robertgibbens

So will this unit work for wax? Is the drip pan issue a problem? Meaning are their holes? How do you get the wax out? Is putting a spigot necessary?

Is there a way not to get a flame thrower when using larger than an HTP-105? Maybe those wicks are just for huge candles but I have tried them to avoid a double wick and the flame was crazy nuts (but the s'mores were excellent!).

Having taken several chemistry classes in college, I can tell you that there is NO binding beyond a particle of wax in the vicinity of a particle of oil. There is no chemical reaction. Its the same for the color. How many stirs around the pot does it take for your color to mix? 1 or 2 and its mixed. The scent is the same. But to each his or her own I say. That all having been said, I do believe that the more wax your working with, the longer you need to stir. I can see 15 seconds for 1 lb, but I would not say it is enough for a 20 lb mix. Maybe this is where all these divergent opinions are coming from?

I understand about your disagreeing with my stirring method. But, of course, everyone used to think the world was flat and that at some point you'd drop off the world to your death. Just because everyone thinks its true, doesn't make it true. You're welcome to waste your time and some of your evaporating scent on stirring 12 minutes. Perhaps a better method would be to do a side by side comparison (as I have done several times). Stir one pot for 10 seconds and another for 2 minutes. Pour and test the HT and CT. 2 minutes is excessive.

4630 does NOT need to sit 3 days for good hot throw! Stirring 2 minutes?? Your probably stirring all the scent out of the wax before you pour it. When pouring 1 lb of wax, I stir the scent and color for about 10 seconds. It's as fully mixed as it can be in that time and the CT and HT (using 4630) is fantastic immediately.

Depends on if your using FO and/or color. I've never tested 6006. I use 4630. With scent and color, of the 22 8 oz tin variations I use, my wicking is between HTP-93 and HTP-105. Not sure this helps!

If you used the same wicks, I would expect the same burn rate and therefore, the more burn time for the larger container. But there is so much involved. Container shape has a lot to do with how hot the wax gets and how quickly it is consumed. I dont think you can really compare candles with different wicks. I'm sure with enough experience it is possible, but that may be time consuming!

Why is it that the word "natural" always seems to bring out the skeptics? Is there really anything on this planet that's not natural? Paraffin is made from the decomposed bodies of large dino's in the form of oil. In much the same way a compost pile (which I bet would be called "natural"). Sure there are chemicals added to make the wax, but are they not all found or made from elements found in nature? Of course they are! But the word provides plenty of ammo for being "silly".

Ive used pantyhose to filter hot bees wax. Worked like a charm.

What about wick height? My container wicks will flicker if the wick is over 1/4-inch tall (sometimes I have to go shorter for thicker wicks).

Calculating the percentage of FO is not rocket science. But using the weight of the FO your going to put in before you calc the percentage is just simply wrong. To get 10 percent load on 16 oz of wax, it's simply 16*0.10 or 1.6 oz of oil. Some folks need to go back to high school math class and relearn percentages...

Although 4630 is called a slab wax, you can cut through 4 or 5 slabs at once with a cold butter knife with no effort at all!

I found 4627 smoked more than I liked for the FO load I was using. Plus it is a pain in the butt to work with unless you can put the entire 50 lbs in the pot at once. I now use 4630. I'm seeing less to no smoke, and working with it is fantastic. I see now difference in hot or cold throw. Both are excellent.

Are you saying that you sit in your candle shop for each test burn??

Remember, the only stupid question is the one you never ask!

Good advice. Thanks Sliver. It is true that HTP wicks curl, but the direction of the curl is unpredictable. And sometimes they don't curl at all. But even when they curl, the flame is still dead vertical and I have not found more melt on the curl side or less on the non-curl side. As far as sleeping with candles burning goes, I test burn in a plastic shed, with metal tables. No guarantee that there wont be a problems, but I think at least somewhat safer than burning them in a house.

Has know one ever heard of an alarm clock??? I'll either set the alarm to wake and blow the candles out or set it to wake and light the candle 4 hours before I wake up. My HTP wicks are relatively self trimming. I seldom have to trim them, except for the 104 and up sized.

Yes, it certainly dies down. Unfortunately it dies from 15 to 20 mph during the day to 5 to 10 mph! Try not to feel to sorry for me...

I would love to burn/test outside, but the trade winds here are blowing nearly every day!

By the way, how is it one could not know what their looking for in testing a candle? For both paraffin and soy, were looking for the smallest wick that produces the most scent throw with a FMP and a flame that is stable. This is not rocket science after all.

I know exactly what I am looking for during my burns. I am very very well read and in the process of becoming well practiced. Not sure why you would say you dont understand what all this has to do with my original question when you asked all the questions I responded to??? I believe my responses were pretty easy to understand yet you seem not to understand any of them. Oh well. I'll figure it out. No worries.

Thanks for the reply. I am testing both IGI4630 and Eco Soya Advanced. My burns are between 3 and 4 hours (3 for 3 inch containers and 4 for 4 inch). I usually burn at least 3 to 5 times. ROC of 0.1 to 0.15 are the norm for HTP62 through HTP93 for the soy. Slightly faster for the paraffin, but not over 0.17 oz./hr. The tables I have seen show anticipated ROC's for the wicks I am using at almost twice what I measure. This far I have been accepting the test burn with the smallest wick that just burns to the edge. I think I may rethink that and go with the wick that burns to the edge with a flame that is not too big and that does not flicker. What do you think?

How do you guys deal with wicking a candle that may be burned in a 70 degree house one day and a 50 degree house another day? I am finding excellent MP results during my morning test burns (where the air temp in 75 to 80 degrees) and then not getting FMP results during my evening test burn when the temp is 70 to 75 degrees. It got me thinking that if someone from New Hampshire bought a candle here, brought it home and started burning it in December, it would likely not burn to the edge. Up wicking would smoke more and burn too fast. Wondering how you guys deal with this issue?

I'm beginning to think its a matter of cooling temperature after the candles are blown out. Unfortunately (and fortunately), daytime temps here are in the mid to high 80's, and my candle shop can reach over 100 when testing! I'm noticing more frothing when the candle cools very very slowly (like over 5 hours to harden). More experimentation is necessary!

Reached fmp between 2 and 3 hours.