calan

Thanks for the info. But, now you've got me wanting to try yet another wax. Do you get any wet spots with the 125?

Never even thought about a paint mixer. I'm stirring with a plastic spoon or spatula from the minute I add dye and FO until cool enough to pour (typically 3-4 minutes), and can still see a few areas of inconsistent dye sometimes...so I know the FO is probably not as well blended as it could be either. Using the mini blender on small batches solves that and blends everything beautifully, so I may experiement on a larger scale and see what happens.

Don't be shy...jump right in.

Has anyone used a slow-speed immersion blender for mixing the FO into hot wax? I have a mini variable speed mixer with a small flat attachment that I've started using on small 8 oz test batches, and it works beautifully. (Just have to be careful to not let air get pulled in). Seems like a larger version of it would be fantastic for a pitcher full of 5 lbs of wax, but I don't find any discussion about it.

Do you have a preference for one or the other, other than what you mentioned? Why would you choose 129 over 125, unless you just want the nice white color at the expense of a second pour? Is the 129 harder and good for melts?

Yeah, I'm leaning towards the 4630 so far...definitely don't have a problem with straight parafin, as long as it doesn't soot like crazy. I actually have another thread I started about 4630, compared to the 4633 and 4636, but haven't gotten any responses yet. I picked up the PB600 because I was buying some other stuff at FC, but I'm going to try and use Lonestar, since they are close and shipping is much less. But, they mainly have all the IGI stuff. So I'll also have to find a good tart wax to replace the first stuff I got (PB650, which is super easy to use and seems to work "ok"), but that is another story. I'm really starting to wonder if it's not just the Apple Cinnamon FO I'm testing with. It just won't throw...period. Doesn't matter what wax, what wick, what jar...even melts. Cure or no cure, etc. Smells great in the bottle, and has good CT in 4630 (smells just like Glade's candles or air freshner)...but once you put heat to it it has zero scent. I made a couple more PB600 test candles with different FO's to try, so we'll see.

These all appear to be very similar, and there is a lot of discussion on all of them ( from the old J50/223 to present incarnations). What is the real-world differences between them, and why would you choose one over the other?

Not really. I was just looking around for other waxes to try, and it had great reviews. I was placing an order with FC for some FO and wicks, and had good luck with the PB 650 I tried for tarts, so I just picked up PB 600 to try. It really is a nice wax as far as appearance and to work with. It's just picky about FO's I think. As mentioned, the Coffee House is excellent, but the others are literally non-existent, all else being equal. I have no ties to any particular type of wax; it's just sort of where I've ended up so far. I wouldn't mind trying something better for the tarts either, but the PB 650 is "ok" and I've been consumed with trying to get a nice candle. So, I haven't explored the best options for those yet. **** I poured a couple more candles to test (including one with the zinc you suggested), and I think I'm making a little progress with the 4630... but of course after a night of interweb browsing I'm now wondering if I should try some 4636 (J-50 I think?). Does it ever end? lol

Not yet... just me and my significant other here, but we both notice the same thing. Fireplace was great that one time, nothing at all now. Same with the other scents.

Exactly the results I'm seeing with it too. (The 650 seems good for the melts though). I've been testing with Apple Cinnamon from FC, Coffee House from FC, and Fireplace from NG. I have lots of other FO's, but have been using these three to try and get some kind of baseline for how they work with different wax/wick combinations. The Coffee House smells excellent in everything; I'm just trying to get the burn to look right. The Apple Cinnamon has basically no hot or cold throw, no matter what I try. The Fireplace is the really strange one. I made one candle with it in a small 4 oz jar and a wooden wick with the PB600 that was excellent. I've made three more since then in the 9 oz jars, from 6% up to 10%, and none of them have any scent throw AT ALL, but nice burns and MP's. I have to put my face over the flame and light my beard on fire to get even a hint of anything coming off them. I just don't get it. The only thing different between the first one and these three is that the FO came from a different bottle. The first was a 1 oz sample, these from an 8 oz bottle, both from NG. Would a different FO batch cause such radically different results? All of them smell incredibly strong while mixing though (usually added at right around 175 degrees). It's a black art for sure.

What do you think about blending some of the 4630 with the Problend 600? The PB600 is 52/48 parafin to soy (IIRC), and is nice..other than not a lot of scent with the FO's I've tried. The exception is FC's Coffee House, which is just excellent and would probably throw like crazy in a candle made of water. I'm wondering if adding some of the 4630 to it would up the throw a bit, without changing things up too much?

