dustinryan2010

I see so many small businesses and large alike, that offer wood wick candles and I just do not understand how they’re doing it.

Hello all, wanting to dip my toes back into candle making again after a few year break. What is the new consensus on wooden wicks? Are they still as inconsistent? I dabbled in them in 2019 but never had positive results. 

On 9/14/2021 at 7:26 AM, TallTayl said:

Basically the product is a diffuser. look at diffuser bases, there are many. You’ll need to experiment with the right VOC balance to get throw.

the wallflower SDS tells you exactly what components are in it.

 

up to 60% of it is dowanol Dpma. This  is one of the very few places I have found available to us non-lab non-industrial types to buy it.

https://shop.perfumersapprentice.com/p-9012-dowanol-dpma.aspx

 

the SDS is readily available:  https://shop.perfumersapprentice.com/msds/9012.pdf

 

 

Be wary of flash points. if the warmer gets to the mark on purpose or accidentally the fumes will likely ignite. Flash point will be altered up/down by your fragrances and other additives.  Note the flash point of ALL items added to this refill. 

 

 

 

Thanks so much for your helpful research on this! I may tinker around a little and see what I can come up with. I think from research I’ve found, the devices are SUPPOSED to run at consistent 150°, Glade in particular. Going to make sure any fragrance or other component I use has a FP well above that. Certainly not expecting the same throw as the originals though, I’d be pleasantly surprised if it produced any throw at all. I’ve seen so many people using household cleaners to refill theirs..and I thought I was brave! How they’re getting any fragrance out of them is beyond me! And to think what they could potentially be inhaling 😳 

6 hours ago, bfroberts said:

 

Great point! 

Certainly had no intention on bringing any sort of competition their way lol.. just trying to save some money on costly refills, adds up when you’ve got 6 plug-ins throughout the house 😬 wouldn’t dream of selling something like this 

10 hours ago, TallTayl said:

The solvent in those is made by Dowanol. Dow makes both glycol and methyl  ether (and combos) under the Dowanol name. It is Not easily obtained by non-lab customers. There are several dowanol products made for different purposes with different flash points. You’d need to research the safety margins, etc. to replicate them. 

I had thought about refilling them, until the Firefighter in the family shared that they are a common enough cause of home fires to make me think otherwise. Candles are dangerous enough, lol. 

Yeah it’s unfortunate these wall plugs have a bad reputation regarding house fires, but just like candle fires, most seem to be user error, such as letting the bottles run completely dry and causing the device to overheat and sometimes short. I’ve got mine on smart plugs that turn off as I leave to give me a little peace of mind. I just love their ease of use and how long they last, got tired of cleaning up wax and changing it every day to keep some fragrance lingering. That scentfill company has an “all natural” line of oil refills that they claim are 100% plant based and free of any synthetics. I wish I knew how in the hell they’re doing it 🤔 this isn’t a little home based business either, they seem to have chemistry labs and warehouses, some Targets even carry their oil refills! Cost way too damn much though. 

1 minute ago, ErronB said:

I've been curious about this too, although the biggest problem is getting the empty refill thingys in the first place, I couldn't find anywhere that would sell them unfilled.

Oh yeah for sure I haven’t been able to find them either. I have a TON though 

I haven’t seen this discussed here much but lately I’ve been VERY curious and determined to make my own refill solution.  I recently noticed a company online called scentfill.com that sells airwick bottles refilled so I know it can be done, just gotta figure out a good base solution. The little plastic lids are pretty easy to pry off and I found some replacement PET fiber wicks off amazon. I tried using some cheap fragrance oil from Walmart that was made for reed diffusers, thinking it would have solvents to make the solution thinner, thus wicking up the fiberglass wicks easily, which in theory worked. The fragrance soaked the wick nicely but it gave off virtually no smell once plugged in unless I put my nose right up to it, BUT the oil straight from the bottle didn’t smell that strong either.

