Oh-MYo

Those canes are GORGEOUS! And the fuel cell is an awesome idea! Love it. It looks to me like the fuel is paraffin oil, the same kind of stuff they use for all the pretty little oil lamps. I could be wrong about that but I love the idea and all your beautiful creations.

In my opinion and experience FOs just dont answer to that. The reason is that FOs are created by the petrochemical industry who are reasonably good at identifying a very small number of the oderants of any given scent. NOT the whole depth. So that youre nose and olfactory center get used to it quickly and then filter it out of your perception. The oderents are still there but the nose....knows. I hope that doesnt offend too many "all natural" purists. Essential oils will continue to give you a consistent scent depending in how they are delivered. Sadly if youre thinking candles, EOs just dont work well with candles. JMHO

Well if the Cigar Lounge loves them, I wouldnt be too quick to poohpooh the idea. Its about Ozone as I understand it. Also, thanks Smacky for all the links. Reading them gives me some other good reasons for always haveing a spare wick/burner, soaked and ready to go. Especially if your lamp has been sitting idle for a few weeks.(or not:o And just now found this store on Ebay. The lamps themselves full size are 13 bucks! as compared to the hundred or so that Lampe Berger starts at. Feedback is 100% too. http://stores.ebay.com/Puraira

I think I know what you mean. I have always thought it was just me. You describe a burning tire smell sort of. I would say it reminds me most of that smell when we had to clean the old cream separator after it had been sitting all day and the butterfat was going rancid and reacting with the metals. I suppose most people here dont even know what a cream separator looks like. Personally I smell it more when its burning. The FO is definitely noticeable but its not covering the other smell. In brand new unburned ones, not at all. Possibly because of the curing and the FO being on the surface of the candle. I guess everybody's smeller is different, sensitive to different things. Not better or worse, just different.

Found this page: http://www.coronetgiftsolutions.com/la-tee-da_replacement_pieces.asp In short 3 to 5 months with frequent use for the wick, up to a year with occasional use. As for the snuffer, I am guessing that it just gets discolored from being put onto the hot wick assembly. Fuel too will not be so easy to find since fragranced alcohol is not really common---the kind in the liqour store not withstanding. And mee too Stella--I'm thinkin Christmas list:-))

Gosh, now I want one even more! Just wondering, what sort of warped mind would think of a square funnel?....lol

Hi Stella. Thanks for your reply. At this point I am wondering if I bought a candle that was just made to look at rather than burn. I found it way underwicked, although it was easy enough to just put a bigger wick into it because it was either made with a wick pin or "pressed" that way. Still with the biggest wick I had it almost seemed like it was clogging the wick, thus I mention the viscous melt pool. The label did say 100% palm oil although the price was probably a lot less than I would have expected to pay for palm wax. In fact I am getting more than a little miffed with this candle in particular and by association palm wax in general. However I am still open to those palm wax lovers on this board to turn my aggravation into fascination if they so choose. Thanks again

For the firebugs that we are, every once in awhile something comes along that makes us go "That's cool!" Effusion lamps have been showing up on a number on recent google searches as I am looking for something different.. So I felt the urge to investigate. Although this board is more about candles, it is also about home scenting. As far as I have explored La Tee Da is currently the only company that distributes them in north american but I could be wrong. They burn scented alcohol. The idea of the effusion lamp is to burn it for 3 minutes and then snuff it out. After which the heated platinum infused stone naturally wicks the scented alcohol into your room, not only scenting it but purifying the air as well. Admittedly they are pretty pricey but the lamps themselves are GORgeous and the scents sound absolutely delicious! Just wanted to share. http://www.coronetgiftsolutions.com/la-tee-da_fragrance_lampes.asp

Yah, and the guideline of an hour for every inch of diameter is just a guideline. Depending on the wax, room temperature and the size of your flame it can take much longer. Even depending on the container itself. In my opinion, just as candle making is an art so is candle burning. Ya think ya know all you need to know and then something else comes along. Like palm wax for me right now.

Okay, I have discovered through the search feature that palm wax is quite hard, or perhaps dense is more accurate. And that as it burns it is almost either hard or melted, very little softened wax in between, which agrees with my own experience. Now my question is basically about the melt pool. I find the melted wax is more viscous than paraffin or soy, almost like corn syrup. I bought a cheap made-in-china palm candle and am wondering is the melt pool of this consistency because of the way it is made or because that is just what palm wax does. I havent decided if I like palm wax yet but as a candle lover I just need to know and experience the different options. TIA

I have been electric tart/candle warmer shopping this week, after my cozy up cracked completely in half, both ways. Nothing available in my local area at all. I think they stopped making the Cozy Up. Anyhow, finally decided on this: http://www.babyfeathersonline.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=621 Its ceramic. 24 watts, Minimalistic, which is what I wanted, and the blue lights totally sell it for me. Will let you know how I like it.

