EricofAZ

I have no plans on stopping. They make nice candles and I don't produce very many of them. For the most part, I find that they work best with EO's so maybe the way to spin it is to explain to anyone concerned that I don't use it as an ordinary every day item, but for special applications with limited production and special use. For the ordinary daily candles, the pillars and containers can be mottling paraffin or the appropriate IGI wax with multi colored dyes, etc.

Sounds like it really doesn't matter then if the wick is pre-primed at purchase, or primed by the chandler with the special priming wax, or primed by the chandler with the actual wax in the presto as long as something is done to it. Ok, I'd rather continue to use the wick off the roll at the cheaper price and prime in the presto. I guess the special additives that some wicks have, like CDN's, are in the material not the primer.

I don't batch much but sometimes I do. I'll batch three half pound containers at a time so that I can put a case together with 4 FO's. As for the pillars, sometimes I'll load 3 pounds and 5 oz FO and pour three molds in a bean tray at an angle with no dye, then before it sets up, add some dye and pour some more and rotate the mold, then more dye and more rotation, etc., until I get three pillars with multi-color. For me, this is an after work time passer and if I sell a bunch every now and then it helps me feed the fun addiction.

Ok, I'm back to testing a new jar and wax combo. Like most of you, I have a wide selection of wicks. I generally buy rolls of raw wick rather than primed and tabbed wicks, but I have a variety of those as well. I see that some companies sell wax especially formulated for priming only - for those that want to prime a batch. Never tried it. I tend to use the pour wax to prime the wick that I use from a roll. Either soaking it in the presto prior to the pour or letting it go lax and soak after the pour for a while then pulling it taught for the cooling (I also tend to pour hot). I've not had any problem with either primed or roll wicks. I use the primed ones in the pillars simply because they passed the burn test and work. I use the non-primed in the containers simply because they work for the burn test and I have one container that works well with a primed wick that I have on hand. So what are your thoughts about primed vs. non primed wicks? Does it matter? Am I missing something? Does a primed wick do something that a non primed wick doesn't do? Do we even care since the burn test is OK?

I bought a box of Avery 5167 labels at Costco (.5x.75 in). They work out to a fraction of a penny each. Every FO I buy gets a sheet. One label goes on the top of the FO bottle because I keep the bottles in boxes. For now, they are alphabetical, but I'm going to arrange them by group (food, sea, dupes, etc.). It is also easy to slap one on a poured candle until I can label it. I have some mailing labels (bulk at Costco), 1x3 5/8 and I have them printed with lines for FO, quantity, wax type and amount, dye and wick choice. During testing, I just fill it out with a pen and check the boxes and slap the label on. Spreadsheet is by wax number (IGI, etc) and then I put the notes in there based on the label and what the burn results were. I have a 2 oz shot glass with a white label up the side and markings as to ml. MOST, but not all, FO's weigh close enough. EO's are another story. So instead of weighing the FO's each time, I fill to the line I want that is marked with the ml amount. If I'm using an FO that is thicker or an EO, I weight it on a digital and use the tare feature. I have not gotten around to it yet, but I'll be putting my wick rolls on a mount with labels so that I can just pull what I want and have a cutter on a string nearby. Digital thermometer, its great for surface temp and that's good enough for me after a stir or two. Presto pot, but I don't use the spout. I ladel the wax out or tip the pot. The spout clogs with palm unless I turn the temp higher than necessary so its really pretty much useless. Even when it does work, it is angled wrong and after looking closely, I would have to replace a pipe and bend it to get it right and that's just not in my immediate future. The wax gets chopped up into chunks and put in a bag that is labeled when I get it. I either chisel or use a hot knife (Harbor Freight) to cut the wax into smaller chunks. Most pieces are 2 - 4 oz. Some half oz. It is easy enough with the odd sizes to grab what I want to get the correct scale reading prior to the presto. I do need more work space. Managing my dyes is still in the future. I was pretty much down to the standard CMYK or RGB and mixing, but it was so easy to buy a 4 oz bottle of something special that I now have to sit on a high mountain in meditation before I organize that mess. When I do I'm pretty sure that after an epiphany I'll yodel something like "Welllll Allllllllllrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigghtyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy ......... Theeeeeeeeeen!" Pretty sure Einstein, my cat, will put a paw over her eyes.

A lot of folks talk about the amount of FO that a wax can hold. Something that often makes more difference is the diameter of the melt pool rather than the wax selection and amount of FO (though combining the best of all these choices can result in a really powerful candle). Wide diameter candle MP's tend to throw far more than narrow diameter candles. So the jar selection is important if you want to have a strong candle.

At last, someone else who is not concerned about a dome around the wick. If its slight, like yours, I leave them and don't try to level the tops. I think it lends a bit of character, eh?

I don't mess with soy that much, but the hotter pour seems to result in a nicer top.

Ok, thanks, Einstein and I were thinking that it was just US! Either that or we learned a new way to grow pine cones. I do like how the wick handles the pillars and the container with the chosen wax. BUT, its time to test again. I'm switching to different jars and testing out J50 and J223 so I'll re-wick with that. Thanks for the re-assurance.

