dianad

I'm wondering if anyone else weighs their 1 oz. samples of oils, besides myself, and if so, do you find that they are accurate? I always weigh mine, since I only make small batches of tarts at a time, for myself. Last month I ordered 24 one ounce samples from a company that is pretty popular on here, and all but 4 bottles weighed .90 oz. That may not seem like alot to be short in a bottle, but it for sure adds up--my loss, their gain. I talked to the owner, and he told me that they are ABSOLUTELY weighed correctly, and that the .1 difference that I was short, was due to the slight little bit of oil that never comes out of the bottle. I assured him that I do everything but stand on my head, to get every bit of oil from every bottle! Just ordered samples from the 2 other companies that had their 1 oz. sale just recently, and of those two, only Peak's samples have all been a full ounce or a tad bit more--without standing on my head, tapping, shaking, and holding the bottle upside down for a minute or more. THANK YOU PEAK'S!!!

I just ordered a pound of CS Clean Cotton, along with TOO MANY samples!! Clean Cotton is one of my favorites-very strong, clean, and fresh. Never get tired of it!

Forgot to mention that there was sediment at the bottom of the sample bottle of Maple Crunch and in the bottom of pour pot. Yes, I had shook it before using, but it must have settled out quickly. Also specks of sediment in the tarts themselves. Kind of like specks of cinnamon? Don't know what that means, but it was nasty looking.

I had originally ordered the sample pack, but was out of wax. Meanwhile, I jumped on the bandwagon, after seeing so many success stories with these oils, and ordered pound bottles. Then, my wax came, and I discovered the oil wasn't cuttin' the mustard! So, the owner told me just to return the the order of pounds, which I did yesterday. Lesson learned!

ChrisR and HorsescentS: I was just thinking about you two. The last thing I wanted this morning was a mess, but that's what I got! I added the Sugar Cookie into the melt pot, kept the temp at 185-188, stirred, stirred, stirred, STIRRED, AND STIRRED some more - for 5 minutes (HorsescentS, you'd be proud of me!), poured the tarts. Just took them out, and spent the last half hour, wiping off each individual little heart tart, then wiping out all the mold pans. That's it! I'm done! Back to what works for me. Thanks to all for helping!

ChrisR: I have several Vanilla and vanilla based oils and they mix just fine, plus a buttercream that's as thick as honey and still no problems mixing. Can you give me a clue where to get the good vanilla based oils, if it's somewhere other than where I already buy from? Please?

Well, I'm gonna eat my Wheaties in the morning, and beat the crap out of some oils/wax, and see what happens!

I must say that I make my tarts they way that ChrisR describes! LOL! Heat it up, dump it into the pot with oil, stir it with my thermometer-(yes!), a minute if it's lucky, and get those dudes poured! Told you I was lazy! All was good till recently! Guess I'll just have to stay with my same old, boring oils! thanks, guys!

LOL! I'd better get a jug of elbow grease, and put the fear into my wax! I'm a lazy thing, and I've discovered that 1 minute is a l-o-n-g time, when watching that second hand go around! But it 2 is what it takes, hey I'm up for that! Never tried heating the oil- in the microwave or how?

Was the bad batch of wax a recent thing? I just bought this last week, but it wasn't the 6006. Next time I order wax, I'm going to get it from Peak's. I know how it has always performed in the past. Then, if these oils still don't work, I'll know that it's not the wax. As far as stirring, no I don't stir for that long. Seems most things that I read said to stir for 1 minute, so that's what I started doing. Someone else suggested using a wire wisk. So I think I'll try putting some "grunt" in my stirring, as you suggested, and try the 2 minute stir. It sure can't hurt, and may very well make a great improvement in my regular oils! I've never been able to make a candle that I can smell, so maybe this will improve that, too. Maybe I'm just spoiled by using tarts, and am expecting too much from a candle! I've always preferred tarts over candles, because of the quicker and stronger release of scent. Thanks alot!

Typically if I have to perform a circus act to get a fragrance to work after a handful of tries to get it to work, I will ditch the fragrance and strike that FO from the company: That's just what I've decided. It ain't worth the trouble!! I was just saying for anyone else reading that I happen to trust Carol's opinions: I was just curious if there would be any difference in reaction, (soy taking the heavier oils any easier than paraffin) between people using a soy based wax, and those like me, who use paraffin. Thought perhaps soy users might do things a little differently, and I could use hints from them to make these oils work for me.

