radellaf

I may not have the best sense of smell, know you were joking, but I'm actually considering that Have a few friends who can help out with that though. I'll try an HTP-73 or 62 and 6%, see how it compares. I went with 10% since 1. Bayberry (CS) at 8% lost all its scent. Probably that fragrance just isn't good in that wax. 2. Candleicious talked about using 12%, so I thought I'd find out if truly maxing out the capacity of the wax helped any. Frankly, I'd rather find good throw with more reasonable amounts of FO than try to get a wax to hold that much. Thought the LX-10 might be worth a try as the LX-12 also smokes a bit on relights, and gets a full melt in about an hour, whereas I was thinking about two would be better. I found the HTPs to be, if anything, worse than the LX in 3" tins, but as I still have 8 wicks left, might as well give them a few more tries. Got the idea mushrooms meant over-wicked from: http://www1.stimpson.com/~stimpson/WicksUnlimited.pdf and http://www.onestopcandle.com/candle/ctroublemush.php But, like everything in this hobby, "it's a guideline" seems to apply. I think there's also a guideline that says if you have mushrooms, use less (or a different) FO.

I'll try that. Which wicks do you use? I'll probably start with CS's CSN series, since those have worked well for palm, 464, and EcoSoya Advanced. I can get C3 easily enough but maybe it'd be worth trying it with the advanced at the moment since I still have 9 lbs of it sitting around. Noticed that NGI has a list of fragrances tested with Advanced and their other waxes. Unfortunately, I don't think any of the listed manufacturers sell small quantities. http://www.ngiwax.com/resources/fragranceprogram/

Good idea if you're using that kind of workflow. Especially for testing, though, I'm melting 1-2 lbs of wax in the pouring pot, and using a scale with 3g precision. I have another scale with a low max. load that can do .1g, but only use that for vybar (.5%). All that's not to say getting a scale that can handle several pounds _and_ have .5g or lower precision wouldn't be a better way to go. (FWIW, just had some success with throw. 4630 with 10% CS Vanilla lace, 3" jar, LX-12. LX-10 next time to try to get less mushrooming, but this jar is thoroughly scenting a good sized room.)

Doesn't make much sense to me either. The scent is released only from the melt pool, not the wick itself, which would burn the oil and thus destroy the scent of it. Size of melt pool and temperature would be the defining factors. I'm not sure if hotter or cooler would help. One seller says the flashpoint of the fragrance oil is important and that higher fp will throw better. I don't buy that, though, as all the oils are very fragrant at room temperature. So, I'd guess you'd want the wick just big enough to get a good melt pool. If it's liquid, I'd think it'd be hot enough, but I really don't know.

Silicone votive molds are definitely out there: http://www.craftcave.com/candle/votivemold.shtml (4x 10hr) http://shop.ebay.com/van_yulay/ (1x10hr) and http://www.scottcrewcandlesupply.com/ for several options, including a nice 8 cavity mold for $90...

Weight may be the standard, but given that FOs are close to 1g per ml, I accept the small error in exchange for how much easier it is to pour to a certain line on a graduated cylinder than to pour, weigh, and repeat. "There actually are no accurate numbers in general. In the end, candle design is an empirical process." IOW, the waxes to some degree and especially the oils are so poorly characterized by the mfgr that we all have to do our own research. FWIW, I use a little shy of the max fragrance specified for the wax. i.e., about 8% for most soys and 4630, and 2.5% for 1343 and 1274, 5% for palm, pillar blend paraffin, and votive blends. However... I've had very poor results, with few exceptions, with HT across soy, palm, and paraffin in votives, pillars, and 4-8oz containers. A 3% 1343 2" pillar with LX-16 and a fluorescent dye and CS's Holly Berry is one exception, and an 8% GB464 3" jar with ECO-10 and CS's Asian Amber is the other. I don't know if IGI and GB's waxes are lousy, if CS and Peak can't make strong fragrances, or what. Burning OK I can get, but not strong throw. Of course, most commercial candles really aren't any better. A few scents of Yank jar will scent a room but with most of them, unless they're brand new, I find you have to be rather near them to smell anything. The myth of the room scenting votive keeps me thinking I'm doing something wrong. Read the ad copy on Candelicious's site and feel even worse... are pre-blends and reputable dealers' fragrances really just not that good?

