C3 wax with premier wicks

[jtiff66578]

Dear folks,

Please help me. I am somewhat in a bind. :-( I have been testing for months, in which during that time I have learned a lot, not only about myself and the value of patience and preserverence, but also how hard one must work to make a good candle.

I have been making candles on and off for several years. I used to use 415, 8% fragrance oil, dye blocks, 8 oz jj, and 51-32-18 wicks. I had a customer complain about the mushrooming and it has led me on a rollercoaster of a ride to find a wick that doesn't mushroom like that. Not one customer ever complained about the scent throw. :-) I got fed up on my quest and took a couple of years off to go back to school, which was not a very wise decision on my part. Therefore I have went back to candlemaking.

I am fairly close to Fillmore Container in Lancaster, PA. I was fortunate enough to visit their facilities the other week. I had some c-3 wax in stock from my previous testing so I whipped it out the other day with their cranberry citrus fragrance oil, 7% pp, 2 dye chips per lb in cranberry and premier 767 wicks. Well I let it cure for a week. While the scent throw was wonderful, my wick was smoking and my melt pool was approx. 1/2" deep on my first burn. I don't like my melt pool to get that deep on the first burn. So I yanked that wick out and put in a premier 765. Well that might've not been one of my best ideas because the 765 just wasn't cutting it at all and my scent throw was gone. :rolleyes2

I have also dabbled in EZSoy wax (which I have had some inconsistencies in that wax from batch to batch). While I like this wax and don't have an issue with it, I have used the cd 12 wicks which are too hot and I get deep melt pools and sooting on my jars at 1 oz pp, the cd 10 was not producing a deep enough melt pool to throw.

I have also tested eco wicks. They have lopped right over into my melt pool and fizzled out. I finally gave up on those.

Does anyone have any helpful pointers??? I believe I am going to stay with the c-3 wax because I can get it here locally to save on shipping and I really do like the wax overall. :-)

[lmc]

With C3, I use Premier and CDNs for wicking....try a CDN 12. It is comparable to the 767 but may offer a better burn for you. If you dont have any and would like to test a few, shoot me a pm and I'll send you some. HTH

[jtiff66578]

LMC,

I would love to test a few of the CDN 12 wicks. I have heard nothing but rave reviews about them. :-) However, I am unable to send you a PM; I am not quite sure why. My email address is ajensen123@comcast.net.

is my address.

I appreciate any and all suggestions and your help is more than appreciated. Many, many thanks as I am about ready to yank my hair out. :-(

Edited September 10, 2013 by Vicky_CO
removed address for safety concerns

[lmc]

Tiffany, I sent you an email...wicks are in the mail. I think you may need a certain amount of posts before you can pm.

Edited September 6, 2013 by lmc

[jtiff66578]

Thanks, lmc! I sent you an email back. Thanks for your offer to help me. Any help that I receive is much appreciated. :-)

[shicks]

I am just starting myself and started with Naturewax C-3 and Eco 10 wicks for a 8 oz jelly jar, I noticed that my hot throw is much better after curing for ten days but still not as strong as the Paddywax candle I bought retail, but am wondering if going to a CDN or up to a eco 12 would make the scent throw stronger, I really want to stay with soy and not a parasoy blend, can I ask Tiffany how long you cure your soy? I did look at ingredients of my two favorite soy candles that I used to buy after putting them up against mine in a scent throw test and both my favorite beloved soy candles are a parasoy blend (did not know that before learning about candles), I am really hoping to have a good scent throw with 100 percent soy. Is the CDN alot better than eco for C3? This is my first post on the board after browsing for months......I can say that my candles look and burn well and can throw well in a small room or bathroom but in the open living room or kitchen I am just not getting the throw that I want even with the 16 oz larger candle that I poured with a eco 10...Thanks in advance anyone who can chime in!

