chuck_35550

Sorry, that should have been GW415 soy. I just bought a gallon from wholesale supplies plus (about 8 pounds) but I soap as well as make candles. Palm will separate and should be stirred to make sure you have no separation. The palm kernel really soots up a storm but boy does it make a ultra white candle. HTH

It's worth a try. You may get a lot of sooting with that formula but you can always test 1/2 tsp if that's a no go. Now that Crisco uses palm in their shortening, you might try using that in your formula. HTH.

That's the best result I had too was on that same ratio. It really burns clean and the throw gets better day by day. I used 1 tsp pp but I would be interested to know how 2 tsp worked out, as far as, sooting and throw. Thanks for the update. Steve

I poured a 85/15 formula of 6006/464 with 1/2 tsp of palm kernel oil (very hard to break up) and poured at 175 degrees into a room temp 12 oz salsa jar. The candle is very white and seems to soot more than with any other additive. I have a cd 14 in it right now and the flame is perfect. I think this will need to sit for a couple of days before testing. The ct and ht improves dramatically with a couple days of curing. My old wax was good to go from the moment I poured it.

I don't color any of my candles. I've never had one customer who ever commented about them being white, in fact, most are happier that the candle will fit into any color in their home.

I totally agree with Top on this subject and Stella too. There has to be reasonable limits to what you can expect out of a product with so many variables. We see daily how fo formulas change, wax batch inconsistancies and other quality issues challenge us to maintain a quality product. We've all had customers who tell us those horror stories about falling asleep and leaving a house full of candles burning. It is worriesome to say the least, but you can only do so much and then the consumer has take some responsibilty. By the way, where do most of you place your warning labels?

I placed my candles in their container cartons in coolers and put blue ice packs around the cartons to keep them cool. I took one of each out for display and then once sold replaced with a new one out of the cooler. Even still, a few of them at the end of the day had that sweated top look and I was able to sell most of them. HTH.

Yes that looks fairly typical for a zinc wick, especially if the fo has a lot of vanilla in it. Some fos cause the wick to clog and not burn the wax efficiently and result in carbon build up. No, I don't think that would be safe for a power burn. That jar is gonna get real hot, sooty and unsafe. Zincs are supposed to be the coolest burning wicks and so use less fuel than others. I have my warning label and ask my customers to trim their wicks if they want their candle to last longer and be safer. Most of my candle/fo formulas do not produce large mushrooms but a few are heavy foody fos that have a ton of vanilla (pound cake) and the shrooms are terrible. My secretary power burns my candles nearly everyday. I walk by and inspect all through the day to see how the candle is doing. Try a cd or an LX and see what happens.

It's worth a shot. All of the candles have maintained adhesion with the exception of one formula, which has a small amount of loss in the bottom. The only question at this point would be how much would be too much and maybe lock the scent into the wax. Then you get that great ct but no ht stuff. Good luck, Steve

I once used a heavy juice glass from the Dollar Tree for a line of candles called, "Juicers". They were like orange fragranced and other fruit fragrances and they looked great. When I tested a few of them, they shattered from the heat. I still have about 40 of them sitting in the shop. Usually, Libbey glass or Anchor Hocking is going to be great, unless they are not grade one quality. Sometimes, seconds or thirds quality glass makes its way to the dollar bin. Testing should reveal the quality.

Recent researches led to the development of a vegetal based substitute for stearine, until then always produced from animal fat. This vegetal substitute, which is gaining popularity among candlemakers upon the animal counterpart, is mainly extracted from coconut oil (or palm oil). For information, cocoa butter is made of 35% (!!!) stearic acid. How and when to use Stearic acid? In our domain, candlemaking, Stearin (that's how I'll call it from now on) is available in powder or granulated form, has a pure white color and feels a little fat when you touch it. Its melting point is 158°F. It is mainly used: to raise the melting point of the paraffin it gets mixed with (logically, one part paraffin with a melting point of 130°F mixed with one equal part paraffin with a melting point of 150°F results in a mixture whose melting point averages 140°F). Adding a substance with a high melting point - like stearin - to paraffin has a tendency to raise the average melting point of the mixture, on the contrary, to lower the melting point of a high melting point paraffin, to give the colors a pastel shade, to "harden" the candle. Stearin can act as a hardener, to make the candle burn longer (due to the fact that the melting point is higher).

