Wax and Wick comparison testing. any interest?

[Moonstar]

8 minutes ago, moonshine said:

It's a parasoy- lovely wax easy to work with and very good throw 

I was hoping the farmers almanac was going to be right about a mild winter around here - I love the snow.....up north but we need to be able to keep working around here all winter! 

Your poor son- if your at all interested I go to a chiropractor that specializes in children with ADD And autism and since I have been seeing him my immune system has done a complete 360....he is amazing and you know we don't far from each other at all we should meet up for lunch one day ?

If I don't start making some headway SOON with the 20 lbs of 464 lol ! I might just try the Clarus para soy. Is there a wick that you've found works well with it ?

Also, who carries that wax ? Ahhh, yes Michigan winters, such a joy - NOT !!! Someone told me the Farmers Almanac predicted a very cold + snowy winter ?

Pm me the drs # please- TY Im about to SNAP with him being home sick for days now - having a child thats severe on the Autism spectrum is VERY

challenging .Everyone asks me " How do you do it " LOL ! Some days I don't know how I do it myself lol ! I pray for strength for both of us but sometimes I

don't think Gods hears me or he's ignoring me like everyone else does LMAO !!!! Lunch date sounds awesome, we really do have so many good restaurants 

in this state. When we go Up North, Charlevoix - Petoskey etc - the food is amazing ! No chains all family owned, which we prefer to support small business.

 

[moonshine]

PMing you and you sound like an amazing mother to an amazing son ?

[wthomas57]

1 hour ago, Moonstar said:

Like you, Im finding the CD's smoke + mushroom but they do seem to be a preferred wick to many. It must be something Im doing wrong ? Im also getting a lot of 

hangup on my bigger jars - Im afraid if I go up 1 size then the flame will be too big thus more mushrooming . I might even try the Premiers to see if I get better results.

SO frustrating - Its a miracle Im not bald lol ! 

Ok, so most likely the reason you are getting hang up with the CD's is because they curl and lean because they are coreless. Since they have a hard time staying centered, you often get hang up on some sides. Its frustrating. Again.. this is the BEST PART ABOUT USING ZINC CORE WICKS!  They have drawbacks of course as well, but not when it comes to most consistent burn..

 

Remind me again what wax your using? I tried Premiers and they are ok, but not quite as good for me as the zincs were. The benefit is they have no wire core which could potentially worry some candle buyers. But theyh mushroom just as much for me and they seem to burn hotter and thus cause some wax discoloration which I did not like.

But they are worth a shot for sure!

[Moonstar]

Greatly appreciate your help ?

Ive been testing with 464

Edited December 9, 2016 by Moonstar

[Flicker]

I see one huge problem with this. Wick manufacturers all tab differently, and depending on where the wicks are tab can alter the burn. Example, a CD 12 wick from Candlewic, tabbed by them may burn entirely different in the same wax than say a CD 12 wick from  Bitter Creek who uses Wicks Unlimited. So it's vital that if you are testing to compare, you are utilizing wicks from the same source or that come from the same source.

[TallTayl]

35 minutes ago, Flicker said:

I see one huge problem with this. Wick manufacturers all tab differently, and depending on where the wicks are tab can alter the burn. Example, a CD 12 wick from Candlewic, tabbed by them may burn entirely different in the same wax than say a CD 12 wick from  Bitter Creek who uses Wicks Unlimited. So it's vital that if you are testing to compare, you are utilizing wicks from the same source or that come from the same source.

While I don't disagree, this test is still relevant for the exercise

 

Even if many of the wicks are from your company, they may still be from different batch numbers which can cause differences in burn (which I myself have seen over the years in purchases made from your store).

 

ETA. Every batch of soy wax is slightly different too. even if every wick I ever use is from the same bag from you, they may burn differently. Likewise with every fragrance. But that does not negate the value of comparison testing at all. 

[Chefmom]

On 12/9/2016 at 2:57 PM, Flicker said:

I see one huge problem with this. Wick manufacturers all tab differently, and depending on where the wicks are tab can alter the burn. Example, a CD 12 wick from Candlewic, tabbed by them may burn entirely different in the same wax than say a CD 12 wick from  Bitter Creek who uses Wicks Unlimited. So it's vital that if you are testing to compare, you are utilizing wicks from the same source or that come from the same source.

True, however no testing will ever be absolutely picture perfect for many different reasons.  We aren't in control of any of our base "ingredients".  As Chandlers we are all at the mercy of the manufacturers of every component of the candle.  We source the most reliable glassware, tins, candle molds.  But we all know that glass can fail, not because of anything we did, but because of issues within the manufacturing process.  We aren't in control of any of the waxes.  There are plenty of stories on this board about people having issues with the wax itself.  Bad batches, issues within quality control.  Soy wax is dependent upon the soy harvest and every batch can have variances within it.  Beeswax is different from hive to hive, season to season, year to year and even from the same hive from different placement with in the hive. And then wicks!  They might be made by only a few global companies, but then prime them with different kinds of waxes will inherently change their performance....sigh....and of course fragrances...I could go on and on.

 

I'm a meticulous tester and I've seen two wicks from the same pack, same supplier that look the same burn very differently within the same container.  One gets a giant mushroom, the other burns just right.  One will slowly self trim, the other gets a crazy high flame.  It happens. I make notes of the kind of wax I'm using, pour temp, ambient air temp etc etc.  Melt pool, diameters, size of jars, rate of consumption.  It's the best I can do.  Tall Tayl and I are doing this for the good of all, to narrow down wicking with various waxes.  We will do our best to give the results as we see it, but in the end it's never a replacement for personal tests.  Hopefully it will help people choose wicks to begin their journeys and their own personal testing, to develop their own systems. 

 

I am beginning with 4630, I have a 9x13 pan for bulk tests as well as several different containers including the dollar tree rocks jar mentioned above.  I've got LX wicks up first as I have worked with them for a long time.  I have fatigue issues which gives me plenty of time to watch candles burn.