FO amt. for one clamshell?

[doglvr]

Can someone tell me how much FO should go into one clamshell (just making one for testing of each fragrance) at the ratio of one ounce per pound and then one and half ounces per pound of wax?

I'm using 2.55 (premelted) wax which when melted fills the clamshell to the brim nicely.

I am not smelling anything I make in any wax I make it in and maybe I have really figured wrong on the amt. of FO for one clamshell. I know it's not candlenose because just to check, I bought some BH&G clams when I was at Wallyworld yesterday and I can certainly smell those!

If anyone could help, I would so appreciate it.

Thanks,

Jackie

[justajesuschick]

http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?109457-Help-with-Percentages&highlight=calculator+for+figuring+fo+percentages

[Belinda]

Hi Jackie,

I'm kind of new too but maybe I can help a little. What kind of wax are you using? Is it soy, paraffin or a combo? If I'm not mistaken, the FO should be added at a high enough temp to blend in with the wax. I usually try to add mine at about 180 and stir for 2 minutes. I use paraffin so if you're using all soy it could be a lower temp to add FO.

As far as figuring the amount, I'm not real sure how to tell you to do that one. I know when I melt wax and pour into a 16 oz measuring cup that I get about 5 clamshells that are about 3 ounces each. This isn't a quite a pound of wax though. Melted wax makes about 20 ounces per pound if I remember right. I add 1 ounce FO to the melted wax. So I would guess that you need to use about 1/5th or 1/6th of an ounce of Fo to make one clamshell. This may not be right so maybe someone that has a lot more experience and good at math will post their advice. )

HTH

[Belinda]

http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?109457-Help-with-Percentages&highlight=calculator+for+figuring+fo+percentages

Thanks Karen!

I knew there was an easier way than for me to try and figure it out! LOL!

[justajesuschick]

Everyone has their own way of figuring, so if it works-great!

I know exactly how much wax to ladle in my pyrex saucepan to fill my cups in quantities of 4 which is typically the smallest amount I make for testing. I also know how much FO I use for that as well. Then I can double that, triple that, etc.

May be an easier/better way but once I get something down, I like that my variables are consistent and I stick with it.

[se2653]

I pour testers- 2 portion cups at a time (don't want to waste wax), and use fo at 7.5% which ends up being .2 ounces for 3 ounces of wax. For more concentrated fo's (such as CC's) I use .1 ounce- it's been working for me so far! I've been debating getting a better scale that weighs to the .01 ounce level just to be more accurate, esp with these small batches, which I may still do down the road.... not sure if this helps for clamshells....good luck with your testing!

[doglvr]

Thanks everyone. Life is tough for those of us mathematically challenged and I'm in accounting no less. That's what calculators are for!! LOL... Turns out I was using the correct amt. I do pour at the right temp for whatever wax, etc. so not sure what the problem is. Just seems that if I can smell a tart from somewhere else, I should be able to smell the ones I make. This is just lately. I read somewhere on here about sniffing coffee beans to help with candle nose. Maybe I need to get a bag and stick my head in it!

Jackie

[Belinda]

Thanks everyone. Life is tough for those of us mathematically challenged and I'm in accounting no less. That's what calculators are for!! LOL... Turns out I was using the correct amt. I do pour at the right temp for whatever wax, etc. so not sure what the problem is. Just seems that if I can smell a tart from somewhere else, I should be able to smell the ones I make. This is just lately. I read somewhere on here about sniffing coffee beans to help with candle nose. Maybe I need to get a bag and stick my head in it!

Jackie

Jackie,

For some reason I always have trouble smelling them here at home as opposed to melting them at work. I think it's because I'm also smelling all of the FO's coming from my craft room and I get used to the smell. When I burn tarts at work they always smell stronger to me than at home. I had one burning the other day and I'm thinking it isn't putting off much of a smell and that I probably won't make any more of this FO, etc. and a friend of mine walks in and tells me as soon as she walked through the front door she could smell it! LOL! So I guess it will be a keeper after all.

I get paranoid about not being able to smell mine very much and when I get testers to smell them they talk about how good they are (of course some FO's are stronger than others). I think we just get immune to all of the different smells.

[doglvr]

I've been testing like crazy for two weeks straight so maybe that's the problem. Also, I could be going about it wrong in the scents I choose. When I try a new wax, I normally try three scents I like and know well and then one of a new scent. Well, it could be the new scent just isn't good and possibly by using the same three all of the time I've grown too accustomed to them? Maybe I should try something else my nose won't recognize, but I know is a good scent. How do other people test new wax?

Thanks for all the input,

Jackie

[Chefmom]

When I am working with small test samples I immediately switch to grams. 100 grams is roughly 3 1/2 ounces. But it's real easy to use percentages. 100grams to 10 grams is 10%

100grams to 6 grams is 6%

If your scale doesn't like weights under 5 grams (my main scale is great for over 10 grams, but iffy in the 1-3 grams amount) then pick up a gram scale that weighs in micro grams and will be accurate for the tiny amounts.

I weigh 100 grams of liquid wax, then have a tiny cup that I weigh 7 grams of fragrance in (I use 7 grams when I want 6, I figure one gram sticks to the container) and make the mix just like a big batch. It will fill one clamshell with a little leftover, I just pour that into a small silicone mold and use it as my first test piece, or I fill a half a jelly jar for a first candle test.

As for the sniff test. Everything gets put away until my house doesn't smell like what I was pouring, at least a day. Then after a few days I start testing. I usually can pick up the scent, but if I can't, the true test is to leave the house for at least 15 or 20 minutes and then come back. That's when I can really pick up the scent and if/where it's throwing. If I can walk in my back door and smell it as soon as I walk in, that means it is throwing thru the whole house. 20 minutes is a dog walk or a stroll through the garden, so Its something I do anyway.

You have to remember that scent travels on air flow. If you house doesn't have air flow, the scent can be trapped in one small area. It doesn't mean that the scent isn't good, it's just trapped. I have three places I test, but my main candle test area in my living room will first throw on the left side of the room before coming around to scent the right side. Some days, when the bathroom window is open the scent can actually travel through the left side of the room, into the hall and into the bathroom and NEVER scent the right side of the room. It's not the scent, it's the flow.

That may be what Belinda (above) is talking about. At work, the building would have been professionally balanced for optimum air flow according to the buildings architect and engineer. At home these things are not done, so you will have pockets of stagnant air. ............guess who's husband used to be a professional Air Test and Adjust Balancer? He's now the guy that makes those huge air systems work and has balanced our house.

So, if you have trouble getting what everyone else is saying is a strong scent, before giving up, try moving the candle/warmer around to different places in your house. A good test is to burn a taper and if the flame is not moving, there is no draft. If the flame is dancing around, blow out the candle and watch how the smoke is traveling, that is your direction of air flow. You can have professional leak test people come in your house to see where you are losing warm air, to make a more "tight" environment, and they seal the whole house up and walk around with smudge sticks to see where the smoke goes.

.....ahhhh, science........