What's REALLY the purpose of pouring at low temps?

[lindsaycb]

If I'm going with soy wax for my containers....what does the hassle of pouring at low temps really give me?

Is it simply for appearance purposes?

Or is it for the wax to bond with the fragrance?

What exactly is it?

Is it for wet spots? Shrinkage?

Is there an answer? Can someone enlighten me?

[babyrn]

Good question Lindsaycb, I would like to know that also!

[Jeana]

Many of the newer soys are fine to pour hotter (140-160)and in fact do better when not poured super cool.

I know I used to pour cooler to get a better tops, better glass adhesion, less shrinkage, and less frosting.

I'm really liking not having to wait around forever to pour now.

[geekrunner]

In my experience with soy (S1 and MillCreek's 415 from GB) pouring "hot" causes unattractive cracking and air pockets in the candle. Many times one has to poke holes and top them off to get a smooth finish. Pouring "hot" can mean anywhere from 140* and up.

When pouring "cold" temps are typically below 140* but many who pour cold simply wait for the wax to start getting cloudy looking or slushy. It takes some experimenting to find what temp one can pour at to get a smooth top and no air pockets.

Some believe to save time from waiting on the wax to cool down, they pour hot, let it set up, poke holes, then either do a second pour or heat gun the top to smooth it out. I guess it depends on the preference of the chandler, and what works well for a smooth finish.

For some soy waxes, typically 100% soys, one can add up to 5% beeswax to allow for slightly hotter pour, smoother tops, and better scent throw. That takes some experimenting also to find the right BW percentage to use. Typically it is 2% to 3%.

HTH! geek

[ChelleRie]

I know I used to pour cooler to get a better tops, better glass adhesion, less shrinkage, and less frosting.

That is why I pour cooler (GF 415) I don't really check the temp, I just go by appearance...cloudy or milky looking, almost slushy.

[Marilyn]

I dont understand why you can accidently leave the wax hot in the pouring pot (interuptions) and come back to find it set up beautiful, gorgeous appearance, no air pockets! But pour it into the jars that way.......

[lindsaycb]

Well lastnight I did some KY125 with 2% BW and I got cracks down the sides of the container...I didn't measure temp, I poured when it was thick. The top cracked so I did a 2nd pour at a hot temp and the tops were beautiful... Goofy.

But now is there a reason why we wait for it to cool before adding fragrance too?

[ChelleRie]

Well lastnight I did some KY125 with 2% BW and I got cracks down the sides of the container...I didn't measure temp, I poured when it was thick. The top cracked so I did a 2nd pour at a hot temp and the tops were beautiful... Goofy.

But now is there a reason why we wait for it to cool before adding fragrance too?

Not sure, but I add FO around 175-185. If I wait to pour when it is slushy and thick, it does not set up as well:confused:

[Quixote Gal]

But now is there a reason why we wait for it to cool before adding fragrance too?

I don't know why you would wait to add fo at all. The hottest you need to any vegetable wax is 180. And that would be just to add uv inhibitors, some addatives or powdered dyes. If you add 4 oz of fo to a 4 lb batch, you will lose 10 degrees or so. Stirring will further lower the temp. Mostly heating to about 165 is enough. You need to add fo at at least 150 degrees for proper blending.

HTH

[Jeana]

People used to say that adding FO at too high of a temp would burn it off. But now everyone is going with the theory that the wax needs to be hotter to make sure the FO and wax blend together.

[Fire and Ice]

I would be a great idea for people to learn to read what the manufactorer has to say about pour temps and follow accordingly. For someone to tell me to pour my wax slushly or cool is asking for trouble. I ALWAYS pour very hot and mix very hot because that what my wax calls for. If you fail to understand the directions on you wax, call the maker of the wax and not the distibutor of the wax.

Believe it or not, most distibutors haven't got a clue what to pour at because they

A~ Don't make soy candles! Hence, they know nothing! Their answers are guess work! My distibutor makes soy candles and uses ME for the back of any testing of container soy waxes and then we compair notes! That's how it should always be done but seldom if ever is!

B~ Don't make candles with your wax!:embarasse

A producer of the wax is not about to steer you wrong since they wax you to have the best results possible with their wax so that you will switch to their wax !

Fire!

[RustyTN]

I dont understand why you can accidently leave the wax hot in the pouring pot (interuptions) and come back to find it set up beautiful, gorgeous appearance, no air pockets! But pour it into the jars that way.......

Marilyn, I've always wanted to know the answer to this same question!! I've been tempted to melt the wax IN the jar, mix everything up and then just leave it to see what would happen. LOL

[Meridith]

I find it frustrating that sometimes I can pour around 100 when the wax is starting to get slushy and get really smooth glassy tops, then next time, my tops trun out looking horrible. Other times I can pour hotter with the same results. Very Frustrating. This can happen with the same FOs too so its not always because of a differnt FO. . It's hard to recreate each pouring situation to maintain consistency.

[simply soy]

Vicky/Ky told me to add the fragrance when the wax was hot...about

160 degrees because the wax and fragrance can bond. Then wait

until it is slushy then pour into the container. It worked and I had a

awesome scent throw. Before, I was waiting until the temp. was

lower, then add the fragrance and I never had a good scent throw.

Stick with your supplier because they can help you. But, only if you

use their products. They can't help if they haven't used others

products.