HTP-62, HTP-73, LX-18, LX-20 End of about a 2:30 burn, total of about 18hrs. HTPs still mushrooming badly and have a weak flame (though enough to melt the wax). LXs need trimming and are prone to smoke and some mushrooming. I'm now thinking an LX-14 or 16 might be best. Throw is definitely lousy. Pretty disappointing for 8% FO in paraffin.

I'm having HT problems with Advanced also, though the Pineapple coconut FO from CS is also not throwing well from 1274 pillars or 4630 containers so it could just be the FO. I've read some reports that Advanced did as well or better than GB464 in HT... Bayberry is also not throwing well out of the 4630 cold or hot. The frustrating part is that, yes, I don't get the frosting or rough tops I got with 464... but now I get wet spots. I thought switching to paraffin would for SURE fix my throw problems, but, no. Candles don't frost or wet-spot, but they don't throw either. OTOH, CS's Asian Amber in 464 has almost overwhelming cold and hot throw. I've tried about 8 CS fragrances, but that's the only really impressive one for sheer strength. If it weren't for the amazing success I have with the looks and performance of GG Palm, I'd think of abandoning container candles entirely. Palm looks good, throws well. Soy has a low flame, paraffin wants to smoke. Palm has a nice medium, no smoke, flame (CSN wicks). Only palm that I've had trouble with are small 1.5 or 2" pillars, where it's hard to avoid dripping, and unlike paraffin, the drips tend to be runaway melt-the-whole-candle events (same with EcoSoya PB, if they drip). Also, palm works with 5% FO, whereas I assume for soy and 4630 8% is, if anything, maybe a bit too little FO.

I just got some 1274 to try, after using 1343 for a while, and hoping 1274 would be easier to work with. I didn't think it needed stearic? 3% FO has been sweating some, but after a day and a paper towel I'm not seeing any further sweating. The wicking is frustrating so far, though, so I'm looking for a little advice or your experiences here. Is it common for one size of wick to work for both 2" and 3" candles? I tried LX-18 in three pillars: 2", 2.5", and 3" Unlike 1343, there was no bulge. However, all three were torches with occasional smoking and a consistent very large flame. Even the 3", which was the biggest surprise. In my 1343 mottles, 2", 3%, few drops liquid dye, I found LX14 and 16 dripped some, but 18 and 20 were OK. As 14 works well with the regular pillar blend, that's two sizes up, but I figured that was because of using a straight wax with no additives. The odd part is that the same wick size worked best for all three pillar sizes. You'd think the 2" would need a smaller one, but I find as you get around that size or smaller (like tapers), wick size needs to go up again. Even an LX-10 can generate enough heat to melt through the wall and drip, so it seems you need to counter that by wicking up so that you're using fuel faster and keep the melt pool from overflowing. 1/2" tapers with LX-10 dripped, with LX-14 they were OK (using 10% stearic 1343 for the tapers...) I'm trying a LX-14 tonight in a 2" and 2.5" to see if it works any better. FWIW, I found a successful combination for 3% FO and Gulf Wax. LX-10 in a 2.5" pillar. Really small wick, but still get a decently tall flame. If I market these, I have the unpleasant suspicion that if the room were 85 degrees instead of 75, the same wick that's OK for me might melt through and drip. Is it at all possible to make dripless 2" pillars, without a high MP wax overdip?

Hmm, I've never tried shaking them. I figured they were more like ink than paint (with ink, better to let the sediment lie, if there is any, which there shouldn't be). I use CS's liquids and mix the typical primaries, plus black. For small batches I sometimes need less than a drop, so the color isn't very uniform. In theory I should use CMY instead of RYB, but it's hard to guess what a pure cyan might be. Magenta might be worth trying though, as the red isn't as bright as I'd like and perhaps equal M and Y would do it. -- I don't think it would work to list ratios for specific mixed colors, though. Different waxes color too differently with the same dye.

It does look a bit tacky. OTOH, my GF is always complaining about how hard it is to light containers that are getting towards the bottom. Better, I think, to get some more of those Aim & Flame type lighters than to have a candle that looks like a collapsible drinking cup.

