coconut

If a person burns a pile of leaves, and that pile contains poison ivy, oak, or sumac, anyone who is allergic to those plants will have a really bad allergic reaction if exposed to the smoke. It seems that the basic compounds of soy would still be there in the soy wax, so perhaps that could be the basis of the reaction? Just a guess....

Right now the only size I do is 4 oz. I sell them at 4.25 or 4 for 16.00. It is quite popular because of the price and because people can change scents more often. Mine will scent an area that is about 22x24 and everyone seems to be happy with that. I say give it a shot. Try the higher price and if they don't move, you can lower it. Yank## gets $10.00 for a small candle so yours is still a bargain.

I don't do votives. I have been testing Astorite V for tarts/melts. I plan to switch to this wax because I like the one pour and for me it has great throw. It does have a somewhat higher melt point. Other people have said it did not throw well for them in votives. I have not used 6228 wax.

My workroom is "outside" in the lanai. I can't speak for how cold you can have your workroom because I won't work in temps below 60-65 (very cold for me) but I routinely pour candles at 95 degrees with 95% humidity and have no problems at all. I do containers with 4630 wax and also melts. When it is cool outside, I cool the finished product either in the house, in a styrofoam cooler, or even in the oven that was turned off. (Yes, I have a stove in the lanai). My guess is you would need some heat in the winter, but for summer, just consider your own comfort. I usually try to work early in the morning in the summer to help beat the heat and I have a big ceiling fan, which helps. Greetings from sunny Florida where we are already at 90 every day....

If I HAD to pick only one, it would be Peak's. But again, even Peak's doesn't carry every scent, and a few of the scents have not worked out for me. But if you are just getting started and want to order from just one place at first, Peak's will certainly have most of what you need. Eventually you will become a FO HO like the rest of us and start to order every FO from every company.....

I've often wondered the same thing myself about altitude. I live at darn near sea level and I have to really wick down from what other folks on this board report. Taking a trip soon and plan to burn a candle up in the mountains to see what happens. I guess this would be a good argument for selling locally rather than nationally? Sigh.

Generally speaking, an inkjet will give you better photo quality for the money. Here is a good article: http://computershopper.com/roundups/200701_print_wars_inkjets_vs_laser_printers. It is a little out of date, but most of the information is pretty much correct.

In buying a new printer, analyze your needs. If you do mostly a lot of B&W printing, a laser is best. If you do mostly color photos, a color laser is nice but an inkjet is cheaper. I buy Canons for this purpose because of ink costs and because you can see through the clear cartridge to know if you are really out of ink. If you are doing color labels, probably the Epson is a better choice. Also, ask any IT person and they will tell you never to use generic or refilled ink or toner cartridges. It is not if but when the generic or refill will trash your printer. I've seen it happen too many times. HTH. Coconut

Not sure if this is "cinnamon cookie" but Lonestar has a nice Snickerdoodle. Snicks are cookies rolled in cinnamon....

You would also get terrific experience by working in a retail environment before jumping off on your own. A job at a candle store like Yankee would give you priceless experience that you just can't buy. A good business education is nice too. Meanwhile, you can starting making and testing your product. This should keep you busy for at least four years of college.... (Sorry, don't mean to be mean. But testing is a bear! and takes a long time.) Good luck to you!

I use Sage & Lemongrass from Peak's and it sells well, but I don't know if it is comparable to Royal. It is a nice clean lemony scent with no fuel smell.

I'm with Scented. Peak's Lilac smells right on and it is one of my best sellers.

It works for no-see-ums aka sandfleas aka flying alligators. But I think they actually drown in the oil....

Please forgive me. You mean circumference. Diameter is measured straight across the jar. I also get these two mixed up. Here is a good web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumference

It was said that the cheap ones scorch, although they did not specifically single out the ones from factorydirectcraft.com. Same price range though. Here is the original thread: http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62494&highlight=toppers

Thank you, Karen M! Good to know they are nice to work with. Anyone ever use their candle toppers?

Test more than one kind of wax for containers and melts, sooner. Wick for the bottom of the jar (took me a long time to learn this!). Pay for a star on this forum so I don't spend so much time searching through the posts to find that perfect nugget of info!

Did a search and found a thread that said to try toppers from this company, and in the same thread advice to not buy low-priced toppers. Anyone use toppers from this company? What was your experience? Here is the link: http://factorydirectcraft.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=3270 Thanks for any input. Coconut

What kind of wax are you using? Paraffin or soy? Each wax takes different wicks and some suppliers have more wicks for one or the other.

Ann-Marie, good job tracking down the wax. I have recently tested J50 and it has quite a higher melt point than 4630. Whereas 4630 melts quite readily, J50 does not. In fact, my J50 samples are rather firm but still cuttable with a knife. I have had to wick up on J50 compared to 4630, and cut back a little on the FO because of smoking. I am presently only testing FO that did not work with my 4630, so my test is a little skewed. Do some searches and you will find lots of into on J50 wicking. This is a premium wax-enjoy your windfall!

Hi Aaron. The apothacary jar is straight sided so that would burn differently than the jelly jar that I use which is wider at the top than at the bottom. I've learned the hard way to wick for the bottom of the jar. Sure is tricky. I'll keep this in mind in case I test a straight sided jar in the future. Coconut

You're welcome, Ann Marie. In my small containers and the oxygen rich environment of Florida, even the smallest ECO wick is too big. Smokes like crazy. I have had generally good luck with 4630 using LX wicks for some scents, HTP wicks for other scents, and Peak's cotton wicks also. I generally use LX 8 or 10 and HTP 52. I use 4 oz tapered jelly jars. I find that some scents just can't be wicked in this wax because of the low melt point. I get a great melt pool but a tiny flame. You possibly can wick down more because even if you have 1/8 to 1/4 inch of unmelted wax, it will usually catch up later. The HTP wicks tend to have a hotter flame in the bottom of the jar on some scents. If you don't want to wick down, try cutting back a little on the FO. 4630 has terrific throw for most scents so you will still get good scent. Good luck!

The slab does sound like 4630 wax. You have to wick down on this or it tends to smoke. Wick for the bottom of the jar as this wax melts pretty easy and it will catch up as you go. HTH.

Cold throw on 4794 is pretty good, but I'm switching to Astorlite V. I think it has better throw (for melts) and it is a one-pour wax. Astorlite V does have a higher melt point so that may be a negative for some folks. Recently I have read a lot of people add container wax to 4794 to improve the throw and make it more of a one-pour. HTH.

Thank you both very much. This helps me a lot! :highfive: