Trimming Wicks b/4 selling

[Trappeur]

For those that make tins and sell here is my question.

I fill to the fill line in container.

I have always trimmed my wicks to 1/4" to 3/8".

I have seen in a number of candles in stores that the wicks are much longer and they are just pushed to lay down so the cap/cover can go on over the wick.

I have noticed on a few of mine when I put the lid tin on the wick was cut a little longer on some of them and the wick sort of gets crushed...you know what I mean?

Is it better to leave them a little longer and let the customer trim (which you know people are not going to do that).....

 

Trappeur

[Guest OldGlory]

3 hours ago, Trappeur said:

For those that make tins and sell here is my question.

I fill to the fill line in container.

I have always trimmed my wicks to 1/4" to 3/8".

I have seen in a number of candles in stores that the wicks are much longer and they are just pushed to lay down so the cap/cover can go on over the wick.

I have noticed on a few of mine when I put the lid tin on the wick was cut a little longer on some of them and the wick sort of gets crushed...you know what I mean?

Is it better to leave them a little longer and let the customer trim (which you know people are not going to do that).....

 

Trappeur

You answered your own question - you know people are not going to trim the wicks before they light them. I agree with that.

I trim mine to about 1/4". If the lid smashes it down, the customer will have to lift it up to light it.

[TallTayl]

 I just tested this myself. I burned a couple of Cd wicks without being in candles and they burned pretty much the same regardless of the size.  the Flames were a consistent height from the top down to the wick tab.

 

  Then I left wicks long in a couple of tins and lit them as a customer would. The wick  Kept a perfect size Flame even as it reached the wax portion of the candle. It maintained a perfect flame even as the candle burned. 

 

 I have to admit I was a little surprised. And relieved to be honest.

[Jcandleattic]

10 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

 I just tested this myself. I burned a couple of Cd wicks without being in candles and they burned pretty much the same regardless of the size.  the Flames were a consistent height from the top down to the wick tab.

 

  Then I left wicks long in a couple of tins and lit them as a customer would. The wick  Kept a perfect size Flame even as it reached the wax portion of the candle. It maintained a perfect flame even as the candle burned. 

 

 I have to admit I was a little surprised. And relieved to be honest.

You know, I've never tested that because I always trim no matter what, because, yep, we know not all consumers are going to cut/trim the wick. I always did before I started making/selling them, but I think that was a very rare occurrence in consumers. 

Now I'm curious and am going to test some untrimmed wicks just to see what happens. 

[Lana]

On August 22, 2016 at 1:21 PM, Trappeur said:

For those that make tins and sell here is my question.

I fill to the fill line in container.

I have always trimmed my wicks to 1/4" to 3/8".

I have seen in a number of candles in stores that the wicks are much longer and they are just pushed to lay down so the cap/cover can go on over the wick.

I have noticed on a few of mine when I put the lid tin on the wick was cut a little longer on some of them and the wick sort of gets crushed...you know what I mean?

Is it better to leave them a little longer and let the customer trim (which you know people are not going to do that).....

 

Trappeur

 

Hi there. I've been lurking and learning a lot but finally wanted to start "meeting" you guys. You're all incredible, btw.

 

I personally like to treat myself to Diptyque candles and their wicks are always trimmed. My thoughts are, even if we test and know whether the wick still burns properly when not trimmed, why not just trim if that's what we tell people is a best practice? They definitely won't do it themselves. Even though I always have trimmed them before use in my personal candle-burning experiences, I really think people like you and I are in the minority. Most of my friends and family do not follow the "best practices" whatsoever. 

 

 

[Trappeur]

Hello Lana,

 

Nice to meet you.  You will enjoy everyone here.  Hope you get involved and stick around!

 

Trappeur

[Daisymay66]

I have mixed feelings on this. I used to always trim them! But if they don't get bought that season, it seems your wick sinks down in and sometimes making it impossible to even use. Unless you were to heat gun it a bit and dump out so your wick would be a little longer again.

[Scented]

Trimmer here too. This way the customer gets an eye view of what the size of the wick ought to be.

I like it that they can just pull off the wrapper and label and light up. Just because this is about wicking ... anyone remember the curled wicking? After hearing people say, "It takes so long for the flame to get to the candle. Should it do that?"; or it was to pretty of a curl, I just hated to burn it or I don't know what a 1/4 inch looks like, do I have to measure it and cut it before I can light it? ... this was why we stayed with trimmed wicks. 