They seem to melt about as far as they're going to in two hours, and it's been a convenient interval. But, yeah, it'll take longer. My favorite at this point is the LX-18, which does match CS's 2nd best recommendation. The 20 smokes a bit at the beginning and isn't curling to trim itself. Both the HTPs burn well enough at the beginning but then the flame gets small. True for the others to some extent, though not so much the LX-20. The main problem with all four is mushrooming, normally a sign of too large a wick. I'm happy enough with the smallest melt pool, on the HTP-62. 1/4-1/2" of hang, this early, I wouldn't consider a problem. I'm betting it'll burn most of that as it gets further down. Not a fan of the small flames, though. Have the same issue with soy waxes. My small hex palm containers with CSN-7 wicks have the nicest flames so far. Throw? Hard to tell, but I think it's pretty weak. So far the only truly impressive scent throw I've had was an 8oz oval hex jar (ECO-10) with 8% CS's Amber scent in GB464, very lightly dyed yellow. IGI1343 2" pillars, at 2-3%, with holly berry do decently as well, but are a distant second. So far, Yankee outdoes my soy or paraffin containers on throw. They have plenty of mushrooming and a lot of hang, though. Partylite's stuff (pillars/votives/tealights) burns the best of what I've seen, but not much scent. Never did try one of their containers.

HTP-62, HTP-73, LX-18, LX-20 End of 2nd 2.5 hour burn

Palm, or you could try EcoSoya's Pillar Blend wax. I don't like it as much as paraffin, but it works better than Candlewic's soy PB. Recently made a 2x6" with LX-18 and it burned perfectly. I wonder if you could use the container soy for a pillar... if you used paraffin or palm to make a hurricane shell. Probably not the best idea, but I'd like to try it sometime. I do plan to try making a 2" soy PB pillar and then putting it in a 2.5" mold and pouring a 1343 or some other paraffin around it.

Two and a half hours in, the LX-20 grew some mushrooms, and the HTPs are burning lower than I'd prefer. Wish I had an LX-18 in there to see if the mushrooms were from too much fuel flow, or just that 8% FO is going to leave some deposits on any wick. The HTPs are avoiding it I think by trimming themselves, but perhaps a bit too much. Twice during the burn I removed the shrooms from the LX. For some reason the LX is not curling over much or at all on its own, as they usually do. HTP-73 closeup: IGI1343:

Here's the start of the test. HTP 73 in back, 62 left, LX-20 right. FWIW, I poured a tin of 1343 wax in the same color, but with only 3% FO, LX-20, and it's burning pretty well first couple of hours. I love the "rough" look of it. No adhesion problems - I poured at about 145, which might have helped. I had a commercial tin that had wax with a very similar look to it. The 4630 is very ... boring looking. Hoping the almost 3x FO capacity will make a scent difference, though. Also just for fun I made a tin with 4oz of Gulf Wax also with 3% FO and an LX-20. Pillars I've made with that have tended to drip, so I thought I'd see how it worked in a tin. What really surprises me is that it and the 1343 didn't pull loose from the sides. They both come out of aluminum molds fine. But, then, I pour at about 180 for those.

I'm inspired to experiment along with you. I just picked up a slab of 4630, HTP wicks, and some 8oz tins from CS (they're local to me). They recommend HTP-73 or LX-18 in their wick guide for a 3" to 3.5" container. I'm pouring three, one each of HTP-62,73 and LX-20. Using 36g (~8%) of their Bayberry scent in 15oz wax with 4 drops of their blue dye and 1 drop yellow. Results in a few days... --- I have most sizes of LX and CSN so am not too eager to get into other series of wicks. I sampled some ECOs to use with GB464 and found the CSNs worked just as well. Maybe slightly more mushroomy, but not much, and the ECOs had a nasty habit of breaking off when you tried to knock the mushrooms off them. I'd never before seen a wick break if you messed with it while it was still hot. Those were my first soy containers. My impressions are that the flames are much smaller than paraffin, and lord help you if you want dark colors. No soot, though. OTOH, not much light, either. The HTP look a lot like the ECO wicks. Not sure what the difference is. Both are flat braids with paper fibers for rigidity. The ECO fibers seem to make it curl at a sharper angle than the CSN or LX. In one case, so much so that the wick looped down so the tip touched the melt pool. I assume the stronger curl is to help with the self trimming. It might have. As for rigidity, it is not a problem with the CSN or LX so not sure why the paper fibers would be needed. Given that, a wire core seems really excessive. Maybe I'm just lucky that my wicks haven't been floppy, I don't know. Either that or Zinc came out when the only alternatives were the floppier-than-LX plain flat braid (ply) or square braid wicks.