Scouring the internet I’ve found multiple ingredient lists for different oil refills which seem to mainly consist of fragrance, and a long list of solvents, DPG being one. I know DPG is in many room spray bases so it got me to thinking, do you guys think I could potentially use room spray base as a base for these oil refills? Thinking about TFC’s room base which consists of water, DPG, alcohol and surfactants. Any feed back would be appreciated! 
 

to add to this, this will 100% be for personal use definitely not going to be selling these lol.

What are you guys finding are the best methods and or tools? I had purchased a 30 dollar lower end infrared temp gun on Amazon last year and returned it the same day. It was so inaccurate, would pull the trigger and aim steadily and could not get a consistent reading, temps would jump all over the place. I truly didn’t feel confident in using it in my candle making process 

4 minutes ago, ErronB said:

 

If you don't have the most recent batches of CBL-130 then HTP worked good for me, self-trimmed nice with around size 83 at 8% load and a drop of dye in 8oz tins. Unfortunately the new stuff I got recently is unusable.

I have a 5 pound slab from about 5 or 6 months ago! I’ll have to try the HTP’s. I really do love them the best in 6006 too, hate the uneven melt pools though. I also noticed your comment above, are HTP’s being redesigned or something? 

14 hours ago, bfroberts said:

I’ve used CS, Northstar, Flaming and they are all the same. The only ones I didn’t care for were from Bittercreek, and those burned fine but they were primed differently.

Thanks for the feed back! I’ve been trying to get them to work in 6006 and CBL130. Smoke galore for some reason, even with an Eco 1! Not sure why they misbehave for me 😩

On 11/24/2020 at 8:37 PM, bfroberts said:

Trust the supplier.  Buy the recommended size plus one size up and one size down to compare, or buy a sample pack.  Don't believe anything you see on YouTube or FB unless it's from a reputable supplier like Candle Science.  Most people have no idea what a successful candle looks like.  Eco 8 is crazy big for a jar that size.  Is it a jelly jar?  If so, Eco 2 works, sometimes Eco 1.  Also, 6006 needs to cure.  You will not get a good burn if it's freshly poured.  Wait at least a week, ideally 2.

Would you mind sharing where you purchase your Eco’s from? I’ve been using the Flaming Candle for Eco’s and cannot get them to work with 6006 for the life of me! 

44 minutes ago, bfroberts said:

Call back and see if they can give you the tracking number.  I don't usually worry about it since I know what to expect and I'm always here to take delivery, but in your situation I can see why you'd need the head's up.

Well I guess it worked out cause they sent it UPS instead of FedEx lol. Will be here tomorrow! 🙏🏻

34 minutes ago, bfroberts said:

Call back and see if they can give you the tracking number.  I don't usually worry about it since I know what to expect and I'm always here to take delivery, but in your situation I can see why you'd need the head's up.

I knew I should’ve just paid the extra 10.00 for UPS instead of FedEx lol. They’re so much more consistent with delivery times. I called CW a few times to no answer but currently chatting with someone on their Facebook page so will hopefully have details soon! 😬🤞🏼

11 minutes ago, bfroberts said:

No, they don't send a shipping notice.  If it's shipped via UPS, I usually get an email from UPS, but I don't get anything from FedEx.  But don't worry.  CW processes orders quickly, and if they say it's been shipped, it's been shipped.  I'm in WV and I get all my orders within 2-3 days.  

Hell. Guess I’m just going to have to keep driving by the shop to see if it’s been dropped off 🤦🏻‍♂️ 93 degrees here today with a feels like of 104 so I’m a little worried haha 

Do they usually send emails with tracking information? Placed an order 4 days ago and never received tracking info. Called this morning and they said it shipped two days ago and FedEx should’ve emailed me my tracking info and they would have FedEx send it again? What? Why? Isn’t it their duty to provide us with tracking information? Called FedEx and gave my address and name and they couldn’t find anything coming to me. Wax is being delivered to a  business address, hoping it doesn’t sit outside unnoticed and get ruined. 😡

1 hour ago, ErronB said:

 

I can't even get an Eco 1 to work in PB600 without trimming it at just 8% fragrance, wish it would burn better because it pours very smooth.

