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macaroni&cheese

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Everything posted by macaroni&cheese

  1. I agree with those who say stock up as much as you can while you test new 'strains'. I've had to do this even with glass. I hate scouring the internet anymore ever since my frosted containers went on the scarce side. Right after that, My C3 started turning into chalk - will it ever end? I've switched to CBA for glass and CB-135 for tins with a hint o'Coconut oil, no troubles as of yet... Yes, I have the same question as Tootie...what B&B Law? Here in Oklahoma they just passed legislation to cause crafters of children's clothing, bows, toys etc to test their own merchandise by an independent lab. PER ITEM, mind you. I looked it up and it's about 415 bucks a pop for pthalate testing, although lead testing is now a cheap kit. Are the big guys trying to choke us out? What will happen next? I know we're not talking about making kid's clothing here, but I can't help but wonder what's next? Jeff
  2. I read somewhere Short and squat gets lower pouring temperatures, while tall and thin (Like my rocks jars) gets a higher pouring temp. The difference, I understand, is purely for cosmetic reasons, and I think that is what you're looking for. HTH!
  3. I use CBA and the only thing I get is the FO "droplets" on the top with heavier FO's but only above 75-80F. I am getting ready to try out CB-135 in my tins, but waiting on the wax to arrive. HTH!
  4. Also try Freund Container. They've also got some neat stuff on there.
  5. So far, I have been using the C-3 in my tins and I absolutely LOVE IT!! I haven't had this kind of throw since days gone by of experimenting with parasoy blends. For the larger candles, like our own 'Einstein' (Stella 1952) said about C-3, I have noticed if I cover the candles, the sink holes stop. Now on to finding the perfect wick!! I have tried them all except for the premeire series, and I don't like any so far: they either eat the fragrance, mega-shroom, or burn too small of a dia. They are only three and a quarter inch dia. jars, so I don't want to 2-wick, but Keep testing I will do!!
  6. I am still using it, although more conservatively, meaning maybe a teaspoon per batch, but I believe even that little makes a big difference. I will be changing waxes however, and I will need to test before and if I re-incorporate into the mix. But CO makes a good wax with a poor HT work very well.
  7. Do you folks have lots of people asking you things like, "How do you get the smooth tops?" Or, "How do you sell them at this price?" I was just wondering what is the right response, besides "NO DEAL, Kimosabe!" What if someone has information you want as well? Have you ever negotiated information before? I was just wondering your thoughts.
  8. Love Spell type. Smells authentic and is long-lasting! I know most chandlers get choked up with this stuff, but my customers can't get enough of this one, or the plumeria. Plumeria is weird. the first hour and a half it is fair, but then gets increasingly stronger as time goes by. Folks like that too. It's hard to get the candle nose that way.
  9. Also interesting how the NGI wax's forum is locked up...convenient.
  10. Kimmeroo, how's the HT with the CD's? I need to look in my books, but I think I took issue with them or something. But it never hurts to re-test, as wax, and opinions both change over time. Thanks for the tip!! Jeff
  11. FunFlames, I use 1.32 oz./lb, except on heavy or super conc. FO's, and no trouble. Here's the trick. I add fragrance to the pitcher first -- temp reasons more than anything -- then I add dye, then I pour from the vat into the pitcher, then top off on the scale to exactly 64 oz. which runs me approx. 8-8.5%, and no synerisis (or however you spell it.) I heat the wax to 188F because 90% of FO's bind in this temp range. But you CAN'T leave CBA there for long! Manuf. specs say 155F. If you look on every FO bottle you buy, you will see the directions to be to add 6 to 10%, but I felt like I should find out the FO load of the wax from the wax manufacturer, to play it safe. Besides, if I have to add THAT much, I need to be ISO another fragrance dealer that has an higher concentration.
  12. What exactly is this spreadsheet? It must be a doozie! Is it a quickbooks kind of a deal?
  13. Actually, I think you are pretty close. With all my troubles with CBA here lately, I can't give you a definitive answer as to what my burn times are NOW, what with my having to go back to the drawing board with a suspected change in the CBA formula, but I WAS using a zinc wick for a cooler burn, and I was getting closer to 65+ hours. Now that I have stepped up the wicks a size, that has definitely changed, but I am not done testing to verify anything, but I am leaning in the 55 hour direction. HTH!
  14. Bbutterflyw: Unrelated to this thread, but as with those who face the frustrations FO loading in CBA, you have to be real careful to not exceed 8 - 8.5% load. in doing so, and especially in your aforementioned container, the FO can literally ignite!! You might try shopping around for the identical fragrance from another supplier, that has made all the difference for me on several FO's. For my introductions to the world of CBA, I really struggled with this issue. It would seem that my customers like the balance of a softer fragrance with a wax that doesn't look like it was poured, cooled, rolled on the floor, and crammed into a container by a hydraulic press. So, I'm happy. When I DO run across a FO that is nice and super strong, I am all the more happy. More than anything else, this is where you spend your R&D dollars, in multiple variations of fragrances! Yes, CT is superfantastic, but don't let that fool you. Oh, and I am also seeing that I need to keep your MP shallow, < 1/4 inch. HTH!!! Jeff
  15. Not only is it frosting, bbutterflyw, but the burnability has reduced. Certain FO's and dyes are now being rejected by the wax, especially blue tints, and I use soy-friendly dyes: liquid, powder. I have nboticed however, that heating CBA to 185F helps a lot of the cracking I was experiencing earlier on, and I have made no changes to ambient pour temps. But I still have frosting. Wicks--I LOVE zinc-cored wicks, because they burn slower, and that is one of our selling points, and they are sooo easy to work with. But it is looking like I may need to go with a cotton-cored or something else. As for now, I am going to test a 51-32, and a 51-36 for the 8 ounce, and it looks like the ever-thirsty (!) 60-44 has won on the 11 ounce. That may beat the 'crispy wick' problem, as that stuff chokes up the wick. The point is to just improve capillary action, without increasing ROC too terribly. I want to go to the LX's, but I think they are kind of fussy. ---- ON ANOTHER NOTE ---- You know what, I joined up to this site because I believed it to be professional, and to the point. I have learned soooooo very much from this board, and I have become an added success because of it. I don't like all this drama. I know I am nobody, and maybe you guys are just kidding around. So c'mon man, if you're joking it up, put a smilie or something at the end will ya? That way the rest of us will know, k? And if you're not, then well, please forgive me, but grow up. Don't we all have better things to do?
