waxing moon

Hi

I am making some cool "soyballs" today. I intend to test burn. However, due to the nature of the way they are formed and possibility of airbubbles etc. do you label them as "decorative only" ?

Thanks

Waxmoon

Hi

I wonder the same thing. I have made candles in the past, and now an back at it this time with soy. First of all soy is a pain sometimes as we all know. Pouring & pouring only makes it worse with the enevitable delelopment of "candle nose".. So many times in my small house I burn something in my room and cant smell a darn thing, I go in the other room for a bit, re enter the room with the candle and the scent is strong ! I have come to the conclusion that we can only do the best we can. We, the candle maker strive to make the perfect, strongest smelling candle we can. WE need to remember people buy candles for a variety of reasons color, shape AND scent. or we will drive ourselves crazy.

WaxingMoon

Hi

I did an internet search and came up with this

www.accu-blend.com

I spoke to henry

Waxing Moon

Hi

I have not tried this yet but they have a distrubution center close to me so I called and ordered a sample. They are sending my a SLAB of thier all natural pillar blend and a SLAB of their all natural container wax #10. The blends have soy manufactured in the USA, the palm wax is from malysia. I am anxious to try them out. The person I spoke to said they also make propriatory blends for candlemakers. I actually didnt see the ads here but got their number form another candlemaker at the craft fair. I bought one of his candles. The cold throw for his is o.k. but the hot is awesome. I am really looking forwards to testing this. I will post back one I have a chance to work with it.. I am not sure if its o.k. to post info like name and number of who I spoke too but feel free to PM me and I'll pass it along.

Waxing Moon

Hi

This is ecosoya pillar blend. It is very easy to work with, I love it ! I started with Cargill naturewax pillar blend and we just dont get along. It cracks on me no matter what I try.

I tried a woodburning tool I kinda liked it. It would be cool if you were making a pattern that needed to look drippy. I start getting neurotic about wiping the darn thing and it made it look worse..

-Waxingmoon

I sure did..actually I found a picture I likes and traced it on to the candle then took a toothpick and carved it our a little. I adjusted curves and details to make it my own

I am still kind of playing with how deep to make the carving but this seems to work well. The soy can be fickle (as we all know) I would love to get a glow effect but if I make the carving too thin the darn thing leaks...grr..

but I ma having fun I havent found much out there like this so I am excited

-Waxing moon

Hi

I made this for my brother in laws b-day

my expiriments have worked well with an rrd 40 wick for this pillar

3x6" pillar

http://groups.msn.com/WaxingMoonCreations/candles.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=5

Waxing Moon

P.S. I am loving the candle imprint dye form Creative Gems ! so cool

Hio

I am also in Southern Calif (los angeles area) . I have made some peace with using Cargill since its no shipping as I can pick it up..but I did test some of golden brands and liked them.SO I too would be intersted in a closer west coast supplier

Waxing Moon

I am also playing with soy pillars..I am using ecosoya pillar blend though. I have tried lx, cotton and some premier have gotton o.k. results. The biggest problem I keep getting is the walls get sooo soft a hole starts and then leaks..grr... It doesnt seem to matter how big or wide the shell is. On a 3x6 pillar using a LX22 there isnt any shell and it melts almost to the edge. I watched it and blew it out once it looked like it was threatening to spill over. So far the second and third burns are going well. I was testing a different wick one that left a shell. I was thinking a soy pillar with a shell would produce a better candle BUT. the shell does eventually get really soft especially after power burns..once it gets a hole, it blows out the side which is not so good.

Goood luck !!

Waxingmoon

Hi

For those who use eco soya pillar blend, can you really get a good product that doesnt get the dreaded blow out ?

I have tried

LX 22 (Small blow out, after it solidified again I was able to re-lit and try again.., I am thinking the LX 22 is going to be worth a re test)

Premier 765 (2.5 hours fine first day, 2hours second day then a blow out)

Htp 105 (flame a bit big, I accidently tapped side of candle and then got a leak)

They all do swell for about 2.5 hrs then blow out.

Are soy pillarsgood seller for you ? Do oyu offer any speacial burning directions since they are so fragile ?

Thanks Again..

I completely understand..hehehe but seriously at what point should we be satisfied ?

Each soy wax needs its "own" scent to test and its own wick.. I suppose its the scientist in all of us It cerainly keeps it intersting..

However at what point can do you all feel comfortable to sell the product ? Seriously with all the choices isnt there always a "better" brand, or wick, to try ? Its is frustrating...

Man, just give me one size of candle with one brand of wax and wick , that I am satisfied with..lol

Waxingmoon.

Hi Chip,

I am still slowly testing everything

For the 8oz tins I have started with a HTP 105 and it looks pretty good. I will probably also test preimiere 755.

For the 4oz I am trying the htp 83..still waiting to test..lol)

Good luck & thanks

WaxingMoon

Hi

My 10yo girlie seems to have gotten some conconction to work.. a little coconut oil and some water and food coloring..lol..Its not scientific but were having fun..

