wakeylad

Robert: I'm just curious as to how much vybar you add per lb of wax. Do you find this wax generally leaks oil at 1.2oz/lb of scent or does it leak oil under certain environmental conditions? Thanks in advance for your reply. Neil

Maybe you could just introduce her to the craftserver forum. If she already knows about it then she doesn't care about safety as almost every other thread has some mention of it. If she doesn't know about it and becomes a new member, I'm sure she'll be excited to read up on candlemaking as well as get an education about safety to boot. Have a good weekend.

P.S. Most of the wax will be 4630, but the odd bit of random paraffin may get added. If the other paraffin waxes become less random then I can always use the store brand beans for those or switch to soup. Maybe I can cook my beans over a bean candle and my soup over a soup candle. I can leave the price on to make people think they were expensive (or cheap). When the "what's in you pot this weekend" message goes out, I can can just respond "Soup" or "Beans" and be telling the truth.

Oops, my mistake, forgetting the wax type. Yes, I'm using paraffin. I keep and old can in the freezer that gets topped off with bacon fat . It gets thrown out when it's full. Isaw it this morning and thought I should do the same with my candles (except for the freezer part).

Hi: Wax + Baked Bean Can + Wick = Candle. Which wick would you use for a 14.5-16oz baked bean can? I want to use up old wax from different experiments. These will be burned outside so some smoking shouldn't be a problem especially if the mosquitos are out in force. Wax, Dye, FO are unimportant since I'll be using all the leftovers and be throwing them into the same can. I don't even care about tunneling or left over wax because that'll get remelted and used in the next can. Looking to add a little ambience to the patio. Hopefully, this will be one of those times when someone actually got a nice smell from beans. Thanks in advance for any replies.

Sliver: Did you have to Roll on the Floor and Laugh? I'll definitely be the one testing my own candles before anyone else even looks at them. After what I just heared from you, I can't believe that my friends and family could be so cunning and devious, and all in the name of obtaining a freebie. I should disown them. Wait, if I do that then they won't be friends and family anymore and I can use them as testers. Wow! Everything worked out in the end. Now, where did I put my funny GIF file........?

SliverOfWax: Thanks for the reply. I'm more concerned with safety than with quality of burn. I figured that using the starter kits that I could appease my family and friend's but I do have an ulterior motive of recruiting them later as testers. Is that too sinister? Thanks again

@SliverofWax I wasn't sure if you were responding to my post, the thread in general or both. Just to clarify on my part, I was wondering about the quality of the candles kits from the Candle Supply companies such as Peak, Candle Science, LoneStar, Bitter Creek (sorry if I left any one out). Would the quality of the candle kit give me something that I would be able to give away to friends and family. I'm still in the process of developing my Container Candle but figure making the odd pillar or using a different container would quiet these guys while giving me a nice welcome change. Thanks again for any replies.

Welcome to the board, Lisa. @SliverOfWax (or anyone else that wants to chip in): How are the Candle Kits? Can you make candles that are of acceptable quality to give away to friends and family or are they designed to be more of an introduction to the candle making process? Thanks in advance for any replies.

After reading about other people's experiences, I'm most likely going to do blind testing of my wicks so I don't subconciously make a decision based on the wick number. I'll probably just stick the wick information on the bottom the container so I can't see it until I'm done testing. I usually tag my testers with numbers that corresponds to a test sheet that contains all the pertinent information about that candle so I can easily leave the the wick# off the sheet if I need to.

More reading: http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?78198-small-wick-burning-wax-quicker-than-large&highlight=burning

In my orignal post I just wanted to point out the differences in the charts. Now I'm more curious to find out whether certain containers have this "eye of the storm" effect (if it does indeed exist). BTW, to both rjdaines and ChrisR, did the hotter wick happen to be the widk of choice ofor the candle you were testing?

ChrisR: I couldn't agree more. Once you add containers, additives, etc, into the mix then everything changes. Personally, I would use the message board to find a good starting point for my wax/container combination. I think the usefulness of the wick charts comes more into play then testing out a different wick line. Then you could probably use melt pool width and R.O.C. to find a good starting point in that wick line. Obviously you and rjdaines have had the experience of a lower number wick burning hotter than a higher number wick. Based on the assumption that this is happening in a container environment, I wonder if that would be the same if you tested those two wicks in a slab of wax. I'm not trying to condradict anyone here. Just curious if, in a certain container, a particular wick creates certain conditions (air currents, etc), that allow it to burn hotter. Kind of like a hurricane's eye. That could mean that in some cases the LX-16 may burn hotter than a LX-18 based on the container shape. If either of you two decide to put that theory to the test, I would be very interested in the results. Until this has been tested, I guess we can only speculate. Enjoy the rest of your day.

Rj: As a 1/8" and 1/4" burner I will be definitely following your posts. If the big boys are moving towards 1/8" then I think that is something we should be aware of. I prefer the 1/4" myself but the 1/8" testing is definitely something that I will revisit. I think we have to question why the big boys are moving in this direction. Maybe they something we don't know. Take care and have a good weekend

I did some 1/8" testing this week and noticed that I can grossly overwick and not get any smoke or soot. Saying that, I'm testing 4630 with 10% fragrance and the bigger wicks yellow the melt pool (BTW, adding 10% wasn't intentional - I get good CT and HT from 6.25%. I just made a mistake on this batch.) I noticed on my older "big boy" candles from 2001 that they used to recommend trimming to 1/4" but now recommend trimming to 1/8". I have read articles regarding European Standards that relate to sooting. I'm wondering if the switch to 1/8" has something to do with that.

