pughaus

@MTMade You're looking for a candle "mockup" aka candle label mockup.  This is something I'd probably do in Illustrator not photoshop and for most vessels you'd need to add in some degree of warp effect to account for the cylinder curve.  It's not the simplest thing to do but I'm sure if you google candle mockup label you'll find tutorials for both photoshop and illustrator.

1 hour ago, strugglebrother said:

They couldn't find me any suitable wicks for any coconut blends I gave to them. We tried about 15 candles.

@strugglebrother Were these coconut blends they couldn't wick the ones currently available on the market or your own blends? 

I just give them Soapers' price and tell them to beat it.  For me, freight costs are the same btwn the 2 suppliers but BA has some FOs I like so I use them.

@bfroberts   LX wicks?  I do find they provide a larger melt pool when I need it without getting too hot down the jar.  Maybe an lx 18 or 20 for that vessel? 
  They're not my 1st choice for wicks but sometimes they are the only thing that works...

@angelcandles This video may help you see how hang up burns down and why you don't want an edge to edge MP in your early burns.  They're testing with soy but the same principles apply.

I'll be comparison testing a cd4 against P735 side by side later this week in 8 oz straight jars so I'll have a better read on both soon.    I'll keep you posted.

At some point I'd also like to position htp 83 in this list.   I use that one fairly regularly in 3" tumblers. 

@Forrest I've been testing some premier 735s the last 2 days and early results place them between the htp 62 and cd4.  Closer to a cd4.  Does that sound about right to you?

Just now, bfroberts said:

I don't really understand the purpose of this video.  All this testing, and at the end he considers that a "successful system"???   What am I missing?  I don't get it.  I've got a shelf full of failures that are better than that.  

        

It's strictly a safety test with clear parameters re: what constitutes a pass/fail based on specific measurements.  A pass in safety testing doesn't mean the candle is ideal in other ways.  At best, this ruled out 5 wicks as unsafe in this system but it certainly doesn't mean the eco 10 is ideal, only that is is "safe" per the  testing standards. 
 

I suspect he chose to test these wicks knowing they would be less than ideal just so he could demonstrate the various ways a candle can fail the test. 

20 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

Martha has very good insurance and even better attorneys. 

LOL that she does!  Well, except for that one prison sentence

8 minutes ago, Sebleo said:

 

I’m not so sure he’s a fan of candles at all!

After testing "400,000 candles" I can't say I blame him. 

https://www.marthastewart.com/996426/terracotta-candle-pot

1. a small porous clay pot as a container

2. a wick (any wick will do apparently) secured with the same wax she's making the candle with

3. and way off center too

4. tape ? to keep hot wax from pouring out the bottom hole. OMG Who wrote this segment??
5. And worst of all, sharing this "tutorial"  with her enormous viewing audience.
 

1 hour ago, Laura C said:

 

Yikes, I posted some questions about his video on YouTube and he seemed bothered by it. I hope I'm just misunderstanding the tone of his reply as he obviously misunderstood the tone of my questions and comments. LOL. I hope I'm wrong. I was not doing anything offensive or critical and didn't mean to sound like I was. Seems like you can't have a conversation with anyone these days without "offending" someone. 😝 LOL.

He's no fan of paraffin candles, that much is clear!  

On 7/19/2019 at 10:48 AM, MTMade said:

This is great! I will probably watch more than once. 🙂 Did he mention trimming the wick between burns? I might have missed it...

The testing standard is to trim wicks to 1/4" after each 4 hr burn per the document he has in the link. 

How refreshing to watch a truly useful youtube candle making video!  Thanks for sharing that!

As I rep candle lines at wholesale I've been asked to have a manufacturer provide testing results or to send candles to a retailer's preferred test facility as a PO (purchase order) requirement and condition of the sale but I've never seen it done and it was great to see him explain the reasons behind each test and measurement.  

I believe bittercreek stocks them in 6"

ugh,  I hate when this happens!  I feel your pain.  I'm guessing it starts out OK and then slowly dwindles into a smaller and smaller flame as it goes on ?

Some things that have worked for me in this scenario (sometimes, not always) :

Make sure it's cured at least 1 week- my coco wax blends are less fussy in these tough to wick FO's with a longer cure.
 

1. decrease the FO% incrementally

and/or
2. Especially if you're wicking a smallish container; instead of wicking up, try wicking down.  It sounds counterintuitive but sometimes the bigger wicks melt wax faster than the wick/fo combo can handle. It's like a tide rising too fast, and the swimmer can't keep up!
I just wicked a FO in an 8 oz straight jar (which themselves can be a PITA) that I had just about given up on after it killed off a series of increasingly larger and stronger wicks.   Finally tried a smaller wick and that was the one that did great.  I did have to tolerate a small flame for the 1st 2 hours but instead of becoming smaller and drowning as the candle burned, in the 2nd hour it reached a perfect and consistent height and gave a perfect burn with no trimming needed at all for the rest of the candle.  
 