Mixing amonia and bleach = Chlorine Gas. Was used in chemical warfare. Not a good mix to be playing with at home.

I wonder, if you just wedged the wick between two holders, it would easily be drawn down into the jar when the wax shrinks on cooling. That could be your off center observation. hair pins work fine. I've found a variety at the dollar store that work on a 3 inch diameter container. I also have been known to glue two popsicle sticks together and mark them so that one opening is centered and use mold sealer to hold the top of the wick.

Ok, I'm using 44-32-18 cotton wicks in a variety of applications. 3" dia. one pound pillars and 2 3/4 inch diameter tumblers mostly. The tumbler is mostly IGI 6006 Sometimes a similar container with Mottling IGI 1274 Pillar is IGI 4725 I get the diameter that I am looking for. The flame height is fine. Power burns are fine. The Pillars don't mushroom that much, but a little. The containers don't go wall to wall for the first half which is what I want, then it all catches up. However, the wick mushrooms like crazy. I'm thinking of spray painting the mushrooms and photographing them for abstract art contests. Happens with all fragrances and all dyes. Do I just assume the wick is prone to mushroom? What might I change to? Same size but paper? Zinc? I've read all the stuff about what causes mushrooms and I think I've ruled out the usual suspects. Thanks.

This is pretty much discussed in the search tool that you have. Best advice is to look up your wax type and where you bought it and read the manufacturer's sheet and follow that at first. Then add or subtract based on the the specific fragrance and your burn test. When you get it just the way you like it, then decide if you want any additives and burn test again.

I use a cotton. My 3" diameter pillars burn nice with 44-32-18 cotton. On a 4 hour burn, they're just fine. 6 hours and that's OK too, maybe a slight mushroom. 12 hours and they need to be hugged a bit. I was not using vybar, I think if I do it might stiffen up the wax a bit.

I probably should say that additives do alter the wax properties so your melt pool diameter does change. And, i think that the more FO, the larger the melt pool for a given wick, so if you cut back FO, you "might" use a larger wick, but likely the difference will be negligable. I don't know how the UV effects the wax burn, I don't use it. I do know that if I use vybar, I have to increase the wick size and increase the heat. Sometimes this is not good in containers so I tend to not use additives in containers.

I agree with Soy, getting a wall to wall pool on the first burn is not necessary. Also, you have a pretty wide jar and while the wider pool does tend to have a better HT, its tough to wick. Sounds like you're off to a good start. I don't think the sweating is the cause of the pool diameter being what you report. I think pool diameter is a function of heat and wax density.

I regularly go over 1oz pp with GG in a container. I think 10 percent is doable and I've come close (1.5 oz pp).

Well, I use a medium set of pliers and they work fine. I do have a good grip and squeeze pretty hard. The wicks don't pull out at all. I'm sure the wick is bruised inside the crimp area, but who cares, eh?

Soy, Einstein is doing well. She was recently contemplating a variation of this "string theory" that we're all hearing about on the science channel. (She likes any kind of string, be it yarn or thread...). The new variation involves unraveling wick material and decorative lace from a roll. I'll let you know if she unravels the mystery to "wick theory" any time soon. Thanks for asking. (She is so addicted, she needs help.)

I don't use EO's in soy because of the bad HT that soy has compared to other wax types. (And don't use it in paraffin either.) I do use EO's in palm and I'm very happy with not only the HT but a good deep breath every now and then is really soothing. I use slightly more than 1 oz per pound. Probably closer to 1.5 ounces per pound. On rare occasion, I approach 2 oz per pound.

Hello. My name is EricofAZ and I personally have no problems with candle addictions but my cat, Einstein, is a candleholic. Welcome to the group.

Sometimes the device I use to hold the wick centered gets jostled, especially when I release it (bobby pins) so that can cause cracking. Glad you have good tops with soy. Hard to do. Lots of folks end up using a heat gun to smooth the tops and that would certainly fix your crack.

I have a presto and it is just a workhorse. I keep it clean and wipe it out daily. I check the connection where the plug inserts and make sure there is no uncleaned wax spill over the side. I have to echo the above, I think we would all like to know where the fire started and how. Was it a wax in the wrong place fire or did the coil blow out? etc,etc.

I've had this happen with liquid pigments. I will never use a pigment in a candle again. Liquid dye's are fine, pigments are not.

Some things to consider: 1. Don't use your personal name in the business name. That fails the A1 test. You know, if it looks bad on page A1 of the newspaper, try and avoid it. 2. You might do some internet searches to see what domain names are available that might match your business name. Little Bee Soaps might translate to lbs.com but that's taken. So maybe some catch phrase that helps people think of the website and the business name in one shot. 3. Certainly the name should say something about the business. Narrow enough to identify the business, broad enough to allow for expansion. LB Soaps is easy, I know you sell soaps. Probably pet products and shampoos. I wouldn't think candles or jewelry. I'm not sure what LB Naturals means, but that's me, maybe "those in the know" are OK with that. 4. Once the business is identified as to what it does, slogans are great for telling folks how you approach the product. LB Soaps "Naturals for the natural" etc. 5. Think about branding. Good names, slogans, websites, and images along with a logo and color scheme all go into branding. Once you do it, stick with it. Hope that helps.