New to candle making, have a question about wicks!

[Belinda]

Hi, I'm new to making candles (in fact I've only made one so far!) but I've been making tarts since about last September. I want to pour some candles also and have a question about wicks. I don't really know much about which one to use. I have 6006 wax and was wanting to pour into 8oz and 16oz mason jars and tin cans and decorate with a label and homespun. Which wick would you all recommend? I have read the phrase "wicker upper" and "wick up" and I have no idea what that means.

Thanks to everyone for their input! I've been reading posts on this board for weeks and have gained so much from everyone's knowledge! I also enjoy reading your posts!

Thanks again,

Belinda

[Old Crab]

Zinc wicks are the easiest to use but mushroom, for 6006 I use CD wicks.

CD wicks are my "go to" wick

[Belinda]

Thanks! I really appreciate the help.

[Dolphin146]

I to use zinc wicks for my 6006 They work well with this wax

[Chefmom]

LX wicks are my "go to" wicks with 6006, but I also use Eco Htp and CD when a fragrance doesn't work.

Wick up simply means that if you commonly start with LX-16 in a certain jar that the wick usually needs to go up to a LX18 with a heavier fragrance. I usually start testing with my base wick size and go up or down from there. If I'm not pleased with scent throw or the overall burn I will repeat the test with a different wick and see if it's the LX wick or if the fragrance is at fault.

It's all about testing, lots of testing.

[Belinda]

Oh thanks! That makes sense to me now. I've been trying to figure that one out for months! LOL! I had no clue what "wick up" or "wicker upper" meant.

[dnj]

Zinc works best for me in 6006.

For the heavier "wicker upper" type FOs I'll use eco or cd

[deb426]

And I would recommend that you pick just one of those three containers to play around with first. Once you get the hang of wicking that one with different scents the others will be easier. You will drive yourself crazy testing three different containers with varying fragrances.

[Candybee]

I found zinc wicks worked best in my parasoy wax. Beware, zinc wicks are prone to mushroom so don't use more FO than you need and get in the habit of trimming the wick frequently. Thats the downside of zincs. The upside is I get the best fragrance throw (hot throw) with zincs. They also burn cooler than other wicks and flicker less. Also, they are designed not to curl when burning which is great for jar candles as you don't end up with one side of your jar hot.

To learn more about wicks and the science of wick technology I browze wicks unlimited at: http://wicksunlimited.com/candle_wicks.php. I always find their info helpful in selecting a wick series to start off in any new wax I test.

Edited March 20, 2013 by Candybee

[Belinda]

Thanks for all of your help! I have really enjoyed learning from everyone on here.

[schmism]

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)

[Oceangazer1]

Back in the day I was using zinc with paraffin, then cd's with parasoy, now I use 100% soy in containers and cd's. I love my cd's.

I'm going to try cottons and see how they compare with my larger jars. I just hate mushrooming, so I will probably be staying

with my cd's. I only use soy in containers. The rest, pillars, and votives are paraffin. I mainly use lx's in pillars. Votives I am retesting

for about the millionth time.

[Old Crab]

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)

This could be really wrong, but it is just my opinion...

From what I have learned is that the wick charts are based on parafin wax, no scent, color, additives, etc.

I also believe the charts are old. Pre blended waxes.

I almost always have to wick up, except for my votives.

IGI 4794, 1oz FO per pound, liquid dye, and using 34-40c wicks.

Sometimes I'm amazed by some of the wicks I will read about being used.

For example 8oz jelly jars I typically use cd-8 wicks with 4627 wax.

I've read about people using cd-12 & even cd–14 wicks in this combo - whatever works for them I guess.

Best thing I've found is to pick one wax, one container/pillar/style of candle get it right and go from there.

[craftsbychris]

Good luck! I echo the comments about test, test, test!! Each scent and color can react different with the wicks. There is definitely a science to this craft.

[Zelda]

What i find really makes a difference when chosing a wick is how much fragrance oil you're using and if it's a heavier oil. I use 4627 wax and if i have too much fo it will make the largest wick drown out or not behave properly. I'm learning this lesson the hard way!

[Belinda]

Thanks for all the good information! I really get confused when I look at wicks but this helps a lot!

Thanks again!

Beinda

[kimmeroo]

Thanks for all the good information! I really get confused when I look at wicks but this helps a lot!

Thanks again!

Beinda

Here is a chart of all the wicks...there may be a few newer one's out there but this should help you out!

http://www.wickit.net/recommendations.html

[schmism]

http://www.wickit.net/recommendations.html

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.

[Belinda]

Thanks! Right now I have two different wick sizes. One is a 6"-51-32-18 Zinc. I have no idea what those numbers mean except that I know it's 6"s long. The other one is an 8" CD-12 and then it has a 20X6 on the package. Any ideas about these? I used the 6" one in a 16 oz container and the wick is drowning out. I remembered then that the man at Texas Candle Supply said this was a "standard" wick for 8 0z containers. I am burning a candle right now in a 10 ounce tin can and it seems to be doing fine with the same size wick although I'm not sure exactly what it's supposed to be doing other than staying lit! LOL!

Thanks for all of the help!

Belinda

[schmism]

One is a 6"-51-32-18 Zinc. I have no idea what those numbers mean except that I know it's 6"s long.

to quote from another source

The first number tells you the wick size. The size of the wick is determined by how many spools of yarn were used to make the wick. The higher the number, the larger the wick. Hence, the larger the meltpool (which can mean better fragrance throw), and usually the higher the wax consumption.

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.

[Ravens]

Late to this, but I use zinc wicks with the 6006 (for most FOs), and double wick the 16oz. apothecaries. However, I do not use 6006 on a regular basis at all; I tend to stick to 100% paraffins.

hth