Acceptable Mushroom Size at different Time Intervals

[wthomas57]

Good morning,

 

I've been conducting several burn test with several different wicks... (other variables not really important for sake of this discussion).

I was curious based off of your own experiences, customer feedback, general beliefs, etc. of what you would consider acceptable mushroom sizes for your wicks either for yourselves or for customers. For my tests, I've been using a Parasoy blend as sort of a balance between the two main wax bases. I've also been using a tumblers with FO loads anywhere from 6oz to 9oz.

 

I am curious what you think is acceptable for the following time intervals.

 

3-4 hours: Minimal mushroom, small formations of the mushroom heads starting on one or two sides of the wick

6 hours: mushroom size of a corn kernal, flame getting a bit fatter/rounded but still burning well

8 hours: mushroom size of a pea or a tad bigger, flame definitely more rounded and fatter now at the bottom

10+ hours: mushroom starting to look like an actual mushroom (lol) with diameter of a dime. Pretty large and ugly but still burning great.

 

I know these are are pretty vague and depends a lot on wax, wick choice, FO and FO load, etc.

But most of the time, the above is pretty accurate for my testing with some wicks mushrooming more than others, but have their own benefits as well.

 

Would you say most of you experience something similar, or better, or worse? 

And, I know customers shouldn't burn more than a handful of hours at a time but we all know they do. So I am trying to get a feel of what is acceptable to a customer regarding mushrooming and possibly soot as well when they burn more than recommended hours.

 

Thanks everyone!

[kandlekrazy]

For a powerburn that would be close to what I get in soy wax with cotton core wicks, depending on the fo.  That would be worse case scenario, sometimes they stay at that small stage though the entire burn.  I never could figure out what makes them stay smaller, it's not the fo in this case but maybe drafts?

 

[wthomas57]

Ive tried every wick I know of in parrafin, soy, and parasoy (mostly use parasoy). Ive never been able to find a wick that get little if any mushrooming and can go through multiple burns without needing trimmed. Again, I know this isn't recommended but most people I know who burn candles dont trim before every burn and they burn for more than 5 hours at a time.  Compare to a Yankee candle for a moment (ugh) and those suckers can burn for 10 hours, little to no mushroom, wick seems to almost disintegrate awayas it never gets too large, and they can relight multiple times without trimming. I cant tell if they use specific wicks that we are unaware of or if its more to do with their wax blend (which is parrafin base and even more mind boggling).

 

So since we cant replicate the magic Yankee does with their burns somehow, I am trying my best to find the acceptable range of mushrooming for customers to be ok with for their average burn times.

[PhoenixFyre]

To piggyback on this question about mushrooms, do those of you who are experienced and sell your candles find mushrooms acceptable at all? I have been testing for over a year (with different paraffins) and always end up with either soot or mushrooming (or both), depending on the wick I use. I have decided to continue working with the wicks that mushroom rather than the ones that soot excessively. But should I settle? Is it inevitable that there will be something "imperfect" about the candle...or do I need to just keep testing my system until I get it without mushrooms, soot, etc.? Is that even possible?

 

49 minutes ago, wthomas57 said:

So since we cant replicate the magic Yankee does with their burns somehow, I am trying my best to find the acceptable range of mushrooming for customers to be ok with for their average burn times.

 

I've never tried a Yankee candle so I don't know how they burn, but I feel stuck at this same point in my testing --- figuring out what people will be happy with. I feel like I'm only getting acceptable results when I'd rather be getting outstanding results.

[wthomas57]

I actually do not know a single other candle maker... (home based, small business, etc) that doesn't get mushrooms with their candles. However, Yankee and a few others have obviously spent millions in development with their waxes and/or wicks to fight that. We do not have that luxury. So like you, I am trying to get as close as I can get. Unfortunately most candle makers I know have just learned to deal with and accept the mushrooms. I really struggle with that myself and keep trying to tweak and fix to stop them. So far no luck. If I get rid of the mushroom... then I end up with no good melt pool, soot, too small a wick, etc.