Ummm--just to requalify that--I am speaking of flame height--not wick height. Otherwise---cant imagine why you would think of a 3/4" flame as a torch.

I have tried enough soy candles to say that I would always choose paraffin over soy. The biggest thing for me about soy is the greasy smoke. I know it sounds horrid as I say it and have never heard anyone else mention it. It's just that every candle smokes under the right conditions. Such as when you move it too quickly or blow it out. And for flame height soy has much more and greasier smoke than paraffin. I fanatically religiously keep my candle flame between 1/2 and 3/4 of an inch so I know its not about not trimming the wick. My first soy was a Beanpod and I have completely burned at least half a dozen soy candles. Perhaps the other thing that bugs me as a consumer is so much of that wayyy-over-the-top hype and outright misinformation about how great soy is, that has been touted by almost all the soy sellers on the web at least. I buy and burn candles more for the cheery enduring flame than actual scent throw. Although I often choose candles for their scent. I sure dont want to start another soy/paraffin war, just stating my preference and why.

Yesterday I bought 3 - 3 X 3" pillars in a gift box, ribbon, plastic inserts for just under $7 Canadian. Which would be an awesome price for palm wax. Even for paraffin for that matter. The tag said 100% Palm OIL. Although there is no crystalization the wax looks....different than paraffin. They have great cold scent throw, perfectly centered wicks, very nicely made without any visible flaws. There were even lovely tags stuck on the candle to label them Lavendar and Gardenia. Not a cheap looking candle at all. So what do I really have? Is there a way I can know if they are palm when I burn them? Palm wax is distilled from palm oil as I understand it. Oh yes, box says made in China.

Oh My! Sorry for reviving such an old thread. But the Search feature brought me to this one and I thought to update it. I bought a Cozy Up 17 watt candle warmer at Michaels several years ago. Used it a LOT! Even bought a cheapo dollar store bamboo cutting board thingie to put under it just to be sure cuz I do leave it on when I am not home. and all night sometimes too....uhhh..that was before I just read about one blowing a breaker!!! Never found it to be super hot underneath but definitely hot. Heck I even heated my lunch on it more than a few times; a 10 0z tin of chili with the lid opened but still sitting on top.(turn on in the morning, ready by noon) Hey I like to get my money's worth....lol Anyhow, the plastic has now cracked to the point where it is definitely time to replace it. I would have bought another one at Michaels except they didnt have any. No candle warmers of any kind. Hmmm...maybe they figured it out? So now I am looking for one of those ceramic plate warmers in 24 watts with the switch on the cord. Going to Wally World soon maybe. Maybe just ask Santa for one.

Nice topic Top! This can all get so confusing if you were to listen to all the spin doctors. Everything is natural because it comes from our sweet green mother earth. Fueled exclusively by the sun which is just as natural. Learning about where the products we use come from is always good. I have always found the term "vegetable" wax somewhat misleading. Vegetables contain wax? Since when?....lol. Oh! It's hydrgenated soy oil! Why didnt you say so? Soy as a food source is atrocious, despite outrageous claims by more of those spin doctors. So its good that they can at least make candles out of the hydrogenated oil. And since I have typed "hydrogenated" at least twice, I wonder how the purists feel that soy wax can be "natural" after it has been hydrogenated. The hydrogenation process itself is quite fascinating: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogenation Beeswax is about as "natural" or unsynthetic as you can get, only because it is the bees themselves that are doing the processing.

I find it amazing how many people do other people's work for them; that is, by energetically echoing someone else's opinion without checking anything for themselves. It's not about which wax type is best because they both have distinct advantages and disadvantages. I am pleased that there is a choice. My preference is parraffin but that's neither here nor there. Pure paraffin oil is totally clear; like water. I am a little dubious about paraffin wax being bleached but maybe so. The more I think about it, the more sense it would make to melt it and use just the pure parraffin crystals that float to the top. A lot more efficent than bleaching, but I cant back that up with anything but my own opinion. The only online references to paraffin being bleached was more copies of the text in blue; offered by both beeswax and soy web sites....(big saprize! ) Anyone can magnify the dangers of components of products. I suppose if we were to break down potatoes into their different chemical compounds we could scare the pants off the gullible too.