IwantItGreen: Yes, I did try oils from my regular suppliers, and they worked fine, like they always do! Great smell, no hassles! Yes, I contacted the owner- he is a great guy! Best customer service I've seen for years- and not just in the candle business. He treats folks like businesses used to, years ago. Luis said if they didn't work out, I could return them. He is also trying to see if he can find an answer to this.

why not try melting the wax and then adding the oils to your wax at a reasonable temperature ..., maybe even at 180-185. - That is normally the temp that I melt to and add oils. In previous posts, I said that it was only after finding oil floating in the bottom of pour pot, that I started increasing the wax temp, thinking it would help bind the heavier oils. 200 was the highest that I tried, but still wouldn't bind. I thought you were using 4784 with 4786: For all of these batches, I have not blended 4786 with 4794. Each test has been in a separate type of wax. I do blend the two waxes 50/50 at times, when I am low on one, or just to make the tarts a little easier to melt. Give these type of oils a chance to bind with the wax. The heavier oils you should be able to cut back on your percentage as is. It takes more to time to mix heavier FOs into paraffin.: Should I expect the same amount of throw, if I have to cut back on percentage with heavy oils? I went down to 5% with the Sugar Cookie, and am melting those tarts this morning--can't smell anything unless I'm standing right over the warmer-also, barely any cold throw. Why would heavy oils from one company give me problems, and oils from others are fine? Guess I'll just have to stick with my regular suppliers-no hassles with any of their oils, and fantastic hot/cold throw. DPG though cuts fragrances and I do trust Carol K's opinions. If she says they aren't cut, I would believe her.: When she said the oils were fine, and it was a wax problem, I had asked her, so as to make a comparison, about her temps, etc. She replied that she didn't use my type of wax, and those factors didn't matter. To me, that's comparing apples and oranges-kind of a blank statement. If I don't know how she makes/mixes, I can't try her way to see if that would work. No help in that statement-why say anything. That's why I'm here asking for advice, to see what I should do differently. Vanillas can be difficult to incorporate into wax. The temperature of the wax can make a difference when adding vanillas.: I will try heating the FO itself, and add half at a time. So I should keep the wax at temp (180-185) while blending for a longer amount of time? I'll give it a shot. The way I do it, the oil appears to be mixed in just fine. It's when I get about half way through the pouring, that I start to see the oil accumulating in the bottom of the pot. (This is with small batches, usually I make 10 - 12 ounces at a time.) That leaves me with a mess by the time I pour the last few tarts! Thank you so much for your advice! Everyone seems to be doing fine, and I've never had this trouble before, so I was mystified as to why this was happening. I've always had success with Peak's, Candle Science, Moonworks, Berts, The Candle Source, MillCreek, and Backwoods oils. Guess I'll stay with what works!

If your temps and wax are different than mine and of no help to me, then I don't understand how you can make the statement that it is a bad batch of wax, and that there is nothing wrong with the oils. Seems that you aren't able to compare the two. Glad they're working out for you-thanks!

Just finished pouring tarts. I decided to not screw around with slowly increasing amounts of oils. Just a waste of time and wax. If I'm unable to make tarts like usual, then I don't need to be using these oils. I made them all like I always have- 8%, 4794 wax, heat 185, stir 1 minute, pour. Jamaica Me Crazy Honeysuckle Lavendar Blueberry Blast Juniper Breeze- All of these have a very slight bit of oil film on bottoms of tarts. Iced Cranberry- oil left in pot, and had to wipe off each tart. Sugar Cookie and Maple Crunch- LOTS of oil left in pot, and had to wipe off each tart. Craters of oil on bottoms of tarts. What a mess! So it appears that the ones with vanilla? are the worst offenders. The wax you use is the real gooey one that I read about, right? I'd think that it would be worse than the 4786 that I used last night when it comes to not mixing correctly, but it sounds like you're doing alright. I guess I'll never understand what's wrong. Thanks to everyone for all your help!!

You didn't say what temp you heat wax, add oil, pour? You are using a different type of wax than I am. Do you use 10% in all scents, and do you only use GB 415?

What temp to do you heat wax, add oil, pour? I only use paraffin. I tried 5% in Sweet Pea last night, and got oil in the bottom of pour pot, and in the molds when removing tarts. I can't imagine what 10% would have been like! I know that you are all giving good reports- that's what I'm trying to figure out, why they won't stay mixed for me. As stated, I've never had a problem before, and use good quality oils.

What are the solvents and fillers? I can't afford to have oils sitting around that won't work for me. Generally I use, 8% to 10%, depending on the scent, from other suppliers, and have not had any problems. I'll never be able to smell these at 4%! Why do others report success and I'm having nothing but trouble? Other posters are saying they are using these oils at 9%! So far, it seems that they only work for me at 4% - 5%.

I had started a thread over in the general section, about all the trouble I've been having with the oils dropping out. But on this thread, everyone seems to be having great success with this company's oils. It seems most folks that have posted, use some type of soy wax, so when I noticed that you use paraffin, I had to ask how it was going. I was shocked when you said you were using 9%. I normally use anywhere from 8% to 10% when making tarts. This is the first time I've had oils that wouldn't stay mixed in. Still trying to figure it out.

