Houston I think we found the problem with the GB444 & Mason Jars!

[countrygal3115]

Well In another thread, I posted that I was having trouble with the GB444 and the 8 & 16 oz Mason Jars from CS. I have excellent cold throw but was getting no hot throw at all.

This was how they were made:

Heated wax to 185 added fragrance oil at 1 oz pp, stirred for 2 minutes, let cool to around 135 and poured into the jars. Let cool overnight, put lids on and put them away to cure.

When I took them out, I have tested five scents now that are getting absolutly zero HT.

I am using the Eco wicks. The Eco 12 was to small and left over 1/4 inch hangup on sides of jars after a succesion of 4 hour burns. Today I put in an Eco 14, the scent was Wildberry Moouse. It fnally reached a full melt pool but after 4 hours was just barely like 1/8 inch. So while talking to Heather from CS, she told me that I needed a bigger melt pool so go up to a 16.

Also during our conversation she asked if I had checked my thermometer. I am using an infrared one. So I put on a pot of water to boil, went and got out my two brand new candy thermometers, one is the fancy metal one and the other is the one we all see in the stores. After the water was at a rolling boil, I checked and the glass one looks like it is right at 205 degrees and the metal right about 203. So I grabbed my handy dandy infrared and it only read 195.

So am I essentially burning off my fragrance oil before the jar is even poured? What is the best temperature to add my fragrance oil in this wax. I have a girlfriend that pours tons of candles and she adds it at 150.

One more question, has anyone any thoughts on the difference in allititude and how it might affect the candles. We are at 4500 feet above sea level.

Any help and suggestions would be fantastic!

[countrygal3115]

Ok evidently that was not it. Tonight I poured 4 fresh jars and with the two candy thermometers that read 180, I grabbed the infrared and it read the exact same thing so evidently it doesn't hold the same theory in wax as it does water. So I am at a total loss here. Any suggestions?

[JI]

I don't think 10 deg will make a difference. Afterall if you were burning it all off you wouldn't have cold throw. After four hrs, imo 1/8 mp sounds too little. I think you would want a thicker mp. Mine is btw 1/4-1/2 after hrs of burning. Can't remember exact now but my diameters are bigger.

[Node11]

Hotter wicks. CD or perhaps RRD. Fix one issue at a time. Stop adding FO until you get the proper MP. It will save you money.

Once you have a baseline for your wax & wick combo you can wick up or down as needed depending on your FO.

[chuck_35550]

You may have to wick up as a result of high altitude and a thinner atmospheric pressure/oxygen level but it shouldn't be significant. HTH

Steve

[JI]

Good pt with altitude. I had been burning my 4 inch diameter candle for four hrs or so and mp was a smidge over 1/4 inch. 3/8 to be precise. Ht is very good. Eco wicks with 444. You figure that even at 1/4 inch that is double the depth/scent throw. Let us know how the other wicks gom you tried eco 16?

[countrygal3115]

Well I have been doing wick testing and this is the results on the Eco 14 & 16 vs the CD 14 & 16. What do you think? I was really surprised, it seems like the Eco 14 wick had a bigger melt pool then the Eco 16 wick. This was after a 4 hour burn. (Actually I just looked at the time and I think I was an hour off, I think this was almost 5 hours. Dang it!

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Edited November 11, 2013 by countrygal3115

[lmc]

IMO, the ECO's flames are large and meltpool is too deep...I like the flame of the CD14 and meltpool is more than satisfactory...hth.

[rjdaines]

IMO, the ECO's flames are large and meltpool is too deep...I like the flame of the CD14 and meltpool is more than satisfactory...hth.

I agree with Imc about the CD wicks looking better.

[TallTayl]

I never cared for the ECOs either. CD, CDN. And CSN work much better for me.

have been having fantastic luck with cotton square braids in soy.

[Flicker]

Well I have been doing wick testing and this is the results on the Eco 14 & 16 vs the CD 14 & 16. What do you think? I was really surprised, it seems like the Eco 14 wick had a bigger melt pool then the Eco 16 wick. This was after a 4 hour burn. (Actually I just looked at the time and I think I was an hour off, I think this was almost 5 hours. Dang it!

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Comparing an Eco 14 to a CD 14 is sort of like comparing grapes to carrots. A CD 14 and an Eco 8 are pretty comparable in size. Just because they have a number in common does NOT make them equal in size.

[Chefmom]

I don't use that wax, but I do a LOT of testing. In my opinion I would repeat the test with CD-14 and i would put a CD-12 next to it for a comparison. I like ECOs in the smaller sizes, but once I go over ECO 8 I get a lot of giant flames and super hot containers.

Also, like talltayl mentioned, I would also put up a CSN 12 and CSN 14 beside them as well.

I too like the square braids, I haven't used them in a container candle yet, but they are great with my beeswax blends, soy blend tapers etc.

[countrygal3115]

I wasn't exactly comparing the Eco's to the Cd's. CS had told me to use the Eco 14 and on Wildberry Moouse I wasn't even getting an 1/8" melt pool after 4 hours so they told me to go up a wick. So when I did the 4 new testers I poured both the Eco's. At the same time it had been recommended to go with the Cd's and the Cd 12 didn't come close so I went with the 14 and 16. Just doing the test burns on both wicks at the same time and the picture was just showing the burn of all the four.

[countrygal3115]

I decided to relight these tonight plus one of the Eco 12 wicks. I did them in 4 different rooms in my house and I had dancing flames wither every singe candle. Even the Eco 12 that didn't get a full melt pool did it. Plus all of the wicks both CD's and the Eco's were getting the carbon balls on them. The Eco's were worse then the CD's but they were also getting hotter and they had a better scent throw. I was told to try an LX26 next. I don't have that size but I do have a 22 or 24 so I am going to throw them in in the monrning. What is with all the dancing wicks?

Plus on another note. After I had snuffed all my candles out, I went and grabbed one that I had bought from Walmart quite a while ago. The wick isn't centered, it didn't get a full met pool but I could smell it all through the house. WTH Has anyone else heard of these Aramobead candles? They are made by Hanna's candles at https://www.candlemart.com/brands/aromabeads. How could it be that strong with such a small wick which by the way was also daning some.

Edited November 12, 2013 by countrygal3115

[rjdaines]

I've made plenty of testers that had poor flames but great HT. I won't sell it like that because I want a nice flame as well as the HT but, honestly, all you need for HT is a melt pool. That's why melts and tarts work. The flame is your heat source to melt the wax, the flames in not the HT distribution center; it's the heat. In fact, the flame works against you in that any FO consumed by the flame is not going to add to the HT. It is burned. So, in some cases, an attractive flame is not needed.