schmism

so as someone who's always heard the term... but has lived in the midwest all his life... how far north is "upstate NY" (used to vacation in the Adirondacks as a kid)

to quote from another source second number is speed its run through the braiding machine....doesn't mean much other than faster speeds (higher number) = tighter weave = less wicking action third is temp code for machine setup (again doesn't mean much to us it varries based on the first 2) zinc means it has a small zinc wire at the core, designed to help it stand upright in the melt pool and not fall over and drown. If seriously overwicked, The candle will have a very large flame (perhaps 1.25" tall or more) it will have a tendency to soot. So much fuel (wax) is been fed into the flame (by the wic) that the flame doesn't have enough time to burn it all, and thus some is given off as incomplete burnt particles = soot The wick may have a tendency to mushroom at the tip as particles build up on it. your burn times for your candles will decrease greatly as your burning a lot of wax quickly. Often overwicking is wanted because that large amount of wax burnt also means large amount of FO that is released into the air = larger "throw" you have to balance this effect with the sooting mentioned above. You may run across people that say there commercial candles throw really well.... but also have a tendency to soot. (this is why) Flickering can also happen, this is when the wick is sucking up all the available melted wax quicker than the flame can melt more. So the flame oscillate back and forth as it melts wax, then quickly draws it up increasing in intensity, but then starves out and falls back. some self trimming wicks (ones that curl over into the edge of the flame) can help keep a wick from growing to large and perpetuating a really large flame.

Thats the exact type of documentation im referring to. for instance LX (flat braid type) that doc recommends LX-10,12,14 In practice 16 burns well and ive seen some go as high as lx 20. (10 and 12 exhibit classic underwic symptoms, insufficient melt pool... drowning, very small flame) a zinc core version (often recommended for votives) shipped in kits and used in pracitce , 44-24-18 is one above the 6 previous lesser sizes recommended for votives. I think its worth repeating, When I started, I read plenty of recommended wic charts, I purchased a couple from middle of the charts.... I was unhappy with the results. I went back and started researching what people ACTUALLY said they used, and what wics were shipped in votive "kits" and often found a 2 or more size "overwick". Advise about FO requireing upsized wicks is also true. Knowing what I know now, I always purchase 2-3 over what is recommended and if its really oversized, its still burnable. but undersized wics that drown out after 5-10 min of being lit are just no fun.

should have 99% of the same stuff http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?109041-Candlewic-FO-quot-S-any-must-haves

why not use the plastic pop corn containers..... you can pour boiling water in them if your unshure how they will take the heat while in the sink. (boiling water 212F at sealevel or 100c) this is much hotter than wax you might pour at 180f or 150 if "cold"

Ive struggled to understand the difference between recommended wic sizes and the reality it takes to achieve the burn I expect. From what I've seen recommended in practice, and from my own testing, over wicking by at least 2 sizes is a good place to start. I make a lot of votives and its surprising to see how large a wic people end up actual using vs what is recommended on paper. (2 over is common although ive seen as high as 4 over)

I thought monkey farts was always a good seller....

HPDE plastic is not really molded but more likely built from sheet and heat welded

sounds much more like a friend of a friend heard a story that was read off the internet..... and well... you know how that goes....

what specifically is "blazing hot" i never melt a single batch without a themo in it. Peak instructions call for adding FO at 200+. Its interesting to take your wax to 220 and see how much water boils out of it. I'll add FO at 200-205 and let cool to 175. I almost always pour my votives at 175.

just dont understand....

i ordered 2 of peak's starter kits. Although i got the wrong wicks in my votive kit im very pleased with the products and value in terms of kit. you might ask what the purpose of the of the candle burning... if its for the sent, you can suggest she make her own melts which dont require messing with wicks (perhaps the biggest pain in DIY candles)

the marketplace on the boards...... look down..... http://www.craftserver.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?12-Classified-Ads.

have you used this mold with other wax? has other wax performed the same way with the trouble mold?

have you tried pouring the same wax in a non-silcone mold? AL pillar molds or steel votive cups.... (glass pt jars) Im not convinced its not a wax/color/FO issue and has nothing to do with the mold.