ChandlerWicks: I was reading your post about making the status jar candle with The Sugar Cookie scent. You said you used a 9% fragrance oil load. I wondered if you had any trouble with the oil not staying mixed into the wax? I use 4786, and a 5% I had a small amount of separation. At 8%, there was oil left in the bottom of my pour pot. I heat to 185, mix for 1 minute, and pour. I've been having problems with some of these oils, and only by going down to 4% in some cases, have they stayed completely mixed in. I'm afraid they won't have much smell to them, with such low amounts of f.o.

chuck_35550: Steve - When you say that the oil may be cut too much, what is it cut with? I've never known what's in fragrance oil anyway. Is it made with scent and DPG, or what? Is it like when I make incense, the instructions say to use 1 part fragrance oil, to 2-3 parts DPG. It makes the oil go further. Too me, it just weakens the scent, and I use a 1-1 ratio. If that's the same with fragrance oils, then I guess I won't be able to use the oils from this company, since my point is to make STRONG smelling tarts. Not wimpy ones, like you buy at WallyWorld, etc.

redraider: I've never tried using a wisk. I definately will give that a try. I just use my old spoon. Here are the results for tonights tart making session. All were made using IGI 4786. Also, these were very small batches, to save using up my wax - 6 to 10 ounce batches. Heated wax to 185, added to oil in pour pot, stirred for about 1 minute, and poured into molds. Same way I always do it. Tomorrow I plan on using IGI 4794, and see if there is any difference. It may be like comparing apples and oranges, since I didn't use the same 2 oils as I used yesterday. I'm out of the Amish Harvest, and have just enough of the Maple Crunch to use tomorrow, when trying the 4794. SWEET PEA: ( 2 batches) 1st batch - 5% load - had a very small amount of oil in the bottom of pour pot by the time I poured the last 2 tarts. When removed from mold, had to wipe off excess oil from those 2 tarts. 2nd batch - 4% load - no excess oil in pour pot, or on finished tarts. BUTT NAKED: (2 batches) 1st batch - 5 % load - no excess oil left in pour pot, or on finished tarts. 2nd batch - 8% load (took a gamble!) - no excess oil in pour pot, or on tarts. THE SUGAR COOKIE: (2 batches) 1st batch - 5% load - had a very small amount of oil in the bottom of pour pot by the time I poured the last 2 tarts. When removed from mold, had to wipe off excess oil from those 2 tarts. I was surprised, since it was a vanilla based scent! 2nd batch- 8% load - (Got brave, since there was so little oil drop out at 5%, plus it smelled SO GOOD it was all I could do to keep from taking a swig out of the bottle!) - bad idea!! More oil in bottom of pour pot than any of the other scents, and actually had to pry out the last tart, due to alot of oil in the bottom of the mold, keeping a suction on that little dude! ICED CRANBERRY: ( Only made one batch- I was getting tired!) 6% load - got lucky - no separation in pour pot, or after removing tarts. Tomorrow I'll see if I can go up any on percentages with the 4794. I'm afraid that since I seem to have to use such small percentages with these oils, I won't be able to make a STRONG tart like I'm used to having. I just make them for me, and I can't smell them if they're not strong. I usually make tarts with an 8% to 10% load. I get my oils from Peak's, Candle Science, Bert's, Moonworks, The Candle Source, and Millcreek. I've always been able to mix at 8% and 10% using 4794 and 4786, but not with this suppliers oils, it appears. I'll wait a day or two, and see if I can smell them. I hope so. But I still don't understand why I am having to use such small percentages of oil!! I'm wondering what % oil the folks that are making candles with these oils are using? I did pour a few small candles - votives and small 2 ounce jars - while I was making these tarts, and as usual, I can't smell any throw from the candles at all. Never can. That's why I just stick with tarts. Someday, I'd like to be able to make good, strong candles like the rest of you!!

Just got home and will try some more tarts tonight. Luis answered my email, and bless his heart, he said that I could return the oils, if couldn't get them to work for me. Now, that's customer service!! I'll post the results of the tarts I make this evening. jeanie353: I didn't mean to scare anyone off of this company. Luis has been great! Before last night, I had only used the sample bottles of oil to make up some incense, since I had been out of wax. Incense was fine, and as you know, I'm the only odd ball that has had a problem, according to everyone on the Fragrance thread. As I said, Luis offered to let me return the oils, if I can't figure this out--where else are you going to find customer service like that these days!!? ChrisR: I have never used Vybar, and don't have any. Wish I did. I've read a little about it here, but not sure how to use it. Is it for helping to bind the oil? I'm never sure if it's that, or Stearic. Thanks. number2of7: You and everyone else has had fantastic results from this company...So it must be something I'm doing wrong-just can't understand what in the world it could be. This is a first for me. As far as the possibility of water in the wax, so far, I haven't noticed any popping sounds while melting. Do you use soy wax for your candle making? I've only ever used paraffin.

I, like you, didn't think that my using paraffin wax should make any difference. I'm just befuddled as to why everyone else is having success with these oils, and I'm having such trouble. I'm also afraid that a lower percentage of oil will give me no scent. Will have to see how it works.

O.K. - Thanks. Wouldn't that be something if I had to use LESS oil for a change!