What container are you trying to wick? And what wicks have you tried?

 That would be a CD2

4 hours ago, ChadTaljaardt said:

I tried washing it and poring the wax again to no avail, i also let it stay melted for a longer time to see how the concrete held up, and the results were bad. 

 

I'll try mineral oil next. 

 

try coating the interior with water based modpodge   https://www.amazon.com/Mod-Podge-Waterbase-16-Ounce-CS11302/dp/B001IKES5O   it's the least toxic, easy to source, solution I could find.  It helps keep the oil from penetrating to the outside.( most of the time)  It does melt into the wax a bit but I didn't notice any effect on the candle performance or appearance the few times I used it.

But I could feel the modpodge getting moist and melty as the candle burned.  There are also fireplace concrete sealants that can hold up to heat, hopefully without any toxic fumes, but that needs further research and they are not easy to find, much less purchase in small qtys.  

37 minutes ago, CandleRush said:

Yup, bet that’s it!

 

Needs to cure!

 

 

Unfortunately, the length of cure did nothing for me.  Doesn't matter how long it cures, it's a porous material and the oil will still seep in and stain it. 

Just like it does on a driveway or garage floor.
 

RE: sealing the outside, that helps it from getting dirty from handling and fingerprints, but any oil that seeps from the inside>out will still be visible, you just end up with oil spots that are now sealed in.

3 hours ago, ChadTaljaardt said:

 

 

The problem is the dark rings on the outside

 

is the ring around the wax inside a problem?  I've been selling paddywax cement candles for years and no one cares, nor even mentions the interior of the vessel appearance..   it's concrete after all, not ceramic and some porosity is inherent in the material. 

But any oil spots on the outside of the container are a concern and look really messy. 
 

I have spoken to makers of another popular candle line that uses terracotta containers and they have been using a mineral oil soak to help decrease seepage.  Apparently it works according to them, although it does somewhat darken the container.  I haven't tested this method myself thoroughly, I wiped some down but didn't have enough min oil on hand to do a full soak.

I'm not sure if it really helps to seal the concrete or if it just hides the oil stains

This is the challenge with cement containers and candles.  There are plenty of concrete sealants but finding one that won't seep into your melt pool when it heats up exposing you to god knows what fumes is a hurdle.  Without sealing you'll find that very often oil spots will appear on the outside as you burn the candle- and sometimes before.  I've made quite a few concrete

candles and some seeped a little, others did not.  But I pretty much stopped making them until I could figure out the sealant part..

@Ravens Elements Bath and Body?

9 minutes ago, ChadTaljaardt said:

I pour the wax at around 120f. When the concrete was cold the wax had quite a large gap between itself and the container. I did try to put the concrete in the oven and then pour the wax into that and let them both cool down together inside the oven. Doing this helped but didn't fix the issue. 

 

No, right now we haven't done this. Though i think it might help i don't know if it fixes the issue per se, be even now there is a gap between the wax and the cement which is a bit unsightly. The best solution would be a nice clean seal between the cement and the wax. 

 

I tried to pour around 120 and even poured in a warm container and let it cool down at the same time as the container inside the oven. 

 

We are using the QUIKRETE High Strength Concrete Mix. The sealant we are using is the one from here: https://boldmakerstudio.com/collections/tools-for-concrete/products/medium-gloss-concrete-sealer-concentrated-1-pint

 

Could the sealant be the issue?

It could definitely be the sealant you are using.  (Is that stuff safe to heat, burn and inhale?)
I pour that wax at 160-165+ into a cool/ room temp. container. I have no gaps between the wax and the container.
I use the Quikrete mortar cement but that shouldn't really make a difference.

Maybe try one that's poured at about 165 into a room temp vessel and another into an unsealed vessel and see which one solves the problem.  I'm curious to know myself.
And definitely glue your wicks down as others have mentioned, although that shouldn't be all that's holding your candle into a container, it's the right thing to do in any case.

That's interesting to hear since the VCC wax is so soft, it's the last wax I'd expect would pop out like that.  At what temp. are you pouring your candles?

What concrete are you using?

I've made quite a few candles in my own concrete containers and never had any of my coco/soy blends not adhere to the container.   I even seal the interior of my concrete- either with modpodge or by soaking them in mineral oil.  (ps: i find both methods help to decrease any oil seepage that can cause unsightly spots on the outside of the vessel)  But even before I sealed, my wax adhered to the inside.