I spent that much, but only from buying well over 20 different molds, and 10lb samples of at least a half dozen waxes (incl. beeswax), lots of spooled wicks, dyes, etc. Figure $200-$300 on wax, $300 on molds, $200 FOs..., the rest misc and equipment ($100 for a chemlab hotplate, and that was a huge bargain) Yeah, a grand can go into startup pretty easy. It may be a more "real" hobby than World of Warcraft, but it is a lot more expensive. OTOH, now that I'm set up, wax is the main cost, and I'm saving beaucoup bucks on candles for myself. Testing isn't just testing, it's getting to enjoy candles almost all the time. (Oh, add $100 for fire extinguishers and some alarms -- hope not to need them, and only burn attended, but especially with testing, better to be safe.)

I'm not sure what this stuff is. It's Lamplight farms "ultra pure". It isn't kerosene, but it's similar -- odorless, though. It's for "oil candles", which will smoke like the devil if fueled with kerosene lamp fuel (and even worse with K-1). Whether it really is paraffin with a room temperature MP, I don't know. Maybe it is just a light viscosity mineral oil. I'll try 2oz wax with a little of it and see what I get. FP can't be lower than the 150-190 on my FOs. I've been happy with my 1343 votives even with no additives. Just had to wick up two sizes from the LX-10 I was using with the IGI votive blend. If I didn't like the translucency of 1343 I'd probably never bother with it.

It certainly can save you money if you burn enough candles for your own purposes. Most likely if you know what you want in terms of type of candle. If I'd stuck to one or two sizes of container, or pillar, then I'd get my costs down to $1 (2x6" pillar) to $3 (8oz 8% soy jar) each quite easily (minus my time, and possibly electricity). But, I like to try everything, and have sunk hundreds into equipment (molds, mostly) that it'd take a long time to recover. How to break into internet sales I have no idea. Like you say, there are so many people selling retail. In this area, at least, the "free" option of craig's list has been a complete bust. I make a few bucks from friends to help buy the next bag of wax, but that's about it. Half the time they don't actually pay, either But, I have as many candles burning as I could ever want, and one of the most fun hobbies I've ever had. It more or less took the place of World of Warcraft. At least candles have the potential of making me some money. I'm gaining skills in the craft every day.

I suspect attempting this would make a royal mess, but just wanted to check if anyone has tried it. (I did a search, came up blank). I have a lot of 1343 and would love to make ersatz container wax by lowering the MP. If they are immiscible, though, then there's no point trying. FWIW, though, (CS) liquid candle dye works perfectly for coloring liquid paraffin lamp oil.

I can't imagine using them without the caps that have built-in droppers (like CS sells). Otherwise you'd be endlessly washing off pipettes (like I have to do with FO measuring beakers/cylinders). My worry, long term, is that the rubber will degrade and I will carelessly pick one up by the bulb rather than the cap itself. I deal with fountain pen ink all the time, but these dyes look like they'd cause a mess of an entirely higher order.

If it's anything like the Candle Science warehouse, the whole place may smell so strongly of all the fragrances that you'd be hard pressed to evaluate any of them Partylite has a nice system where they pass around little containers of wax in all 20 or 30 fragrances. Kinda like lip gloss containers. They screwed together in a compact little stack, too...

IOW, so many variables that they might as well just say "these wicks are different from the others in a subtle, indefinite way" <smirk>. I mean, the "features" claimed are about the same on all of them. Self trimming, no mushrooms, even burn pool, etc. I get mushrooms in my 464 containers (8%FO) whether it's a "hot" ECO or a "cool" CSN (treated flat braid, basically). Can be frustrating, depending how perfect you're going for. Either tear your hair out, or accept slight problems and find that 2 sizes each of 3 different wick types all work pretty much the same (sometimes, depending on wax, FO, etc. )

I use a mini blowtorch. Have to be careful not to singe the wick, but I find it very useful for touching up wax. Too slow for production work, of course.