Oh and Tootie, I used 1/2 tsp in the 75/25 4630/464 and got a great candle that was really easy to wick.

Yes the palm worked better. The candle formulas I tested contained 464, j-223,2730 and 6006. The only formula that it did not help contained 413 soy. You can not buy palm in most stores (the new Crisco does contain palm but I don't know how much) and have to order it from a soap supplier. It looks just like coconut oil in its solid form.

Try a teaspoon of palm oil per pound. Palm oil looks like coconut oil and is used for soap making. I love the results.

Well I have been conducting extensive testing of different blends of 6006 and other waxes and make two of each. One with and one without coconut oil. The ones with coconut oil have stronger ct and ht than the ones that do not. The wax stays stable even after burning and does not exhibit the ugly wet spots that occur after a burn. I have used coconut oil off and on for the past three years and have found it to be an effective ingredient when the wax needs to be hardened to help wick issues, as well as, throw. I am neither foolish or stupid thank you very much. I will say that I have come across another ingredient that works even better than coconut oil and keeps the wax even more stable.

Do the butter temps usually match the room temp oils? The whole technique seems sensible; I never thought of using the hot lye to melt the butters.

I have a window fan that blows outward. It sucks out the fumes and you can't even tell when I'm pouring candles in the rest of the house. It's just common sense to know that good air circulation is important whether you are cleaning the bathroom or pouring candles. If you pour lots of candles each week, then some kind of a ventilation system would be worth the expense. The fan does a great job of sucking those fumes out and probably if I wore a mask it would be even better. I usually change clothes and take a shower after a heavy pour session.

Most of my candles are a little over 6% as a rule. I always throw in an extra dash when measuring and they provide great results. But when I add that extra half ounce to the mix it gives you that candle that can run you out of the house type throw. I like that result but often times customers don't want a candle that they have to put out because it's suffocating them. I think 7% may be the best compromise in the final analysis.

Yes I did warm my jars before pouring at 190 degrees and I also covered the jars in a closed box to slowly cool. The candle has since lost its adhesion after several test burns but still maintains a great hot throw. I used a heavy creme brulee fo at 8% in a 12 oz salsa jar and a 62z wick. It is a very clean burn and the jar does not over heat. There is initial sooting and high flame when first lit but this settled down quickly and has produced minimal mushrooming. The CO definitely makes a difference in the strength of the ht IMHO. I think it helps the candle to maintain integrity in the area of adhesion but this is still early testing stage. I plan on tweaking the 464 amount to see if I can get better results. Steve

Last week. I poured in a 12 oz salsa jar and am using a 62z wick. The cold throw is ok but the hot throw is awesome.

I poured two testers of 85/15 J-223/446, one with 1 teaspoon coconut oil per 8 oz with 8% fo load and a zinc. Wowzer, what a kick butt candle! No wet spots and none have developed so far (a little separation on the very bottom). The other tester had separation all around the container. Hopefully, I can repeat the same results on the next testers.

How many pounds per case? What is the formula of this wax (paraffin/soy) ? Thanks

I have been testing IGI 6006 in different formula combinations with soy waxes and am amazed that, under the right conditions, you can pour the wax into a room temp jar and get no wet spots. My other wax requires hot pour temps, warmed containers and placement in a box to slow down the cooling process. I poured some samples and placed them in the box and got wet spots but when I left them out on the counter to cool I got no wet spots. So what do they put in the 6006 that gives the wax that ability to adhere to cold glass? Just wondering.

What are your thoughts concerning adhesion based on wax shrinkage as the candle is cooling? I know that everyone has a similar techique for reducing wax shrinkage, as well as, which waxes shrink the least or adhere the best. Thanks, Steve

What are your thoughts concerning adhesion based on wax shrinkage as the candle is cooling? I know that everyone has a similar techique for reducing wax shrinkage, as well as, which waxes shrink the least or adhere the best. Thanks, Steve