Thanks

Waxingmoon

Hi

the coconut oil I have is actually bought to consume..It is

Expeller Pressed Coconut oil..(no coconut flavor or smell)

Thanks for such a quick reply !!

I'll just try it and see how it goes..

WaxingMoon

Hi

I am just starting out..I bought some bath fizzy stuff to play with. I have seen that you can add some a spray of sweet almond oil to mix with it and pack it in a mold.

My question is :

can I use coconut oil instead ? ( I already have it..lol)

Thanks

WaxingMoon

So..when you are waiting for these suckers to cure..do YOU wrap or package them or just let them sit quietly till they are ready to cooperate and give a nice cold/hot throw ?

Thanks

Waxingmoon

While I'm waiting for the soy to cure so I can test, I've been enjoying playing around.. (I love my pillar wick pins..makes it sooo easy )

http://groups.msn.com/WaxingMooncandles/shoebox.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1

Waxing Moon

Hi everybody,

I really appriciate all the suggestions ! I now have samples made with 2% beeswax, different sized wicks, and a stronger scent load...Now if I could get these to cure faster than 2 days I will be able to test hahahaha

As a side note , tough I can accept that soy need a higher fragrance load, a standard 12% would be really expensive to make ! I would think using that much the customers would get a case of candle nose and think the candle wasnt that powerful !

Also those of you in hot climates do you have problems with seepage or sweating ? I am in Calif. right now I am pouring outside, I have some candles that are "sweating" after they have set. At night when it cools off the oil gets reabsorbed. I have tried to ignite the oil on time to see if it was soybean oil or fragrance oil..it isnt catching, or sizzling ..(thankfully) I lit the candle and just it forms a melt pool

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Waxing Moon

I will heed everyones advice Try to not get too overwhelmed !

I have been testing

Bear Labs oils...I spoke to the bossman there and he said he does have clients use his oils in soy , he is local so shipping is fast, and FO are really reasonable.

so far his "grapefruit peppermint" and "amber and vanilla" are working well, (no fuel smell) Sweet pea has cold but no hot throw, blue lavender and blue bubblegum have potential but the I need a larger wick than I tried.

I have also ordered several samples from Save on Scents, I just bought the regular not the concentrated oils. I am just not thrilled with any of them(I have tested their cappucino,lime cilantro, jose margarita, blue gardenia, violet summer, sweet pumpkin pie) All so far have just been week I will probably retry at some point at 9% instead of 6% hopefully the oils won't go to waste..I order 4oz samples knowing I'd be testing different waxes)

I have samples ordered from MillCreek and samples from Royal aromatics on their way.

O.K. I will shoot for a less deep melt pool..(hahah still have a votive metality,

when I used to make those I wanted them to melt completely..lol)

Thanks a bunch...I"m off to find that bag of beeswax I put somewhere, and order more wick samples..lol

Thanks again..Happy Melting

Waxing Moon

I am testing serval different waxes..

Cargill C-3

Eco soya advanced (not very well suited to this Ca. heat., I am pouring outside and this is some soft wax..lol)

GW 444 (so far easiest to work with for me anyways...) I am adding zip to it

heating to 170 pouring at 130 .Personally I am fine with frosting adds to the uniquness of a one of a kind hand poured product..burning quality is my highest prioity)

I am making /testing /dreaming about..

4oz square tin (testing wick :htp 83, LX 16

8oz square tin (testing wick :htp 105

8oz jelly jars (testing Htp 93, Premier 750,)

4oz colbolt blue straight sided jar (testinged wicks LX 16

9oz cobolt blue straight sides (testing wicks Premier 765)

"Mini glass pillars" (o.k. container wax poured into votive cup..hehe)

( I am testing them with LX16)

Most things have been cured for 2-4 days before I tested)

SO If the right wick affects the throw whats the trick lol ? I assume we are striving for an even melt pool ? Does a 1"-2" deep melt pool increase the chances of a strong candle ?

Does adding beeswax make the candle softer ? How does adding BW encourage a better throw, soy is pretty soft to begin with.. ? How much bw per lb of soy is reccomended ?

Is it a general rule to add 9% fragrance load with soy ? I have started with the standard 6% and maybe thats part of the problem.

Questions , questions...

Thansks

Waxing Moon

HI

I am new 'round here. Many yrs ago I made paraffin candle, I have taken 8 years off.lol and am getting started again but this time with soy.Thank you for all the valuable info you guys have here ! but my gosh soy is a different animal than a regular ol' candle.

I am curious though, what is it about the soy that prevents scents from working in it ? I am making several candles with great cold throw but zip when burning. ( I am testing and adjusting etc all the tricks posted everywhere on these boards..lol , Also came to the conclusion I need to make sure the scent I am buying is "concentrated" , and has been tested in or specifically formulated for soy..lol so more samples are coming..and I can stop banging my head against the wall....lol)

Question #2- if you are test burning a scented candle and the scent doesnt throw, does that mean there a higher risk of scent pockets that will possibly ignite ?(similar to a poorly made gel candle) (everyhting I poor appears to be binding with the wax just fine, I am just curious if this is a possibility.)

Thanks a lot

Waxing moon