jasondigitized Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 I am currently testing out 12 oz. status jars with 6006 ( 100% ) / 6006 ( 85% ) + 464 ( 15% ) using various LX, CD, Eco, and Zinc Wicks. A lot of chandlers on this site recommend testing with half poured jars with no fragrance when trying to figure out the best wax / wick / container combo. 1) If I was pouring a full jar, I would be looking for a FMP on the 2nd or 3rd burn. Should I be expecting the same rate to a FMP on a half poured jar or will that happen faster when only pouring a half jar. Is it ok to reach a FMP on the first 3 hour burn test when only pouring half jars? 2) Since I am not testing fragrance / throw, what else should I be looking for when determining the best 2-3 possible wicks + wax combos. I am assuming in a perfect candle, I would have no mushrooming, no soot, no tunneling, low temp on the glass, minimal catchup, and a reasonable rate to get to a FMP. How do you ultimately choose between the many combinations that are possible here? For example, should I always choose the wick that results in a cooler jar and takes longer to reach a FMP? In my mind, I can imagine chandlers giving each attribute a rating ( soot / mushroom / heat / melt pool ) and then deciding the best based on a score or is this more of a subjective determination that comes with experience? I understand once I start mixing in fragrance all bets are off, but I would like to limit that test to only a few wax / wick combos if possible. By the way, I am somewhat referring the approach @Chefmom talks about here: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasondigitized Posted April 30, 2018 Author Share Posted April 30, 2018 Any advice here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 The second half, and especially the last third are critical in my containers. I look for a slow melt pool width to the edge that aligns with the width of the container. A 3” wide jar I look for full width pool in 3-4 hours. More importantly, IMO, is overall melt pool depth. If that melt pool gets deeper than about 1/4”, or 1/2” depending on the size around the edges it’s likely a fail for me. Sometimes it’s hard to see the depth from the sides, especially in colored wax. All soy coconut blends in a tin fail to reach full melt pool sideways, but go completely liquid internally to the bottom. Soy wax gets very sludgy before it turns clear like the typical thing we think of as melt pool. The temp difference of a degree or two is all it takes for sludge to become clear melt pool. Melt pools are not perfectly flat, some appear shallow, but are a deep “U” in the middle. That too is a fail since the wicks will eventually begin to sag or tip in the pool. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah S Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 I don't have a ton of experience with half jar tests, but yes, I expect a full MP much sooner than when testing a full jar. Usually I do a half jar test when I have a new fragrance that I'm not too sure about and I don't want to commit to a full candle of it. Since I'm tossing my opinion out there, I would suggest doing a pan test if you're testing multiple wicks for performance in unscented wax. There is a great thread in the wax and wick testing section going on right now. If I can figure out how to do that inserting thing, I'll link for you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah S Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 I see @TallTayl types faster than I do! She always has awesome answers! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah S Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 www.craftserver.com/topic/112437-igi-6570-wick-tests/ This is the thread I mentioned, sorry I have no computer skilzzzz! 😆 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trappeur Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 lol at Sarah......me either... Trappeur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trappeur Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 I would think if you are doing 1/2 jar testing I would say I would expect to get a full melt pool starting like that on 1/2 a jar. Trappeur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasondigitized Posted May 1, 2018 Author Share Posted May 1, 2018 I ended up doing a full and a half pour using identical wax / jar / wick. The half pour definitely burned faster out of the gate. After 3 hours the half pour had a larger melt pool but not by much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trappeur Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 So did you get a full melt pool? Trappeur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasondigitized Posted May 2, 2018 Author Share Posted May 2, 2018 Very close on the half pour @Trappeur. 1/8 inch to go which passes the test for me. Do you think it should be FMP after 3 hours on initial burn on a half pour in a 3" status jar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trappeur Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Not necessarily.....sounds good to me what you got. Trappeur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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