bktolbert

Newer user to 415, but it's primarily what I use. I do mix universal soy additive and coconut oil, but I've been happy so far. I've just come to accept there are some fo that will not throw no matter what.

Adding fo to wax heated will cause some scent to evaporate inevitably. This is how candles work. You want to add the fo at the lowest temperature that it can be comfortably blended into liquid wax. Personally, the melting point of my wax is 120F and it starts to solidify around 100F. So, between 100-120F I stir in the fo.

I don't see any particular advantage to adding fo to very hot wax.

3 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Larger wicks often are able to more easily consume the melted wax leaving a narrower, more efficient melt pool. When the wick is to the point of being too hot you’ll see more cragginess in the cooled wax along with discoloration and bigger mushrooms. 

 

smaller wicks createmore heat/melted wax than the wick can consume, so a wider melt pool. The temp of these pools is usually lower, meaning less energy to boost heavy waxes like soy into the air. 

 

This is is a good start to your baseline testing. Your future choice of containers will move the needle up or down depending on dimensions and material. 

This is good insight! Hopefully, I can narrow down to two and switch up depending on the fo.

4 hours ago, pughaus said:

( whispers) paraffin  😏

Haha, true. But I have a feeling paraffin candles are losing their marketability on the internet as this "all-natural, eco-friendly, clean" fascination/obsession trend continues.

2 hours ago, CandleRush said:

So far I’ve been testing wax combos too and tried all different percentages and I found the more soy to coconut ratio the more the tops looked cratered. So I upped the coconut wax and now their smooth even after they burn and cool. True, coconut is softer but I like smoother tops. I think that’s just the nature of soy and not a big deal to many. I know someone will chime in and add their wisdom. As for wicks, I’m so not there yet so I can’t comment. I love the pan method for testing. Those melt pools look good!

I plan to eventually sell, and for fear of the candle doing anything weird at higher ambient temperatures (beading or melting when shipping to Texas in the summer), I don't want to push the coconut percentage past 15%. I have no idea how people are selling candles that are majority coconut. At 20% coconut, the tops look mushy and take forever to dry completely solid. My happy spot is between 7-14%. I think I just need to accept/embrace the "rustic" tops after first burn lol.

I thought the pan method would allow me to flip my candle container over the melt pool and determine the wick: https://youtu.be/esnBcoafKNQ?list=PLXl4OlJunEc7DJBdeUq8gbuky2yEk8vSq&t=144

But that isn't so given my results. Next experiment is to test CD12-16 in candle containers halfway full of wax and see how the flame affects the glass after a 3 hour burn.

Best of luck with coconut-soy. It's an adventure for sure!

These were not the results I expected to see. I expected CD-10 to have the smallest melt pool and gradually get bigger to CD-18. CD-10 has just as big (if not bigger melt pool) than CD-18. CD-12 is the smallest, followed by 14, and then 16. They all have relatively the same depth.

• Wax is 90% soy and 10% coconut
• Candles were burned for 3 hours
• Wicks from The Flaming Candle
• No fragrance

Are these the tops to be expected of coconut-soy wax after burning? I am content with how they look on first pour (smooth finish), just wondering if there is any way to remedy the craters. I guess it looks more natural but ugly lol.

It does take some time,  But just remember the cooler you heat the wax, the less time you have to wait!

Recently, I thought it would be interesting to make a prayer candle.

https://www.fillmorecontainer.com/aa16-05b-case12anchor.html

I was wondering if anyone know of suppliers with long (9") wicks?

3 hours ago, pughaus said:

What do you suppose is the difference between Naturewax Coconut 1 (MP 90-102)  and plain old Coconut Oil (92)?

Not sure if there's an actual difference between the coconut oil you can buy from you grocery market compared to Naturewax's. Naturewax's oil is hydrogenated, which from my understanding raises the mp. I believe most store bought coconut oil is non-hydrogenated... but don't quote me on that.

There is little consensus as to the "best" wax, especially concerning coconut wax. I'm learning the best thing you can do is allot yourself a good chunk of time for experimentation and trial and error.

With that said, I currently am in the process of making my own coconut/soy blend by using percentages of these two waxes:

100% coconut wax

https://www.fillmorecontainer.com/naturewax-coconut-1-50-case.html

100% soy wax

https://www.fillmorecontainer.com/aaks-golden-wax-415-100-soy-formerly-golden-brands.html

Best of luck!

Many thanks Laura C!

I don't know why, but I am struggling to find lids for the universal Libbey containers.

I only see silver or bronze as options.

Containers:

https://www.candlescience.com/containers/straight-sided-tumbler-jar-libbey

https://www.lonestarcandlesupply.com/libbey-tumbler-hb-rocks-11oz.html

Lids:

https://www.candlescience.com/containers/silver-metal-flat-lid

https://www.fillmorecontainer.com/79mm-silver-metal-coverfitment.html

Does anyone have dupes or a known source where there are more choices for the tumbler look?