[jtiff66578]

I am just starting myself and started with Naturewax C-3 and Eco 10 wicks for a 8 oz jelly jar, I noticed that my hot throw is much better after curing for ten days but still not as strong as the Paddywax candle I bought retail, but am wondering if going to a CDN or up to a eco 12 would make the scent throw stronger, I really want to stay with soy and not a parasoy blend, can I ask Tiffany how long you cure your soy? I did look at ingredients of my two favorite soy candles that I used to buy after putting them up against mine in a scent throw test and both my favorite beloved soy candles are a parasoy blend (did not know that before learning about candles), I am really hoping to have a good scent throw with 100 percent soy. Is the CDN alot better than eco for C3? This is my first post on the board after browsing for months......I can say that my candles look and burn well and can throw well in a small room or bathroom but in the open living room or kitchen I am just not getting the throw that I want even with the 16 oz larger candle that I poured with a eco 10...Thanks in advance anyone who can chime in!

I have used an Eco 8 in a jelly jar with C3 before. Not my favorite, but it has potential. I prefer the C3 wax with premier wicks. Thanks to LMC, she is sending me a CDN wick to try. I have never tested a CDN wick before. I have tested the premier wicks with C3 and find them to be a nice pair.

For testing wick purposes, I wait 24 hours. For testing scent, I test at 1 week, but some scents do take the full two weeks to cure. Indiana Candle Supplies - Pink Sugar is a prime example. That takes forever to throw but it is a scent that is really worth the wait. Good luck.

~Tiffany

[shicks]

Thanks Tiffany! I appreciate it I am going to try the CDN's as well, I do love how smooth my candles came out. One more question for anyone who can answer........C3 handling instructions say to heat to 185 add fragrance and or dye at 165 and pour no need to heat jars and you should have best glass adhesion no frosting act., Candlescience has a page that says to for best HT they heated to 185 but added fragrance and poured at 125 and then you will have to heat tops this way they pre warmed jars. I poured first batch per instructions of Naturewax and second batch to instructions of Candle Science ( I am still at only day ten for curing on lavender, vanilla, red currant,french market using 1 oz pp as supplier told me (lonestar, right down the street no shipping.) I did notice that I got a slightly better HT on second set of instructions but after it burns it does not reform to the beautiful smooth candle as in the pouring at a higher temp. it is more cratered. Can I ask what temp ya'll heat to and what temp you add fragrance and what temp you pour? I have space in an antique shop and do hand painted distressed furniture and would like to eventually put candles of high quality in there but not until I can make a really good safe wonderful smelling candle! after my first test I am sending batches to a few family members to test as my smeller is probably not working well about right now.....Thanks

Edited September 10, 2013 by shicks

[lmc]

I've worked with C3 for several years and will give you a few suggestions to try. What works for one usually does not work for another lol!

I temper C3 to help wax look smooth throughout its burn...you can find some great threads on tempering here. After I temper, I heat wax back up to 185*, add dye, add fo...stir for 2 minutes...pour when a slight film develops on top, about 120*. I do not preheat my jars but on occassion I do have to do a repour or use a heat gun to fill in any sink holes. Play with pour temp to greatly minimize the chance of sinkholes. In C3, for me, I prefer to use 8.5% fo load...anything above that and you run into seepage and wicking issues and 6% just doesn't do it for me for ht., let cure for 1-2 weeks.

I use Premier and CDNs for wicking...they wok well with C3. Call Wick It (1-866-3WICKIT) and they will send you a generous amount of Premiers to try for free...think there's a $5 charge for shipping. If you like them, you can purchase Premiers through Aztec or Fillmore. HTH

[shicks]

Thank you so much IMC for the tips, I am going to try the tempering and the wick recommendations. Just one more question though, do you pour at lower temp for better fragrance throw or better adhesion to the glass?

I really appreciate your help, very nice of you!!

[lmc]

The lower temp gives better adhesion and for me, little to no frosting. Pour temp doesn't have much to do with ht...what temp you add fo to wax does though.

Edited September 10, 2013 by lmc

[shicks]

Thanks again IMC!! I appreciate the time you took to explain!!

Sherry