Wick testing - need advice

[CHB]

Hi! I'm relatively new to candle making and have found this site so helpful. Thank you. My question is in regards to testing for candle safety and wick size. I am using IGI 6006 with 7% fragrance load and the libbey tumbler (3.125 inches in diameter). I've tested CD wicks and ECO wicks and have moved on to LX wicks. I've been fairly happy with the performance of the LX wicks but am having difficulty deciding on the appropriate size of LX wick. I am thinking that the LX 18 is best because if I burn it properly (3-4 hour burns trimming before each light), it burns very well even towards the end. However, if I burn it without trimming the wick at all during a full burn (because I know people will do this), the flame is larger than I'd like. I tried to attach a picture but I'm getting an error message. Without trimming the wick at all, the flame can get to about 1.5 inches. My question is - do you choose a wick based on performance when burning a candle properly or do you choose a wick based on knowledge that some people will power burn/not trim wicks, etc? Thank you in advance for your help!

[TallTayl]

Are you posting a picture from your camera phone? If so, it is probably in high definition making the file size gigantic. edit the pic by cropping a tiny bit and the file size will compress enough that the forum software will allow the picture to post.

[CHB]

Here is a photo 

[TallTayl]

How long has it been burning in that photo? 

[CHB]

About 1.5 hours

[TallTayl]

The photo angle does not show any melt pool, is this correct? The flame looks a little big in the angle, but it is hard to tell. Overall it looks OK to me right there. Check again at the end of 3hrs total burn.

 

The proof will be in he next couple of hours. If the flame grow much more, or it starts to get ahead of itself with a melt pool take good notes. Then make another and prep to power burn. 

[CHB]

These photos are after a 3 hour burn. Looks to me that there is about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch melt pool on the interior but there is a bit of hang up on the sides. The flame still looks large to me but I have intentionally not trimmed the wick at all throughout the burn. Any thoughts? Should I wick down to the LX 16? 

 

Thanks!