Overwicked? Do Ya' Think?

[Hopie]

I've been test burning soy candles all week, so I figured it was time to fire up one of the pillar candles I made. I really wanted to smell this one burning, so I chose the Lemongrass. Holy SMOKES, can you say over wicked!? Just to let anyone know who is making pillar candles, I used the Zinc wick here, 60-44-18. The mold I used is the 5 point star that measures 3.25" x 6.5". Any suggestions on which wick I should try next? 

 

[Trappeur]

I know absolutely nothing about making pillars but just wanted to tell you, I love the look of the "dripped" candle! ha ha ha!   And your colors are gorgeous!

 

Trappeur

[GoldieMN]

Beautiful candle! 

GoldieMN

[Hopie]

1 hour ago, GoldieMN said:

Beautiful candle! 

GoldieMN

Well, it "was", LOL! I'll have to say, it sure smelled yummy for the hour and a half I burned it (I'm going to buy more of that lemongrass from FC Love it!). Had to watch it like a hawk, just a few feet away from me. Hmmm....can I just remelt this and repour it? I've never done that, has the fragrance oil in it...would remelting it burn off the scent? 

[Jcandleattic]

I would try a 24 or 28 flat braid for that size pillar. I don't use zincs in my paraffin pillars, I always use flat braids. For my applications they tend to burn the best. 

 

[Hopie]

Any particular company to get those wicks? Is it on a spool? If so, do I need to wax it? 

[Pam W]

Up front disclaimer:  I don't do soy!!  But I do pour some square pillars on occasion and I have found that they need special attention in regards to hugging the pillar as it burns to get a perfect burn all the way to the bottom.  After a few burns when those corners start to stick up, you should gently fold them over after a couple of burns.  Just use your thumbs and gently push those corners inward.  If the sides between the corners look like they are going to blow-out, then I'd suggest going to a smaller wick or shorter burns.  I know I posted some pics of my square pillar burns in the gallery but that was a long time ago and they were paraffin...but I'm guessing that the hugging process would be the same as with soy. (I had progressive pics of the square pillars burning and the hugging process but the computer they were on crashed and I don't have access to them anymore..sucks!)

If that candle burned for only 1 1/2 hr then I'd have to agree that it was over wicked.  To save the candle and continue testing, just lite the wick long enough to soften the wax so you can pull out that wick and insert a smaller one.  Level the top by hugging or just cut off the high peaks...then relight and continue burning.  Or if you want to, YES you can remelt and start over.......simple remelting will not burn off your FO if you don't leave it on the heat too long.

Ya know, the fun in this addiction is going back and fixing our boo-boos  :-)

[Pam W]

22 hours ago, Jcandleattic said:

I would try a 24 or 28 flat braid for that size pillar. I don't use zincs in my paraffin pillars, I always use flat braids. For my applications they tend to burn the best. 

 

When using FB wicks in a square pillar, I'd suggest twisting the wick so that the 'lean' of the wick rotates during burning so that you get an even burn.

[Jcandleattic]

2 hours ago, Pam W said:

When using FB wicks in a square pillar, I'd suggest twisting the wick so that the 'lean' of the wick rotates during burning so that you get an even burn.

I do that out of habit, but after extensive testing found there was no significant difference in a burn with a twisted wick and one that isn't twisted. 

[Pam W]

7 minutes ago, Jcandleattic said:

I do that out of habit, but after extensive testing found there was no significant difference in a burn with a twisted wick and one that isn't twisted. 

So not twisting the wick, you get a consistant burn on all sides of the candle?

[Jcandleattic]

4 minutes ago, Pam W said:

So not twisting the wick, you get a consistant burn on all sides of the candle?

I get the same burn with either twisting or not twisting. It's consistently the same - every time. I do still twist my wick most of the time, just out of habit, but I feel the burn is no better or worse doing it either way. That's just been my experience. 