 

 

[TallTayl]

I do remember those curls! I always thought, "What a waste of Wick!" Seriously,I could wick one or two more containers with that wick

[Scented]

41 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

I do remember those curls! I always thought, "What a waste of Wick!" Seriously,I could wick one or two more containers with that wick

 

Snort! I thought the same thing but I did it once or twice anyway. 

[TallTayl]

9 minutes ago, Scented said:

 

Snort! I thought the same thing but I did it once or twice anyway. 

It does get attention. And getting attention is a long way toward a sale! 

[Scented]

Here you go again

My problem though was that people wouldn't trim away that excess and God knows with the testing I put my stuff through ... I hadn't tested that. 

I remember one lady had a problem with a candle and brought it back for me to see and asked me what was wrong ... when I saw it I asked her why she didn't trim the wick. She said whaat? Because I knew the woman well I asked her if she ever used scissors and then I showed her how to trim a wick.

[wthomas57]

I trim down to 1/4" Ive never had candle sit so long that wick would sink too far to be unusable.

 

Not to get too far off topic, but this is sorta related. When we, as candle makers, make candles and do test burns we generally follow candle burning recommendations.

I.E. 4 hours, trim to 1/4", etc.  I do generally do a short and longer burn in there somewhere as well just to see if candle handles it ok.

 

But truth is, most customers dont do this nor even trim their wicks. The amount of people I know (well over half) had no idea they were supposed to trim their wicks. So they burn for however long, blow out. relight later and do the same thing. rinse and repeat. So... how do we test and make candles for this?

 

In other words,

Do you all wick your candles for proper burning or wick them for customers who dont trim wicks assuming their flame will get bigger and hotter?

Sounds like a stupid question, I know. Yes... I know our job is to make a candle that burns correctly under proper use. If they dont follow proper use guidelines, its on them.

But, that doens't mean we shouldn' try to get their candle burning well most of the time. Underwicked leads to drowning, tunneling, and poor HT. But... protects from not trimming wicks. Wicking correct size is obviously great except most customers don't maintain and trim and then its esentially an over wicked candle after the first burn. Ugh!

 

Now I know some are going to suggest that is why they use self-trimming wicks. But those half their own disadvantages. And the whole "self trimming" is a bit of a misnomer anyway. They dont trim, they curl. And if they go untrimmed, they curl back into the wax which is just as bad. Not to mention many of these wicks start leaning. If they go untrimmed, the entire wick can lean into the wax or to the edge of jar... not good!

 

So... while this is more of a vent of frustation with proper wicking and average customer candle burning methods, just curious on your all's thoughts?

[Chariste]

I test for the best burn and label my tops with scent and wick trimming reminder. It's certainly a dilemma if you build for best practices but the customer doesn't know/follow them then blames the candle for smoke/soot/tunneling.  

[wthomas57]

18 hours ago, Chariste said:

I test for the best burn and label my tops with scent and wick trimming reminder. It's certainly a dilemma if you build for best practices but the customer doesn't know/follow them then blames the candle for smoke/soot/tunneling.  

Exactly

[puma52]

When I fill my candle jars up a little too full, I trim the wick to 1/4" and bend it over...then screw the lid on. 

Edited September 11, 2016 by puma52

[PixieJ]

When I test, I have a few candles that I totally abuse once I think it is perfect ...do not trim wick, let burn short, then in a bathtub all day, let wick gunk collect, burn in draft, burn containers dry. I am safety paranoid (?) so all of these are controlled (someone watching/ home close) .

[wthomas57]

42 minutes ago, PixieJ said:

When I test, I have a few candles that I totally abuse once I think it is perfect ...do not trim wick, let burn short, then in a bathtub all day, let wick gunk collect, burn in draft, burn containers dry. I am safety paranoid (?) so all of these are controlled (someone watching/ home close) .

 

The problem with testing your candle for crazy poor burning conditions AND for proper use... is that wicking for a properly burning candle is not going to be the wick you want for someone who power burns all the time. Its just not possible. Conversely, wicking for power burners isn't going to be the correct wick for proper burning customers. 