I don't think that the wick manufacturers test their wicks in containers. I vaguely remember reading an article that mentioned sticking different wicks into a slab of wax to obtain burn characteristics. Since different containers would affect the way a wick burns, the only way you could really compare apples to apples is by testing a wick in a nice block of wax. If anyone has any links to any articles on how the manufacturers test their wicks, can you post them here? I'd be interested in reading them. Have a great weekend.

Rjdaines: I agree that some wicks don't follow logic when it comes to numbering or other data, such as yield, since the general consensus seems to be that the HTP-126 is the bigger wick. I just wanted to point out that the wick charts do contain errors so people can do their own research and reach their own conclusions. See the following links: http://www.precisionwicking.com/our-products/waxed-and-tabbed/hjhv/139.html http://www.wicksunlimited.com/heinz_KST_candle_wicks.php Looking at these two sites, one has a burn rate that follows the sequence of the wick numbers while the other would put the CD-14 right after the CD-10. I created my own wick chart based on multiple wick charts available on the web. Wicks like the CD-14 are flagged so I know to do more research (or read my notes) when testing that particular wick. If a CD-16 wick smoked and the CD-14 didn't reach a full melt pool, doing my research and finding posts like yours would tell me that testing a CD-12 may work. Based on the precisionwicking chart, the CD-12 would have been ruled out. Based on the wicksunlimited chart, it would be a candidate for testing. I just wanted to let make sure that people don't rely on a single wick chart since there are differences that could make all the difference when it comes to testing. Having the wick charts in Excel allows me to sort by such things as R.O.C. so it's easier to spot questionable wicks. I have to go to work now........more to come later. Thanks

Hi: I seen a few posts (old & new) relating to wick numbering (ie, LX-8,10,12) and their Rate of Consumption and that, in some cases, a lower numbered wick may have a higher R.O.C than a higher numbered wick. For example, Wicks Unlimited, has a CD-12 with a higher R.O.C. (0.24) than a CD-14 (0.22). After comparing information from multiple sites, I was able to surmise that most of the sites out there have a least one error on their wick tables. I think most of the tables come from the manufacturers and that the odd piece of information got mixed up along the way. I thought I would mention this so that people can do their own comparisons and reach their own conclusions. Thanks Neil

I was reading an article, or a posting, that actually said the larger wick may be more prone to downing since it melts the wax faster than the wick can burn it. It's been a long weekend for me but, if I remember correctly, the 1/8" wick promoted burning outward instead of downward (1/4" wick). Of course, that will also depend on your wick selection. I had some old candles that had drowning issues when trimmed to 1/4" and I'm now testing them with 1/8" trims. I'm still in the process of wick selection for my wax/container combination, but I'm tempted to try two parallel tests, one with 1/4" wicks and the other with 1/8" wicks. On the YC candle I tested, I got the impression that they wicked up to counter the shorter wick length since a 1/4" trim gave a 2"+ smokey flame but the 1/8" trim produced a nice steady flame. Personally, I prefer the 1/4" look but the 1/8" does appear to have a tamer flame, from my initial observations. I'll check my bookmarks at work to see if I have a link to the article/posting and post it to the thread. Thanks Neil

Did you have to change the wick size to accommodate the difference in length?

Hi, Pam: Yes, I trimmed the wick to 1/4" the first couple of burns, as opposed the the labels 1/8" recommendation, just to see how it would burn. The first two burns actually were okay. When I lit the candle the third time, that's when the flame morphed into the 2"+ beast of smoke alley. Then I decided to trim the wick to the labels recommended 1/8". After that, it burned okay. I had one of my candles, that smoked and danced with a 62Z and I trimmed that to 1/8" and it burning with a steady smokeless flame right now. Thanks Neil

Hi: I have a few older candles from 2001 (YC) and they stated that the wick should be trimmed to 1/4". I noticed that they now state that the wick should be trimmed to 1/8". When I use the 1/8" trimmer, I end up getting an ugly little stub. Surprisingly, it lights and gives a nice flame. FYI: I tested one of their candles with a 1/4" trim. The first two burns were okay but the flame was a little larger than normal. On the third burn it turned into a 2"+ monster and was throwing soot like crazy. After I trimmed to 1/8", I got a nice clean, stable flame. Personally, I prefer the 1/4" wick over the 1/8" stub but I just wondered if anyone knew of the reasoning as to why some of the big players are moving towards 1/8" trims. Thanks Neil

Hi: Just curious to find out what would be expected, and considered normal, at different stages of a quality candle's life (containers). For example, from the postings I've seen, hang-up is okay on the second or third burn. Some people state that a dancing flame is normal after the half-way point. I'm getting wisps of smoke now and then when some of my test candles are near the end of their life. (No soot on the container though) Is this okay? I bought a bunch of a famous brand candles to do comparitive testing. I actually got a wisp of smoke on the first burn from one of the big boy's candles. Also, unless it's against the TOS of the forum, if anyone knows a website where I can buy quality paraffin candles in a 12oz Status jar, can you PM me a link? I'd like to buy a few (no more than one from each site) to see how they burn. Thanks Neil

@deb426: What kind of candles are you making? How many testers do you get out of 4oz? Do you give up on a fragrance if you can't wick it with that amount? Do you order more if it shows some promise or move onto a different fragrance? Are you basically using the same wick line or you do you test with a number of wick families (LX, CD, etc)? Sorry for all the questions. Neil

@Spark-me-up: That's the approach I'm taking. It's good to see that different things work for different people. It we all did things the same way then there wouldn' be much innovation. For me, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't following a path that had been proven to not work. I guess with more experience a person would have the knowledge the better identify the root cause of a problem even with a number of variables in the mix. As a beginner, I prefer to take it one step at a time. Thanks for replying Neil