rjdaines

Your observations match mine, I just use PB for votives now as i prefer the huggable nature of paraffin. If I were to do a pillar with PB, would try to have it tunnel and see what happened as the wick burned down into it. I've been using LX wicks with PB but CDs would be another good choice to try.

I get very smooth tops by pouring at 160, however, after a burn they never look as good again and there is not much I can do about that. I've poured at 140 as well and achieved good results but this is all with 8 ounce and 16 ounce containers. Less then 8 ounces I pour hotter as they will cool faster because of the reduced amount of wax. They also seem to be sensitive to drafts and touching at the final stages of cooling. I experimented by adding paraffin (IGI 6006) at 50/50. Got really smooth tops but it burned too much like paraffin. Some other ratio might work better or some other wax to add in. What container and size are you using and posting a picture might help.

I feel some experiments on the horizon, 10% palm to 90% GW464 to start. Not sure I would want go beyond 35%; so that is a work able range. Might try coconut wax too, there was a hot thread about that a while ago but haven't heard much about it lately.

I am using GW464 as well and using about the same diameter container, I use a CD16 or CD18 wick depending on the fragrance oil (FO) (heavier ones need more wick). I have added FO at hot temps and at cool temps and have found little difference with the FO that I have tested. Some FO will work and some won't, I have not used Monkey Farts, not sure I buy that based on the name but your basic set up should work. Try a few other scents, 1 oz testers are cheap. As others have said, bakery scents seem to work well and I am having luck for florals (orange blossom). Clean cotton was not so good. I have tried HTP wick with 464 and find I get better burns with the CDs.

Thanks for the reply, this is part of developing my system. I have certain goals that I would like to reach in generating a product and understanding how all of these variable interact is a good way of learning how to get to that point. I already see these environment factors at work. Candles that burned well this spring in terms of melt pool depth are now much deeper in the heat of pre-summer. I see more testing coming...

Scary for sure, the open flame that is. I've heated my home from a wood stove for years when living in the NE and i can tell you that the surface is HOT, 500 F or more depending. Regulating the heat will be very tricky unless you have an extended surface that is not directly under the flame. Depending on the length of the demo, stoves (depending on the materials they are made of) can hot heat for a long time. You might be able the preheat the surface and then close off the air but using an actively burning fire does not seem like a good idea.

Well, that is unfortunate if we here in the USA can't get the non crystallizing palm wax. I wonder if some other veggie wax can produce a similar result?

I burn mine all evening so about 3 to 4 hours. I still say don't worry about the spill over, that's why they are in a container. The flower pot holders (I have some) are interesting to wick for because of the narrowing diameter but I still use LX-10s from CS. Going for a 6mm neck might be a good idea for those pots. The TL wick I use for tea lights.

I am testing a 3" Libbey Status jar with 464, slight orange color, Peaks Orange Blossom at 6% with a CD-16 wick and I don't get nearly the depth if melt pool like that. After two 3-hour burns I still have wax on the sides. Interesting. Possible reasons: thickness of glass (heat sink), FO, or color? Thanks for sharing.

My votives burn like yours, at some point in the burn they out flow, hence the need for a tight fitting container. As far as I know, this is normal. Trying to get a votive to burn like a pillar sound daunting, I can barely do it with my 2" pillars. For wax I use EcoSoya PB and IGI 4625 (which my be overkill for hardness) not mixed. Throw seems good with either. I use LX-10 wicks for the 4625 and LX-14 for the PB.

Most of my candles do finish clean and I can still hold them, the Slatkin one I have not finished as I have way to many to test burn and need time and air for that. I will search for oil addition topics, I know I have seen threads on Coconuts oil and wax, cottonseed sounds interesting if it's the food grade stuff one can buy in the supermarket. As far as a lab, one can only dream. I get enough dirty looks about the kitchen space take up and have to shrug off comments about wasting time and you'll never make any money doing this. If you doesn't try then you certainly won't succeed. Being a scientist doesn't help either, I can generate more experiments than I have time to test. Thanks for the reply Stella.