 

Its like training for a sprint when you have to run a marathon. Forgive me for the corny pun, but you're gonna burn out. I may have that backwards, but you get my point.

All I guess you can really do is wick, test, and play for proper usage. If customers do otherwise, that is on them. And, its why we have warning labels and burn recommendations.

Its not that burning longer or short WONT work, its just that you are taking a risk.

 

[PixieJ]

1 minute ago, wthomas57 said:

 

The problem with testing your candle for crazy poor burning conditions AND for proper use... is that wicking for a properly burning candle is not going to be the wick you want for someone who power burns all the time. Its just not possible. Conversely, wicking for power burners isn't going to be the correct wick for proper burning customers. 

 

Its like training for a sprint when you have to run a marathon. Forgive me for the corny pun, but you're gonna burn out. I may have that backwards, but you get my point.

All I guess you can really do is wick, test, and play for proper usage. If customers do otherwise, that is on them. And, its why we have warning labels and burn recommendations.

Its not that burning longer or short WONT work, its just that you are taking a risk.

 

 

I understand your point, but my abuse is for my peace of mind.I was/am still inexperienced, I feel testing is part of learning the craft.

[wthomas57]

Oh I hear ya. I do the same thing. Part of my testing is a power burn  (8 hours) once I get past half way.

I do this to see how hot it gets, how much soot, mushroom, or what have you. How big the flame gets (if its not a curling wick)

and also to see how deep a MP might get. BUT... I dont do until past the half way point. Because I want to make sure proper wicking

gets the job done without major hang up or tunneling before a power burn.

 

I was just wanting to re-illustrate that even in doing crazy testing like that... I do it to be more aware and knowledgeable about what my candles may or may not do,

not necessarily for wicking purposes. I've been down that road and it sends me in constant circles between wicking for crazy burners to wicking properly. 

[Chariste]

I typically get a power burn in at least once on each candle. But I don't necessarily judge the candle on its power burn results. I am right there with you, PixieJ, on wanting to be as cautious as possible. But I also realize there is no way to make sure people candle responsibly. Lol I go with best burn first which, thus far, has yielded at least marginal but satisfactory results on power burns.

[PixieJ]

I guess I am not making myself clear. I do the power burn after all the other testing and the formula is as perfect as I can make it. Normal test burns 4 hrs help me decide the size of my wicks. Although I did just learn that a 1st burn does not have to be a full melt pool. I am so glad I found this board. Thank You

[GoldieMN]

17 hours ago, PixieJ said:

When I test, I have a few candles that I totally abuse once I think it is perfect ...do not trim wick, let burn short, then in a bathtub all day, let wick gunk collect, burn in draft, burn containers dry. I am safety paranoid (?) so all of these are controlled (someone watching/ home close) .

I am safety paranoid, too, so I know where you are coming from.

Goldie

[Candybee]

My wick trimming instructions are on my warning label. I know many customers don't bother to read the warning labels but its there for mine and their protection.

 

I prefer to leave my jar candle wicks trimmed to about 1/2" instead of 1/4". There are specific reasons why I do this that I don't need to go into here. I will say that I test and use my own candles and find that I get just as good a burn starting out with a slightly longer trimmed wick as I do with the shorter trimmed wick. In other words, I really don't see or experience any difference in the burn or the quality of the burn. Sometimes I don't trim my wick after I relight it again just to see how it will work. Same thing again, I don't really need to continuously trim it after each burn. But then I use CDN's which tend to be self trimming and generally don't make large or significant sized mushrooms to worry about trimming.

 

I have used other wicks (zincs come to mind) that always needed to be trimmed after each burn due to the mushroom left on the wick after burning. But again the starting length of the wick before use burned the same on them too whether I trimmed them to 1/4" or left them trimmed at 1/2".

[wthomas57]

Candybee, where do you get your CDNs? And you mostly soy or parrfin based? I am curious how they would work in 6006?

I do like your reason to only trim to 1/2". I think most customers wouldn't trim past that anyway thinking they might trim too much.

So I could definitely see trimming to 1/2 instead 1/4 and its benefits. My only concern is if you are on the edge of wick sizes, and it burns good on 1/2", that it could possibly drown at 1/4". I have experienced this before on accident so that would be my only concern.