  16. We have an old 1994 Dodge Caravan long wheel-base, and with the seats pulled, we have 7 foot deep cargo space. We can't take an 8 foot table, but we have our 6-foot tables, plus a special display with removable tabletop boards, trimmed down to 7 foot each. We have 23 fragrances so far, and with tins and two glass container sizes, one case of each fragrance, all the other stuff (calculator and knucklebuster, etc), we still have plenty of room, and that's a good thing. And with a minivan, the mileage isn't too bad, considering it is a brick with wheels. HTH
  17. Well, this weekend will be more for where the candles go, not so much the candles themselves! Melody & I will be painting and I will be laying new tile down in the store. Good for a chilly Saturday, with lots of coffee.
  18. I've pretty much given up on it, and counted it as experience. All I seemed to succeed in doing was increasing the melt point/hardening the wax. Since I use CBA most things were under control for the most part, maybe that's why I haven;t noticed much difference. I was just hoping to improve scent throw a dab.
  19. I didn't think to record the lot numbers...that would help lots of folks, I guess, to be on the lookout. I think I may still be able to find an empty box or two, I'll have to see. I've got 250# more coming to my doorstep Wednesday, so it WOULD be wise to compare lot numbers then. The only thing I have been able to do so far is increase ambient temp to 78F when pouring, switch to LX on my tins, wick up 3 sizes on my 8-oz and 2 sizes on my 10-ounce. I am going to clean out my vat tonite and wait for the new shipment. This is so, so,
  20. Mr top: It is a new batch of wax that I had just purchased, and my first notice was that the oily clinginess was missing. at the suggested melt point it was cloudy, and if you temper the wax it increases the burn difficulty. Something else also separates out of it as well, and if I don't stir my vat frequently, I have tops frosting, the middle of the container is brainy, the center of the wax cracks, and not in the ususal circular crack that I'm not so worried about. It's the cracks that extend the diameter of the candle. You're right, it's like there's a completely different wax in the box!! I think they feel like they are losing the hot throw wars with GB maybe, and they are doing something to increase the wax's scent loadability and throw. I never buy by the bag, only by the box. Lots of boxes, minimum of 5 at a time. I have 2 suppliers I get them from, one local, and the other is CS. CS is my primary, and theirs is the trouble. My local supplier had 5 cases, and I bought 2 from her, and these were okay. Difference here is that she bought these during the summer. I know this because I forgot she started ordering it for me, and the date on the box. Also for you CBA fans, you know what summer temps do to it when it is shipped, how it packs. I have read on the archives here how there used to be an older formula of CBA...do you think possibly they have gone back to it?
  21. Yeah, I meant Nature's Gifts. Sorry for the confusion. While I did mean power burn, the candle never even makes it through the first third. It does behave as if it is underwicked, and that's why I was wondering if there was a wax composition change. There are signs that the wax is clogging up in the wick, or at least that's what I think I see. And I have never seen that before. The wick becomes extremely brittle, and any attempt to trim will break it. I pour in a 75F environment, climate controlled. But like you said, pouring cold is always different than in the spring or summer. I have thought about making a cover for my tables, with a small exhaust fan, like one for a computer, to slow down the cooling process, but I don't know just how practical that really is. Thanks for the info on the wick. I will try them.
  22. Anyone using CBA noticed within the last few weeks of having to wick up, and frosting harder to control? My tins are lighting fine the first time, then I re-light them a second time and they fizzle out. Now the 8-ounce jars are beginning to do the same thing, and I am getting worried. Until I figure it out, I am using a wick size bigger. But I am just wondering if anyone has an inside scoop on Naturewax, and if they went back to their old formula, or if they added or subtracted something that would make this problem occur. When I send them an email, I get sent the 'diagnostic procedure' in isolating these kinds of issues, but no other answer. I've done the isolating deal-wick and wax only, and they just fizzle out on the second burn! Also, if I just light and let them burn without blowing them out, they will eventually fizzle out, or burn down to this tiny little flame! Grrrr.... I use a zinc-cored wick, and have had no trouble with them in the past, except for the bit-o-shroom deal, which is inconsequential. Any help is appreciated!!
  23. Hey, I totally understand. I have been a mechanic for 25 years, and SOOOOOOO want to get out of it, not too many employers with much integrity anymore. That's why the candles. Long story, but anyway, my whole point is that everybody wants their "best friend" to get something for them, fix their car, make a gift basket. I am concentrating on this portion. You are absolutely correct in nailing some things down in that nobody wants to pay their "friends" all that much! Sorry, I should have been more clear on what I meant. I don't think I would stress too much on the minimum order deal, however. Unless I was having to make a specific color, or there was a unique packaging ordeal.
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