pughaus

Their Joshua Tree candle smells divine to me. Not sure what coco wax they start with but IIRC Candle and Supplies has at least 1 coconut wax that they note as "organic". I noticed that last time I was on their site.. I was tempted to buy some but I'm so close to a supplier of coco83, I'm just going to stick with that as a foundation for now. For all I know that's what C&S is selling! Who can tell?

@lenarenee https://ethicssupplyco.com/ I love this line + the people behind it! I've also mangled a couple of voluspa candles, attempting to get a better look at the wick. ( I've stopped abusing candles that way, especially expensive ones! )

@kandlekrazy Confession: I've destroyed more than 1 perfectly good commercial "coconut wax" candle trying to get a good look at the wick so I could ID it. I've also yanked a couple of wood wicks out. The obsession is real

I dabbled in ecos with beeswax but nothing very "scientific" and its certainly worth re-testing in several sizes: on eco my notes say: "1/3 down + convection winds start up and candle is throwing wisps of smoke, flame getting wild / also odd chemical smell not noticed with the RRD- ending test here." The RRD: "mushroom forming by start of hour 2, significant MR by start of hour 3." Honestly, I was so new to this I wouldn't trust my observations- I probably wicked too big and I now allow much, much later in a burn for any wax hang up to burn down. And then I moved right to wood wicks (and stayed there) before testing all my other wick possibilities. And then I moved to the rice bran wax. Soo..I wouldn't rule anything out yet.

FYI: I'm a 3 month rookie so weigh my feedback accordingly I couldn't find a suitable wick for straight coco83. So far I've only thoroughly tested a beeswax blend with wood wicks. All my tests are in a 3.10" dia. straight tumbler with coco83 as the main wax: So with wooden wick and a 3% beeswax blend: Best w/ original wick - 030./ 3/8" or 1/2" for lively crackle or dual wick 3/8" for a mellower crackle The boosted wicks gave me more wax browning, more debris and tended to hiss too much for my taste. The set up above worked well with fragrance oils and with essential oils.(LV, YY, PATCH) The EO candles were divine- and potent! I also tried small ribbon wicks which actually burned very well in the 3% beeswax blend but are limited in size options and too hard to trim deeper in the container so I won't be using them in the future. I'm now testing regular wicks with: 3% beeswax + 5% stearic- just started burn tests with CD's 10% just stearic- nope-didn't work, killed the throw 3% rice bran wax- promising, working well with the premiers I'm testing in it this week HTH

@kandlekrazy cool! I'll check it out- thanks for the rec.

You probably already know about the cosmetic chemistry website + forum called chemists corner, but if you don't, you should check it out. They're your people

@Kerven I suspect you and I may be on the same quest to find an effective, non parrafin, non soy additive to coco wax? If so, I'm curious if you've tried rice bran wax. I am still in early testing but so far, results have been...not bad at all. (Granted, I'm starting with coco83 which may itself have some parrafin in it.)

Forgive me if this is old news but I haven't seen this wax mentioned and just noticed it on CalCandle's site. http://calcandlesupply.com/sc-21-wax-coconut-hybrid-blend/ I inquired about it, especially how it differs from coco83 and here is the reply: The Sc-21 Wax is a Hybrid blend. The only real difference is that the Sc-21 has paraffin in it. As far as fragrance throw they are the same. The Sc-21 is a little bit easier to wick.

there are so many concrete sealing choices- food safe and VOC free for kitchen countertops, special blends just for fireplaces...the options are daunting. It's like picking a wick! Then there are also concrete mix options of varying porosity..hmmm

Hi Trappeur, I wish I made pottery but I'm just pouring cement into molds here. No glazing or firing. So far I only use these for planters, etc but now that I have wax and wicks I'd like to use them for more than holding succulents and pencils

Hi! I make these little concrete containers in various sizes and would like to start filling some with wax. But I'm not sure what to use as a safe and effective sealant inside. Mod Podge? Something else?

@TallTayl Stearic + coco wax? I think this may be the 1st time I've seen that suggested. Uh oh. Now I'm going to have to try that too!

Doh! I should have added that it was a small tin, only 4 oz.. Still, I was surprised how quickly it turned to a tin of fragrant liquid.. Hot throw was fast and strong and the flame stayed consistent and calm throughout. Never trimmed the wick- no need to. Really, it was a pretty perfect little candle. I was just using it as an example of a soft wax big brand candle wax that is surviving cross country shipping in all temps.