I have had this happen with wick trimmings too at the very bottom of a glass container. It cracked the glass. Mind you, I was there at the time and watching. I intended to burn ALL the wax from the container before cleaning it out. I have done this many times, burned all the wax till there wasnt so much as a drop of wax for the wick to suck up. Its what I do, my choice. I certainly cant fault the candle maker for what I have done. However, I learned of the super flammability of wick trimmings in these amounts only through personal direct experience. Burning a candle entails a certain amount of self responsibility of course. Just as we cant buy firewood and then blame the seller cuz it caught on fire. Perhaps warning labels could contain some of the "whys" of the DOs and DONTs. Something like: "extinguish candle when it has burned to the last 3/4" due to increased fire hazard from wick trimmings or fragrance oils" Just a thought.

As I understand it, the crooked wick problem is caused by solidifying wax so that I poke just deep enough so that I can see molten wax. I poke a lot, maybe more than necessary, every time I see a skin on it I am reopening those holes. One mistake I made in the beginning was to not poke my holes big enough so that the repour wasnt filling them--causing bubbles anyway. Now I use a steak knife so that the top looks pretty ugly by the time I am done. I also pour only after the candle is completely cooled and only as high as my first pour.

Love the pet bedding idea! I have made my own with paper from my shredder. When testing them I found I had to have lots of light fuel sticking out, such as wick or shredded paper in order to get the wax itself burning. It's kind of a downer when your fire starter goes out....lol So I had lots of paper sticking out like a porcupine and ended up shredding colored paper just to make firestarters. For esthetic appeal. Then I played with soaking paper in copper sulphate to wrap around my paper and wax filled dixie cups and wrapping it up like a christmas cracker. The copper sulphate makes greenish flames. Yah, I have already admitted to being a pyro:o . And I have enough fire starters to last me 20 years....lol I agree, it was fun, but admittedly, somewhat messy. What's new about that?....lol

I am no expert on DPG or FOs but personally I would be looking for a glass container to store them. Plastic absorbs, almost everything, if even in minute quantities. I work in a plastics factory and there are literally hundreds of types of plastic, none of which I would choose to store FOs in. I have never worked with DPG. It might be okay and it might not. You just dont want to find and incredible mess seeping all over. I dont know how long you plan to store. Perhaps they can treat the plastic so that it is safe for FOs. All the diffuser bottle kits I have seen in stores were glass. Sorry I cant help any more than that.

It is a lovely picture. Personally I think it looks well with white as it gives me the impression of "lightening up" as per the label. To enhance or echo the "naturally" part of the label I would go with either natural polished stones or perhaps even natural pieces of cinnamon stick and/or vanilla. A jar of cinnamon sticks with vanilla beans on the "floor"? As for the jar of stones, I agree, it doesnt really fit although it is very pretty. Part of why I mention about enhancing or echoing the message on the label is that it gives the unconscious mind something else to grasp which doesnt conflict with or detract from the logical message being offered. A picture is worth 100,000 words yes? And can often say more about a product than all the text you can type. At the very least, something that will encourage people to read on. So much of the information we receive is non verbal, from the look of the candle, the scent of the candle and so on. A beautiful pic all the same. Well done.

Okay, so I came in through the chocolate covered oreo page, but i really like these tart molds. What do you think? http://www.oregontrailsoaps.com/minimolds.html

Yah, looks like this: http://www.amazon.com/Bionaire-BSSP101-U-Febreze-Scentstories-Player/dp/B000682AVS And they do look a lot like a CD, only thicker. http://www.amazon.com/Bionaire-SSD508-Febreze-Scentstories-Strolling/dp/B00068DQX4/ref=pd_sim_k_1_img/102-3353235-2976949

I guess we all see this issue differently. Some see it as a soy/parraffin debate. (Not even sure how that transpired here.) Some think its about telling people all your little secrets about how the candle was made.(Which doesnt seem a reasonable option to me either) I just see it as about honesty. I too eat reeses peanut butter cups because I like them. Not because of advertising. Or marketing. But if a potential customer is asking a question, it is because they are asking for information that is important to them. Not because they want another version of the canned sales pitch."Soy blend" or "parraffin blend" especially as applied to the same line of candles is pretty far removed from supplying information. Whether someone prefers soy or parraffin or a blend or peanut butter, that is their choice. Not everyone shops from the "ethical consumerism" handbook. There are many reasons to prefer different types of waxes.