I marvel at the candles that Bath and Body Works sells, not only for the price but at how clean the glass stays as the candle burns. Not one of the soy waxes I have tried keep the glass as clean. Since they don't claim to be all soy but all vegetable, I am assuming that there is some veggie wax in there that is helping. From previous threads here, it also appears that other veggie waxes are expensive (coconut, olive, etc). The wax also doesn't appear to be overly soft. Anyone have any ideas on what they use or what additive might help with this?

It is really hard to determine if something or some process is "Green, environmentally friendly or sustainable". All aspects of the growth or harvesting of the product and the processing of it need to be looked at. I seem to recall that there are many examples of recycling that, in the end, prove to use more energy and use more toxic chemical the the production of virgin material (paper I believe was one example). There was a recent article regarding products that are biodegradable and how the release their CO2 load must more quickly that a slower decomposition rate. Now we have a deadly E. coli outbreak in Germany that may be traced back to an Organic farm. My point is, everything has consequences and that what might appear to be green in some aspect is not in another. As far a soy is concerned, soy is a food, people rely on it. If acreage is used for soy production that doesn't get used for food then that acreage goes elsewhere, which is South America. Demand for soy is so large that land (read rainforest) is being cleared for soy production. So even though we may by US produced soy, the unintended consequence destruction of more land elsewhere. One can even look a paraffin as being more ecologically friendly as you just pump the raw materials from the ground, no land used, no fertilizers, no pesticides, to depletion of ground water, no loss of top soil for tilling and soon. Farming is inherently not an eco-friendly activity. About all I would claim on a candle is the percentage of soy used and the source of the soy. Any other claims can be argued. The fact that candles burn and release CO2 makes them anything but eco-friendly but we enjoy them and, in some cases, make money from their sale but selling them as a green and sustainable production is open to debate.

Hey Eric, while you are researching check for an analysis of soy too.

Those are the ones I use and I live south of Phoenix

OMG, you said "natural wax" :smiley2: Look for a recent thread about that. I am a newbie to all this but have experimented with some of the soy waxes and some of the paraffin based ones. I see advantages and disadvantages to both. If I had a product line and formulas like you do, I would get those up and running again and explore the other waxes later. I think most customers want a product that performs well and will live with whatever wax you use. Any that want 100% soy can wait until you have that available. These are just my opinions based on conversations with potential customers.

Thank you for the suggestions!!!

With shipping costs through the roof these days, I was hope that suggestions here could help narrow my search. I have the Clean Cotton for Peaks and I can't get much HT in either GW464 or IGI6006 (para/soy). At this point, I'd like to try a few others. Thanks so much for your suggestions.

Sounds like a trial and error experiment to me but probably just under the melting point of the wax. You just need it soft enough to that the imprint but not actually liquefy.

Thanks, that was fun to watch.

I am using CD wicks just because I had them available but come to think of it, I have an excellent supply of LX and a good range of HTP, I should try some. Regarding the soot, I need to keep on top of the wick length as the candle burns as the flame starts getting too large. I'm liking the idea of trying the HTPs, guessing an 83 or 93?

yeah, I think I over wicked using the CD18 but I had to start some where, if I keep the wick trimmed it's ok but I does need to come done to the range you mention. My jars are about 3.5 inches in diameter. I've been having throw issues with Peak's Clean Cotton, GW464 didn't work well and yesterday I made a 6% 6006, no dye. Cold throw seems really weak but I will burn it after 48 hours (put a CD16 in it). Any suggestions as to another FO source would be appreciated. FO is added at 185, held and stirred at that temp for 2 minutes and poured at 170F. Lots of wet spots (cold jar?) but I can work on that later.

I've only used the one from Peaks and it impressed me. Thought I would hate it but liked to so much I bought more.

I have an 8 oz apothecary with GW464, Peaks FO and Peaks dye (usually 2 drops per pound) and mine burn for 40 hours. I can't imagine an 80 hour burn unless it is a single wick with a real small flame.

I have some cantaloupe (a tester) from Peaks that I need to try, can't decide if I should put it in soy or paraffin.