3x7.5.... it appears to have about a 1" taper (the base is 2"?) seems like a good candidate for a single 3.5"-4" pillar wick. depending on wax type i like cotton braid 24ply for smaller 2.5" or 3" if i have a good wax otherwise I like to overwick with 30ply. others i would consider HTP 93 or LX-21 throu Lx-24 depending on wax and prefrence for overwicking

i also found the heat gun i use to finish the tops of my votives is great for melting little splatters on the stove and then suck them up with paper towel. my stove top is old porcelain covered steel so easy cleanup with rasorblade

id like to say i dont either, but i make mostly votives, and sometimes i push that surface tension bubble on top just a FUZ to far... then it bursts like a damn and flows all over the place

i put mine in some hot water. pour out with silicone oven glove.

I melt in the kitchen. i have a full sheet cookie sheet i use. metal means i can scrape up drips/spills and recycle them. lip on the edge contains the occasional spill. The wife prefers when i clean the stove of cause of the wax splatters.

nice thing about even adding a little soy to your paraffin is you can market your candle as a "soy blend" for those who think soy is better than old fashion paraffin.

I make a lot of votives, so ill test on full size votives, if a test burn goes poorly (with that wick combo) ill melt it down pick the tab'd wick out of the melt and set it aside. next sample pour ill pour a 3/4 or 1/2 full votive and reuse the burnt wick on the new blend for a test burn. I label plastic bags with my votive wick types and toss the used kind back in the right bag so i can keep them separate.

Its not just ANY smoke..... Its carbon black that is the key which is virtually impossible to get from any other source than an open flame. Smoke from a cig, or incense or any other "smokey" item is not the same as that pure carbon black you get from a "smokey candle". You could try increasing the amount mineral oil in a paraffin wax votive, a non-curling wick that doesnt self trim well (that mushrooms) will increase the likely hood of smoking also. optionally you might recommend he pickup a sight smoker. http://www.sbsdistributing.com/6.html

Im new here and somewhat new to candle makeing. (skip to the stars for the questions toward the bottom) A little quick background. I live in rural IL on a hobby farm. Im an engineer by profession and a "crafty" type including woodworking, spinning, gardening, beekeeping etc. My interest in candles stems from watching my mother in law which LOVES candles burn huge numbers of the crappiest quality pillar candles each holiday season. Each year a pile of dead and or "malfunctioning" candles would pile up. Knowing all it takes is to toss them in a pot and melt them down and pour them into a new shape with a new wick and instant new candle in theory at least.... So word gets out that im "playing" with candles and now my parents contribute old candles to my supply. My dad who loves to shop at estate sales comes home with boxes of candles that he picked up for a couple of bucks.... So when takeing a bunch of random left over candle bits and melting them all together and pouring them into a mold, then adding a generic "med" wick (from michaels) its surpriseing to see how poorly the new versions burn. SO I assume that its my wick... so i research wicks... HOLY CRAP there is a arse tone of wick types! and of course none of them seem to have any meaningful description of what makes this type different from another. So then it gets me thinking about the wax quality. Not all candle wax is created equal... I mentioned i was a beekeeper and therefore have access to a nearly endless supply of beeswax. (although perhaps not in massive quantities) I do know that pure beeswax candles burn really well. I also know that for years paraffin wax was standard in candles. (i was surprised to find that the majority of wax these days seems to have something to do with soy.. whatever that is?!?!?!) So for any given random melt batch i really wish i could take a small sample and load it into a mass spec machine and figure out what the composition of THIS batch of wax is. as im fresh out of mass spec machines ill have to rely on other data i can gather such as melting point and physical atributes such as hardness and "feel" and shrink amount ***********to the questions! the melting temp of the candle varies how based on its ingredients? IE the more bees wax the closer the melting temp approaches 145deg. add more paraffin and lower the melting point? raise it? are all paraffin waxes created equal? will 100% "paraffin" always have the same melt temp? or will it vary based on the nature of the loose definition of paraffin to being with. Is melting point and physical hardness of a wax directly proportional? is there a test of the "flammability" of a wax? which is to say, how well it burns on the wick. (soot production? it was my understanding that soot production was a function of wick type not wax makeup) how does adding various other fuels to wax affect burn performance. (like mineral oil or kerosene) If i provide you with the same wick material and the same container (and or mold if doing a pillar) and the only data you have on the wax is melting point, what sort of melt pool exceptions can you have? the lower the melting point the larger the melt pool? and vise versa? Do all waxes burn at the same temp? (is melt pool size relative to burn temp? eg the more heat the flame gives off the larger an area of wax it will melt?) Can the crappiest burning candles be fixed simply with a different wick type or will they likely need to be mixed with better burning wax (such as beeswax or pure paraffin)?