gc78

I was definitely suspicious of those dye chips because even after I add them at the right temperature and mix appropriately, they seem to pool at the bottom of the wax when I pour. I'm only using about 1/4 of a chip per candle, but it does seem to make a difference in the brightness of the wax. I love a creamy off white looking candle when using a clear jar. I've ordered those gold straight sided libby's from candle science which I can try without the dye since they are not clear. Excited to see if that's been the culprit this entire time haha! @TallTayl Yes Science is fun! I do love a challenge. And to think I thought this would be so easy. Silly me!! haha

Thank you all for the suggestions. I just wanted to give an update. I have ordered every wick under the sun haha. If I could start over, I would just order a sample pack of every series! My candle recipe is super simple IMO. I settled on 8% FO which has been giving me perfect scent throw in both 464 and 6006. I prefer a strong candle. The only other two things I am adding is UV Inhibitor and white candle dye chips. Sometimes the 6006 seems a bit yellow and definitely turns more yellow without the UV inhibitor. Throughout all this testing, the one thing I haven't done is remove those two items. I tried the premier 700's. I still got some black soot but it was much less than the ECOs.. The ECOs are just a no go for me. Lots of soot. I'm still favoriting the CDs or the CDNs. Even if they start out wild half way down the jar (let's say someone doesnt trim the wick), they calm down to a small flame and the jar isn't too hot. The CDNs definitely struggle more once the full melt pool hits, but they still stay lit and you can smell the fragrance quite well. Both of them seem to self trim so well. I haven't experimented with the HTPS other than the 52's which were much too small. I've ordered up to the 83 in those. Do you think the UV Inhibitor or the Candle Dye chips really make that much difference? Also, every fragrance oil is different. Not uncommon to move up or down 1-2 wick sizes with different oils and the exact same recipe. I've attached some pictures to get some feedback 🙂

Maddening. A true test of patience! :-). I think I am pretty close. I did switch jars to 3.5 diameter and it seems to be a bit easier. I'm not saying I am giving up on the 3" but may come back to it once I have this dialed in. The CDN wicks are ok, but what I have noticed is that the longer they burn, the cooler they get. Which I guess is good for liability, but I end up with a full melt pool and a tiny flame. If I size up, it doesn't improve it because the melt pool just gets deeper and the wick still nearly drowns. Hot throw is amazing and the glass stays luke warm, but I prefer a slightly bigger flame so you can at least tell the candle is lit. Maybe I am just being too picky at this point. I have some CD 4's I am going to try. I also ordered more zinc core and HTP as well as the premier 700 series sample pack. I know I need to make some candles and put them away in the cupboard for 2 weeks and just walk away. It's hard when you really want to get it right!

I did notice what seemed to be the correct size testing after 24 hours was too small when the candle cured longer. In fact it seemed like it was a couple of sizes too small. @bfroberts Do you notice that trend as well? The longer it cures, you may have to wick up?

Thank you for the replies. I did end up reaching a full melt pool a little shy of three hours with #2 CDNs double wicked, but like you said it gets pretty hot about half way down the jar. Glass tested at about 130-160 at times. The flame also started doing some kind of a weird sideways nose dive toward the melt pool. Anyone know if this is because of too much fragrance load or something else? I can't figure out why the flame doesn't want to stay upright. I did finally figure out the wick curl and placing them so they curl in opposite directions. I tried ZC 60 which was the closest I think I have come with a single wick. However, it tunneled pretty bad and never reached a full melt pool. The other thing that has been bothering me is that I feel like I have to test wicks that might not be properly maintained (If someone forgets to trim the wicks) Single wicks seemed worse than double wicks in this scenario. I'm thinking of giving up on this jar and going just slightly wider to maybe 3.5 and using the CDN2s. I would be curious if anyone has really had much success with a 3" diameter and 6006. I'm at my wicks end! 🙂It's unfortunate because its such a reasonably priced jar and I think very elegant.

Hello! I am new here and new to candle making. I bought the beautiful straight sided lib jar from candle science and absolutely love the aesthetic. I'm not having any issues with soy 464 and CD 18 wick with 10% FO. However, I really love the HT with IGI 6006 but have been struggling. FO load with IGI6006 is 6-8%. The best luck I have had so far is with a zinc core wick that reached a full melt pool by 3.5-4.0 hours. Which I guess probably isn't bad, however the second burn the flame seemed too high and smoked a lot more. It could be as simple as keeping the wick really short, but I want a candle that people can feel safe with and not necessarily worry about too much maintenance. Second burn the wick was maybe a tad over 1/4 inch and the flame did eventually calm down, but still. So I have been exploring options of double wicking. I tried two CD 4's but they curled too much to one side of the glass and it became too hot. I've tried ECOs, CDs, Zincs, and now I have ordered CDNs. Would anyone be willing to lend some kind advice. Best!