Well that's weird. It's like you know what you are talking about or something. LX-16 with the 4630, and an LX-18 with the ProBlend are about the best wicks I've tried (and a Premier 750 or 755 isn't horrible), but they still seem to be unpredictable. They'll be fine for 2/3 of the candle, and then get too hot and/or sooty. And if I drop one size, they never develop a full MP and start tunneling. I like the way the ECO's burn, but they are usually hot and all over the place, with not enough adjustments. I need an ECO 5, or ECO 4-1/2. I'm measuring MP temps, burn rates, and everything else, and keeping track of everything in some software I wrote on the backend of an Excel spreadsheet. It's interesting to see the correlation between that data. It seems that for any given jar size and no matter what wax, wick, or FO... if I can get close to a certain burn rate and MP temp, the candle looks good. The problem is hitting those targets repeatedly.

I have some Problend 650, that is the same 52/48 blend as the 600, but harder. I use it for melts and it works really well. But, it's not just a harder parafin. It's about half soy, so I know that would throw everything off. Now that I think about it, I may still have a little IGI 1230 (pure parafin) laying around from a non-candle project a few years back. Not sure about it in candles, but it's definitely hard parafin.

You are just bound and determined to turn me to the dark side and those infernal atomic-bomb looking zinc wicks aren't you? Can't remember if I tried them in 4630 or not, but I tried multiple sizes in the other two waxes with multiple FO's/percentages and two or three different jars, all with the same results...a big black golfball... even when the wick wouldn't create a full MP after 4 burns. I trust your advice and I'll give them another shot though.

I've spent around 40 years designing and building race cars, telescopes, guitars, shop buildings, software, websites, precision target ammo, and everything in between.... and nothing has kicked my ass more than trying to get a clean-burning, scent throwing, stupid candle with only 4 simple components. lol Someone please spoon-feed me a recipe for a nice, clean, smelly candle using a 9 oz straight-sided jar with Problend 600, IGI 4630, or GW 444 wax...or any blend of them (I'm even open to a completely new approach, if those are just fundementally flawed waxes). I don't even care what FO or what wick series...I have samples of almost all of them. And BTW - I have a whole new respect for those of you that have achieved this. (not quite as frustrated as it sounds... just a long day )

Back from the dead... Same 9 oz straight-sided jar as OP, and 8 oz short smooth-sided mason jars. FC Coffee House at 8% (good HT), and Apple Cinnamon at 6% (weak HT). I've tried several wick series (LX, Premier, CD, ECO, and HTP-73) and sizes, but always seem to get mushrooms and/or soot. LX-18 seems to be the best in both jars with . The only thing I don't have is a smaller HTP...the 73 was too hot. Any other suggestions before I jump ship on this wax?

I've done quite a bit more testing with the problend 600, and I just can't get any HT out of it... from 6% up to 10%, with CD, Premier, ECO, LX, and even wooden wicks. 2 week cure time on some, various jars... just doesn't have any HT (and not much CT either). I'm using NG's Fireplace, FC Coffee House and FC Apple Cinnamon for testing, in 9 oz straight-sided jars and 8oz smooth-sided (short) mason jars. It also seems finicky about wick size, and can be as smokey as straight parafin blends. The only wick that hasn't mushroomed was an ECO, but it was too hot and smokey. CD's were also sooty. I'm starting to hate this "hobby"

Those are the wick types I have to play with. I have zinc also, but every single test with zinc that I've done, in every wax...has absolutely sucked. Massive shrooms, etc. I'd like to try LX wicks, but don't have any samples to play with yet. I have a pre-emptive (and maybe misguided) hatred of zinc wicks.

2.75"

8-10% FO load, light liquid dye...preferably using ECO, CD, or Premier 700 wicks

What is your opinion on the PB 600 parasoy blend (if you've tried it)? I made up some test candles but haven't burned them yet. It sure does make some pretty one-pour candles though.

LOL It may have originally.

Well... bummer. I definitely want good (great?) HT. I've been experimenting with 4630, and looking for other alternatives with the same throw but less sinkholes, less sooting, better adhesion, etc etc.

Doh! Yep... PB 400

These seem to be very similar on paper. Anybody have any experience with Flaming's Problend 400, specifically compared to 4630?