As far as costs go, there are many more expensive hobbies- golfing, for example. And unlike golfers, we actually have something that is usable and gift-able at the end of our weekend. (no disrespect to golfers..lovely people.) The way I went about it is, I picked a wax that was available locally-that I can drive to. My wax dealer is right down the street from my donut dealer, a renowned donut shop, so..well, I was going there anyway. But even if I swear off donuts (every January 2nd for about 6 days ) and have it shipped, freight is minimal. Once I had my wax nailed down I picked a container: the humble tumbler with a roughly 3" diameter. A nicely burning candle in a 3" straight sided container. That's all I had to do. (hahahaha) Then came the "wick quest" which, from what I can tell, is a sisyphean cycle of testing and retesting and imperfect outcomes that will probably drive me to golfing. I've already fallen down a rabbit hole of wax blending and fatty acids research. I've joined a cosmetics chemistry forum. This can only end in heartbreak or triumph. Anyway... welcome! 50 lbs seems like a whole lotta wax for a hobbyist. Maybe start with 20?

I love these coco candles too and I'm reeally loving the wood wicks now that I've nailed down the right ones for my wax. I'm only about 8 weeks into this hobby so I haven't spent a summer with coco wax yet- but I live in So Cal so we know hot. Heck, it was in the 90s a month ago! When it warms up, I'll be ground shipping a few of these to my friends in Phoenix and Miami; double boxed and bubble wrapped and as insulated as I can pack them without adding cold packs. I think they'll be fine. PS: I just burned some voluspa 4oz tins at work this week. They completely liquify in about an hour, right down to the wick holder; which is something I never noticed until I started making my own candles. They burn just beautifully but lawd! don't bump the table! I also sell some other smaller "coconut wax" lines and used to rep a "proprietary apricot wax " candle line. So I sell some soft candles. It's rare for me to get a claim from a store re: candles melting in transit and ALL of my accounts are in the south west where we're either hot, really hot or.. on fire. And we sell a LOT of candles from various lines that ship from all over the country. My experience is that with the correct packaging and reasonable scheduling, this is manageable.. Sure, our lines watch the weather and will hold back a shipment if it's an oven at the destination but no line , not even the coco ones, won't ship at all after late May-June, for example.

@TallTaylThe rice bran wax finally brought the cracks to my candle making adventure. I've been plugging away with the beeswax/coco ratios. Tested a few dozen with and without FO's. Landed on 3% beeswax as a sweet spot (for now.) Have had ZERO cracking in any of the beeswax blends, even the 10%ers, although I've been expecting them and thus have worked my way down to 3% trying to minimize crack potential while still getting some flame taming and maybe? a slightly higher melt point. I digress.. So, I tried a 2% rice bran wax/ 98% coco83 for kicks yesterday and woke up today to find all the rice bran candles had cracks. Ha!

What a head scratcher! It's probably the camera angle but some of those spots really look opaque and like they're on the outside surface of the glass and not even near wax. Is this scalloped glass container one that you've used before without issues?

This was spot -on except for one thing- no one buys just 5 fragrance oils.

they're selling them as vases so they better have soldered any seams They have more zinc pieces here too: https://modernvaseandgift.com/products.php?cat=170 I can't even figure out how to wick a 3" tumbler yet properly but I bet some of you pros could make something special out of some of those sets they're offering.

reviving this in case anyone is still looking for corrugated tins vessels here you go @ under 1.00 each: https://modernvaseandgift.com/proddetail.php?prod=ZACY030303-CS

forgot to add pic!

Oh bummer. I'm sorry to hear the test was a bust for you. This week, instead of the boosted wicks, I'm testing the "original" wood wicks (in 8 oz tins ) and so far these are working better for me. Virtually no debris and I'm 3 hrs into the 2nd burn. They aren't discoloring the wax yet either. By this point with my previous boosted wicks I'd be looking at a moderately dirty and browned melt pool. I am working with a coconut wax blend, to which I've added a small amount of beeswax. What wax / containers are you testing with?

I can't imagine, but just to be safe (since I too have rice bran wax) I'll be adding a modification to her process by adding a California Sauvignon Blanc to the equation at a 1:1 ratio. I'm consuming 5-6 oz of wine for every 5-6 oz. of rice bran wax poured. In fact, I may apply for a patent on this myself: Locally sourced wine consumption while composing fragranced candles using plant based waxes and at least 1 wick.

Came across this when I was looking up various waxes as potential blenders w/ coco83.. had a chuckle. http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2016/0251597.html I think my favorite part is: "The candle composition typically contains at least one wick." A wick! Why didn't I think of that!