RedLady

i really like them for larger jar candles like the 4 inch diameter apothecary jars. they seem to be able to burn for longer periods of time without getting that flat little top or fraying. i can use 1 c85 cotton wick from peaks in a 4 inch jar and it has a good burn and the jar doesn't get too hot. for jars in the 2.5 to 3.5 i like them as much as the lx wicks. i use a combo of 85% of the 6006 wax and 15% of ecosoya wax(excel, cb advanced, or cb135).

thanks debbie. so far i have done three 4 hour burns. the scent is good but none of them have reached a full melt pool yet. each burn has gone out closer to the edge. it also keeps its nice creamy smooth top when it rehardens so i like that too. i will keep going though. i may make another tester in each jar with one wick bigger for both.

sorry... i was so focused on getting the pics to post i forgot some info. i have two 8oz apothecary jars with a 4 in diameter scented pumpkin crunch cake by nature's garden. they are in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th pics. in picture two the jar on the left has a lx 26 and the jar on the right a lx 24. the other jars are 8oz status jars with about a 3 in diameter scented buttered run from nature's garden. they are in the 1st, 4th, and 5th picture. in picture one the jar on the left has a cd16 and the jar on the right has a lx21. picture 5 is just all of the jars i just described together in one shot.

I just wanted to share my candles. i am new and have been testing to see what wax i like with lots of tips from reading here. i hope these pics work. the candles are a blend of 85% 6006, 15% ecosoya excel, 1 tsp coconut oil, 7% FO, and 1 dye chip per pound. i melted to 190, added dye and fo, stirred well, poured at 180 into room temp jars, and cooled on a rack. so far they look perfect and are burning well. this is after two hours of burn time on the first burn. what do you guys think?

the link i gave does have you do this but the weight it tells you takes into account the difference in weight between wax and water. i've used this calculator for every type of container and i get a wax fill exactly to where i wanted it to be.

http://www.candletech.com/calculator/container.php go here and follow the directions. i use this and it gives me the perfect amount every time.

the fo and dye quantity were exactly the same and in the same amount between the two batches. the only difference was adding the usa in the second batch. i added the dye chip at the same time as the wax chips to the melt pot because i wanted to make sure it melted completely. i did end up putting the candles in the oven to remelt and they look much better. on my next batch i am going to try adding the dye chip after the wax has been melted and see if that helps any. thanks for the replies!

I have a question about usa... let me tell you my situation...... Since I am new to candlemaking I have been experimenting with c-3, cba, and 135. I for the most part like them all and have been experimenting to see if one becomes my top pick. I haven't had any issues other than a little frosting on the surface with all of them and an occasional pebbly area on the surface. I read here about an additive called USA that was supposed to help with these issues. So yesterday I made a couple of candles. I used 3.3 inch tins and 4 inch apothecary jars. I used c-3 wax in the apothecary jars and a 50/50 combo of cba and 135 in the tins. I used FO at 7% and the usa at a rate of 1 tbs per pound. I also used 1 dye chip per pound. I put the dye chip, usa, and wax in my pot and heated to 185 for both batches. I added the FO and stirred well. I poured the c3 at 160 and the blend at 135. i cooled on a rack covered with a box. they looked great upon initial set up...smooth tops, no wet spots, and only one little spot of frosting on one of the jars. i left the candles on the rack under the box overnight. When I woke up today the jars had terrible frosting on the sides and the tops. The tins had a smidge of frosting just below the surface. Did I incorporate the USA improperly to cause all this excessive frosting in these batches with the usa? I did the same two batches last week except no USA and the frosting was so minor and faint I'm not sure any one would have noticed if they weren't told about it. Can any one offer any suggestions?

thanks everyone! i am going to give this a try!

Hi everyone! I recently started making candles. So far I have had pretty good luck. No major issues with the way they look and not too many issues with getting a wick I like. Reading the board has been very helpful. I saw another post about tempering wax. I tried searing the board for instructions on how to do this but came up with no results. Can some one give me a brief explanation of how to temper wax?