Same. They give amazing HT and the wicks are nice and stiff with a steady flame. But a little too hot and definitely no self trimming 

8 hours ago, ErronB said:

They're not even remotely the same, I've tried lol. The chinese wooden wicks are even worse than The Wooden Wick Co. for consistency, so that should tell you something.

 

Wooden Wick Co are bringing out a cross wick, it was supposed to be around the same time as the spiral but I don't know what happened.

Haha I figured. I saw a photo in one of the reviews and it was a bonfire. And I hope they do come out with a cross wick! I feel like it’s better heat distribution. I was trimming a Wood Wick candle earlier and noticed the crosswick was loose. Was tempted to jerk that sucker out and throw it one of my candles lol.

1 hour ago, BusyBee said:

What we might be looking at is tapered one.  But, I had pulled one out from WoodWick PlusWick Candle some time ago.

 

 

 

Man I wish we could get our hands on some of those. I’ve seen them on aliexpress and even amazon but I’m not certain they’re of very good quality and also illegal haha 😬

17 minutes ago, dustinryan2010 said:

Unless I’m missing something? They offer 5 widths but the sample kits only come with 4 🤔 waiting on an email reply 

Nevermind no need for a reply. In their YouTube video about the wick kit, she flat out says the flat wicks come in .375, .5, .625 and .75. I don’t understand them. It’s like they want you to have to purchase 100 of the damn .25’s to even try them out. I know I can cut them down to make my own but I shouldn’t have to! 

5 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

Oh man. The hits just keep on coming. 
 

when companies make it this difficult you have to wonder if they really want to remain in business. Who has time or energy for this nonsense?

Unless I’m missing something? They offer 5 widths but the sample kits only come with 4 🤔 waiting on an email reply 

16 hours ago, TallTayl said:

@jancita I know what you mean about the whisper v the crackle. Depending on my wax, the whisper shouts pretty loudly! The benefit, I se, e, is the whisper doesn’t stain my wax with tannins like the darker crackling kinds do.

 

i learned from the kit how to iD what other resellers classify as large, medium and small.  It was worth it to me to feel the thicknesses and wood types.  I can now make my own custom boosters from any of the flats. Talk about feeling empowered! Basically give me 0.02” thick x 1/4” wide and then a pack of 0.02 x 1/2 and a pack of 0.02 x 3/4” and I can wick most all of my jars. Rarely do I need 0.03 thick and never 0.04 since doubling the 0.02 gets to a similar spot (just a wee bit hotter). 
 

 I do love the tubes in a few of my jars and waxes.  When all else fail, the tube is a winner. 

Just ordered their sample kit and realized it’s not gonna be coming with .25widths? What the heck? 

27 minutes ago, ErronB said:

 

I'm no expert, but from what I see in store candles here, the wicks are always some kind of paper core that I've never seen before. @TallTayl might be able to shed more light on it, maybe?

Aha.. I actually noticed BBW wicks act a lot like zincs without the wire. 

11 minutes ago, ErronB said:

 

I've never managed to do it properly or consistently with any straight wax apart from soy unless I've spent time adding soy to a blend like adding 464 to 6006, but then you've got the issue of losing more HT. I tried LX wicks for the 500th time and they just don't self trim for me in any wax in tins lol.

How do these big brand name companies achieve this with mainly paraffin based blends? I want the damn secret! 😂

1 hour ago, ErronB said:

 

Depends, I've still not managed to get anything to self-trim in it properly, but I like using wooden wicks in it for now while I try figure that part out. Wooden wicks give a good fast melt pool so the high melt point is no problem which is nice.

I’m trying to achieve the whole self trimming thing too. I’m also beginning to feel like it’s impossible! I ordered some CBL130 and CDN’s. I’ve seen some people have luck with them. Guess we’ll see. 

On 11/19/2017 at 12:18 AM, moonshine said:

CDN work very well in soy 

if your looking to find them southwest candle supply carries the most sizes and are very consistent in having them available 

Did this change? Been looking online and seems Candle Cocoon now offers a wider range of sizes. 30.00 for a sample kit though? Jeeze!