[Hopie]

3 hours ago, Pam W said:

Up front disclaimer:  I don't do soy!!  But I do pour some square pillars on occasion and I have found that they need special attention in regards to hugging the pillar as it burns to get a perfect burn all the way to the bottom.  After a few burns when those corners start to stick up, you should gently fold them over after a couple of burns.  Just use your thumbs and gently push those corners inward.  If the sides between the corners look like they are going to blow-out, then I'd suggest going to a smaller wick or shorter burns.  I know I posted some pics of my square pillar burns in the gallery but that was a long time ago and they were paraffin...but I'm guessing that the hugging process would be the same as with soy. (I had progressive pics of the square pillars burning and the hugging process but the computer they were on crashed and I don't have access to them anymore..sucks!)

If that candle burned for only 1 1/2 hr then I'd have to agree that it was over wicked.  To save the candle and continue testing, just lite the wick long enough to soften the wax so you can pull out that wick and insert a smaller one.  Level the top by hugging or just cut off the high peaks...then relight and continue burning.  Or if you want to, YES you can remelt and start over.......simple remelting will not burn off your FO if you don't leave it on the heat too long.

Ya know, the fun in this addiction is going back and fixing our boo-boos  :-)

Addiction. LOL! Yep, I'd say it is! This thing had a very high flame, and it blew out pretty fast, so, my thought is to melt it down and put it in another mold, or even a jar just so we can enjoy it. Next time, different wick for sure! 

[Pam W]

Ya know, square pillars (etc) are a totally different thing compared to a regular round pillar.....those corners are a demon to handle in a a different way from regular round pillars.  I'm going to try to retrieve some pics of my square pillars burning and the hugging that makes them burn perfectly.......all the way to the bottom......but no guarantee since those pics were on the computer that crashed...but if you'd like me to test burn one of those pillars and document the hugging process, you could send me a pillar for testing....hint, hint !!!!!!!!!!!

[Jcandleattic]

13 hours ago, Hopie said:

or even a jar

Careful putting pillar wax in a jar, not only will it completely pull away from the sides and be ugly while burning (which I know it's just for you so that won't matter) but it could also make the jar very hot, since the melt point of paraffin wax is higher than regular container wax. 

 

And @Pam W hit on an overlooked bit of advice too. Hugging. If you don't want a shell, after the flame has been extinguished, you should 'hug' your candle. Meaning (if you don't already know) gently pushing the warmed wax in on itself so that the entire candle will consume itself. 

 

Partyl*te used to be big on "hugging" - their tagline was "Do you love your candles? Then hug them" 

[Hopie]

So, I just LOVE my candles, but I hadn't ever thought of hugging them . Now, when I test them, I'll do just that! I really appreciate the good advice, sometimes, the mistakes are part of the fun journey! The wax I used for the pillars is the 1274 mottling wax. Should I not put them in a jar if I remelt, then? Maybe I'll remelt and use the other wicks and put them in molds, then. 

[Jcandleattic]

3 minutes ago, Hopie said:

Should I not put them in a jar if I remelt, then?

Personally, I wouldn't, but there is no harm in testing it out and seeing for yourself how you like it

You can either make other pillar candles out of it, or you can make wax melts out of them also. 

[Hopie]

12 minutes ago, Jcandleattic said:

Personally, I wouldn't, but there is no harm in testing it out and seeing for yourself how you like it

You can either make other pillar candles out of it, or you can make wax melts out of them also. 

Thanks so much, a mold it is....after I get new wicks, of course! I don't want to attempt a jar then, with the mottling wax, we are in a motor home, so we're EXTRA careful when it comes to a fire hazard!

[Pam W]

The 1274 wax is a pillar wax and really doesn't burn good in containers.  But if I had that candle, I'd lite it up, let it get nice and hot then, fold those corners inward so that you have basically a nice even top to start your next burn.  Anytime I burned a square pillar without doing this, there was always a side blowout down the road.  By folding in those corners, I always got a complete burn all the way to the botton.......talk about feeling accomplished!!!!

[Hopie]

Thanks, Pam! I think I will relight it as it stands and do the fold ins . I'm currently burning candle constantly for testing, sure smells yummy in here!

[Pam W]

Hopie:  I so want to get my hands on that pillar and hug it in the appropriate way just to show you that you have not created a monster but created a wonderful candle (with the appropriate hugging techniques) 

[Hopie]

Heehee...Thanks, Pam....I'll give this a try. I really like the lemongrass scent, too! I'm awaiting new wicks before making any more pillars. Working on soy containers lately...posted in candle gallery