Tea Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 So far I have only made one candle that burn properly. It is a 2" voltive with a wick suitable for a 2.25 - 2.5" voltive. The burn just reaches the edges, and has performed beautifully. Parafin with vybar, and F & M Fo.I made an all bees wax voltive with the matching size wick, and got a hopless burn. Remelted and rewicked the 3" voltive with a wick suitable for a 4 - 4.5" and the burn is better but still about 1/2 away from the edges. What is the rule of thumb for wicking bees wax?ANother one I used parafin with .5% vybar, wicked with the right size for the voltive and again, burn not going anywhere near the edges.Have remelted this one too, and put in a bigger wick, and will reburn today and see what happens.So far I have followed everything that I have read, and things are still not going right. Is this normal, or just me.Any advice much welcome.Frustrated,Tracey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 First, I just gotta tell you, it is VOTIVE. No "L".Second, beeswax can be tricky to wick, don't beat yourself up. It will take some more testing but if you are persistant, you'll get it. Yes, it is completely normal to have to test and retest to get a candle that burns well. And to do it with every different wax/FO combo that you use. Third, votives should burn all the way out to the edges and should have a deep melt pool. Some people like to have them totally liquify (remember - they go in a holder). Maybe what you are looking for is a votive pillar?Fourth - Welcome to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tea Posted January 9, 2006 Author Share Posted January 9, 2006 Thankyou. I only have L in one size, although I did order in more sizes yesterday. I am using RRD's at the moment.What is a pillar voltive?Tracey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margaritamama Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 ...like Sara said, it's VOTIVE, not VOLTIVE. No "L". She was referring to the letter L and not a wick type.It sounds to me that you are making pillar candles, and not votives. 2 Inches seems a little large for the average votive size. Do you mean 2 inches tall, or wide? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tea Posted January 9, 2006 Author Share Posted January 9, 2006 Ok, well that just proves how new I am to all this.:embarasse I bought votive glass containers, that are around 2 1/2" high by 2" across. I also bought glass containers that were square, about 3" x 3". So could you explain what exactly is a votive. Is there a difference between a votive, votive pillar, and a container candle. Now I'm confused.ThanksTracey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tea Posted January 9, 2006 Author Share Posted January 9, 2006 Ok, I just went back and checked what I bought. It was a votive "holder". So I take it that I am supposed to pour a votive pillar first, then put this into a holder? Correct???So if the votive is meant to completely melt, can the wax be poured straight into the votive holder first? Thats what I have done, and it so far, is working perfectly? Is there a reason that it must be poured as a pillar first?Boy, learning all the time.Anything else I need to know??Tracey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Ok, I just went back and checked what I bought. It was a votive "holder". So I take it that I am supposed to pour a votive pillar first, then put this into a holder? Correct???So if the votive is meant to completely melt, can the wax be poured straight into the votive holder first? Thats what I have done, and it so far, is working perfectly? Is there a reason that it must be poured as a pillar first?Boy, learning all the time.Anything else I need to know??TraceyA votive is like a container candle where the container is sold separately. They have special little molds for them. You can also pour the wax directly into the cup and that's called a filled votive. Or maybe a filed voltive. Something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 There's no reason you can't pour directly into the votive holder, it would just be a small container candle. Votives are normally meant to be inexpensive and replacable. You use the same holder over and over, just replacing the votive inside when it's done. That makes them sell for less since you don't have to pay for the container every time. If you want to make a bunch at a time, say 100, then you can use ten molds and fill them 10 times. That's much less expensive than buying 100 glass holders to make them in. As for the pillar votive, some people may make a votives that stands alone and burns like a pillar, meaning in no holder and consumes itself. You would need to use a pillar wax for that and with such a small melt pool there wouldn't be hardly any scent throw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 As for the pillar votive, some people may make a votives that stands alone and burns like a pillar, meaning in no holder and consumes itself. You would need to use a pillar wax for thatWhat exactly makes that still a votive?there wouldn't be hardly any scent throw.Watch those double negatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairieannie Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 What exactly makes that still a votive?Watch those double negatives. Yeah, cause it would be a SHAME to confuse someone!! LMAO!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 What exactly makes that still a votive?Hmm.. guess that would depend on the technical definition of a votive. Which I don't know and don't care enough to look up A "pillar votive" would make no sense to me personally, but other people don't necessarily think like I do. Watch those double negatives. I only counted one, not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 I only counted one, not.It was a more subtle form of double negative but you still reversed your meaning.It seems the original definition of votive is a small candle used in religious ceremonies. Hmmm. There are pillars used in churches, but I guess that refers to the ones in the little glass cups, or sometimes the long burning "seven day votives" in the tall jars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharyl55 Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 1st Welcome to the CT family.2nd Sounds like it would be helpful if you started with the Basic Instructions listed to the left of this screen. Then move on to the helpful tips that are posted at the top of each section.3rd Check your local library to see if they have any books on candle making. They would probably answer a lot of your 'basic' questions like what is a votive, a pillar, and a container candle.4th It wasn't that long ago when I too wanted to try and make every type of candle shown in my book. I learned the hard way to pick one type of candle and one type of wax and focus my testing on that. Wicking is hard enough without trying to figure out paraffin and beeswax at the same time.5th Understand that some of us have a weird sense of humor and just roll with the punches. You'll notice that the later in the night the posts are made, the weirder the answers will be.6th Did I say welcome to the crazy world of candle making??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margaritamama Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 ......... Or maybe a filed voltive. Something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cetacea Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 What is the rule of thumb for wicking bees wax?Square braided wicking for solid beeswax pillars. Square braid or flat braid for tapers.HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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