax from Nuscents with dreamsicle FO and orange coloring. She called tonight to say she heard and pop. When she finally figured out what it was, she said the bottom popped off the mason jar! She said the warmer she used was fairly new, she just bought it last week. I thought maybe it was the wax, but she said she has burned it off and on about 30 times. So, I don't know what caused this. If it was a defect in the jar, don't you think it would have popped sooner? I don't know. I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience. Also, she said she had just turned the warmer on and it hadn't even been on for 5 minutes.

Stephanie

I suppose it could just be a fluke, nothing you did, nothing she did specifically. Just a small imperfection in the glass that allowed it to crack.

I've only had one jar do this. But, it was super-small and the wick was probably too big.

Tony

SherriLynn,

MLM = multi level marketing.

Also known as network marketing.

A nice way of saying pyramid scheme.

I'll say it again, pyramid schemes are illegal and were done away with decades ago.

Here's the difference:

1. In a pyramid scheme, the top dude makes all the money. In MLM, you can make more money than people who have been distributors much longer than you have. It HAS to be this way to be legal. Those who work and help other become successful are the ones making money.

2. In a pyramid, typically you were paid to recruit. In MLM, this is absolutely illegal. The only way to make money in a Network Marketing company is to have product flow. Also, there is a required mix of retail/personal use of any product sold in a distributor's business. If I get $100 of product from the company, I have to retail a certain percentage of it. I can't just "stock up" on product.

3. In a pyramid, there was no support. MLM? You'll get more than you want sometimes.

Ok, I'm done.

Tony

I'm in sticker shock over the prices that they have listed for all the items you buy... I never pay anywhere near those prices and I'm typically buying in even smaller quantities!!!

How much do you have to charge just to cover your expenses? I'm part of the struggling $1 an once club, and am just doing this for fun. I can't imagine what you have to charge to try to make money doing this with those kinds of costs!

Seriously, at $144 for 100 lbs of wax and $10 for 4 oz of FO, they're makin' some serious money- way more than any of their "candle makers"...

wow... thinking *I* need an MLM of my own!

-Kristi

They're a public company. You should be able to find out how much money "they're" making.

I'm in sticker shock over the prices that they have listed for all the items you buy... I never pay anywhere near those prices and I'm typically buying in even smaller quantities!!!

How much do you have to charge just to cover your expenses? I'm part of the struggling $1 an once club, and am just doing this for fun. I can't imagine what you have to charge to try to make money doing this with those kinds of costs!

Seriously, at $144 for 100 lbs of wax and $10 for 4 oz of FO, they're makin' some serious money- way more than any of their "candle makers"...

wow... thinking *I* need an MLM of my own!

-Kristi

You're seeing "retail" pricing. Those are not the prices distributors pay.

i love the look of soy candles. those are so pretty!

I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.

I'm curious. Has anybody actually tried their wax. Is it possible that it might actually be good, or has anybody actually asked them where they are getting their wax? I can't believe that they own a manufacturing plant somewhere making their own. Is it a private label being made by one of the biggies? Maybe it is just a blending of different types of soy waxes that we all use.

I have been curious about this for awhile.

Bob and DonnaMarie

I like the wax. About the only issue I have that is common with a lot of soy waxes is "wet spots". Frosting is minimal, and usually only with the red dye.

I think the MP is higher than most soys I've messed with, which isn't many.

I get the best results by pre-warming the jars slightly. Pouring when the wax begins to get slushy, but still very liquid. I get the best tops and best adhesion this way.

I don't know who makes their wax. I do believe that they have their own flaker, but that's the extent of their manufacturing at this point.

Yeah, this is typical of many pyramid schemes. The emphasis is always on the "great compensation plan".

Of course. Why would someone be interested in an opportunity with a "crap compensation plan"?

Pyramid scheme = illegal and outdated decades ago. Do the research.

MLM isn't for everyone, because most people won't put in the work required to make it happen, myself included.

What I like about Candlewealth is that I can recruit if I want to (I don't), or I can purchase the product and make and sell candles. Where their product line is incomplete, I purchase elsewhere.

Their wax is very nice. I don't have most of the issues that I see presented here, at least not as severe. I've tried some others, and I'm still trying others. Their fragrances are phenominal.

Yes, their kit instructions are over-simplified, but easily worked out as you start making/burning them.

So, yes, they're expensive, but they do have to support a network of distributors. That's how MLM (no pyramid) works.

I am having fun with CandleWealth and their products. I'm not pushing any opportunity on anyone. If someone asks about it, I'll tell them like it is. It takes work. It takes time. There are no get-rich-quick opportunities, at least none that last.

I'll go back to my MLM closet now. I'm not asking for a bashing/flame war, just thought I'd do a little defense.

Tony

And wouldn't the "steam" or "smoke" let off also depend on the FP of the oil? I have had some with lower FP's "steam" more, or faster, than others with higher FP's.

Flash point is the temperature at which the liquid will begin to "flash" or ignite with a flame present.

The property you're observing is the temperature at which the liquid will evaporate (don't recall the name of this property).

I suppose these two properties could be related, but not necessarily.

Tony

Not to steal Bill's chunky thunder, but thought I'd take a crack at the same thing. EcoSoya PB chunks and wax. I went one further trying out a 3" pillar. Not too bad, IMO. Just having fun with this stuff.

I made the chunks in a 9x9 teflon coated pan. Just poured the wax about 1/4" deep for the small chunks. Scored the wax just before it got too hard to do easily. Let harden then popped into freezer for a bit. Popped out and broke into chunks. After I'd made the votive chunks, I realized I hadn't fragranced them. OOPS

The ultimate test is the burn on the pillar. Hoping I don't have a hidden air pocket or something.

Too many http's

http://www.geocities.com/lwoollen_25/FragranceFinder/index.html

Tony

Oh, and that one links to a new one:

http://www.fragranceoilfinder.com/catalog/index.php

If you like that one that you found, you may also like this one:

http://http://www.geocities.com/lwoollen_25/FragranceFinder/S4.html

Too many http's

http://www.geocities.com/lwoollen_25/FragranceFinder/index.html

Tony

Hi, not sure if any of you have come across the website before, i've recently found it and have been meaning to mention it, but kept on forgetting. Its very helpful for finding scents and supplies in the US and it has some reviews of scents too.http://www.scentforum.com/

There is a link to that site in the "sticky" for supplier abbreviations...

Anyway, it is a great resource. What would make it even better would be for everyone to put in ratings for their favorite fragrances and suppliers. Also, put in ratings for fragrances that weren't so good.

Tony

I had this idea. How about, we build a list of the most common fragrance oils on the market (Cotton Candy, Vanilla, Med. Fig, Creme Brulee, etc), and your favorite suppliers of each. I would be glad to tally the voting, for purposes of building a comprehensive list. Anyone else think this might be a good idea?

In other words, we would start a thread titled "Your favorite Cotton Candy" and people would chime in. I would then tally the votes, and, we could build a list this way.

Another idea is to use the already existing list at scentforum.com and put in your ratings for your favorite (and not-so-favorite) fragrances. Their list is great. It just lacks the ratings on a lot of them.

Tony