6006 cure time

[karinz40]

I am going to start making candles and bought 6006 wax.  How long after pouring can i test the wick sizes.

How long does it have to cure?

[lightmyfire]

I wait a week to test the wick and I allow 2 weeks for cure time

[Testing123]

two weeks for wax that's only 30% soy?

[Sarah S]

I thought it was closer to 50%? 

Honestly even with 100% paraffin I like to do a weeke cure. IMO candles and soap  both improve with some wait time. Not saying I'm ALWAYS that patient, but I do try! 😆

[Forrest]

Per the Flaming Candle 6006 is "Approximate ratio is 70% paraffin and 30% soy." I will offer the disclaimer that I have seen a lot of incorrect information on the various sites that sell candle supplies. I wait one week to do wick test, I have no doubt that means all my test are worthless, but I haven't gone far enough to make a candle and let it sit for a month. I do feel that the candles I have made in the past with 6006 had better hot throw after a month or so. 

[Forrest]

I will also offer some sage advice that was given to me on this board. Make two candles to test and set one aside for a month. That way you can see what the curing process is doing to your product.

[bfroberts]

I see a marked difference in the way my 6006 candles burn after they have cured for a couple weeks.  I use zinc wicks (mostly) with 6006 and they mushroom much more in the first few days after pour than they do after a couple of weeks.  Soot is also significantly reduced.  Just a cleaner burn in general.  The wax seems harder to burn initially, especially using heavier or spicy FO's.  Sometimes a candle I don't think is properly wicked will burn beautifully if I just set it aside and try burning again in a couple of weeks.  

[lightmyfire]

On 5/28/2018 at 2:12 PM, Testing123 said:

two weeks for wax that's only 30% soy?

I like to give my candles the time they need to figure out who they are and most of them can accomplish that in 2 weeks.    When I deliver an order to my specialty market customer I feel confident that the candles look and smell their best and they will only improve from there.  

[Forrest]

1 hour ago, bfroberts said:

I see a marked difference in the way my 6006 candles burn after they have cured for a couple weeks.  I use zinc wicks (mostly) with 6006 and they mushroom much more in the first few days after pour than they do after a couple of weeks.  Soot is also significantly reduced.  Just a cleaner burn in general.  The wax seems harder to burn initially, especially using heavier or spicy FO's.  Sometimes a candle I don't think is properly wicked will burn beautifully if I just set it aside and try burning again in a couple of weeks.  

Well that is useful information. I rejected what was probably my best wick in my last test due to sooting just slightly more than I was comfortable with, that definitely changes things.

[Sarah S]

3 hours ago, Forrest said:

Per the Flaming Candle 6006 is "Approximate ratio is 70% paraffin and 30% soy." I will offer the disclaimer that I have seen a lot of incorrect information on the various sites that sell candle supplies. I wait one week to do wick test, I have no doubt that means all my test are worthless, but I haven't gone far enough to make a candle and let it sit for a month. I do feel that the candles I have made in the past with 6006 had better hot throw after a month or so. 

 

I wasn't going by any hard evidence with the 50%, I could easily have been thinking about a different blend.

 

I wouldn't say your tests are worthless! You've collected data from them, right? Having an early burn to compare a later burn to is definitely worthwhile. Every candle you make is a learning experience!

[Testing123]

Do you all always follow your curing time rules? Especially during the holidays when things get backed up?

 

I know a candle company who attaches a "do not burn until certain date" notice on their candles

Edited May 30, 2018 by Testing123

[Sarah S]

Just my personal opinion, I think that's tacky. If it's not ready to use, I don't sell it.

[TallTayl]

12 hours ago, Testing123 said:

Do you all always follow your curing time rules? Especially during the holidays when things get backed up?

 

I know a candle company who attaches a "do not burn until certain date" notice on their candles

I find that during the holiday season, most are sold as gifts. between shipping and gift giving and enjoyment before lighting, there’s plenty of time for a cure outside of my shop.

 

I light my own within days of making for safety tests. If the candle burns safely within days after making, and improves with time, that is acceptable, just my opinion. This comfort comes with having performed extensive tests and lots ( and lots and lots) of time to observe the candles. 

 

Plenty of commercial candles have a dirty burn even after sitting on store shelves. McCall’s comes to mind. If the wick is not trimmed super short those soot stack even after years of sitting, but they are safe.

[lightmyfire]

21 hours ago, Testing123 said:

Do you all always follow your curing time rules? Especially during the holidays when things get backed up?

 

I know a candle company who attaches a "do not burn until certain date" notice on their candles

I have my customer "trained" to place orders with me before she runs out so that I'm not rushing to get them poured.  I find that when that happens I feel VERY stressed and I don't enjoy the process near as much.  She knows that I like to have a 2 1/2 week notice for making her orders and she thinks that's just fine-she actually respects the process now that she knows how it works on my side of things.    We are now in the process of determining a base permanent scent list that I can make and store inventory for and then add scents for seasonal/holiday add ons.  

[LittleMissSunshine]

I am very interested in this thread as I have been having trouble with 6006. I have had people swear that 6006 has a fantastic HT after just 24hrs. I have been having an incredibly weak HT after several days and changing my wick size hasn't changed anything. Do you all really stand by 2 weeks for a 70% paraffin wax? I'm not opposed to trying it, just surprised is all I guess. And a little disappointed haha. I was under the assumption that 6006 didn't require a long cure like pure soy. 

[lightmyfire]

I just think that letting those little buggers sit there for a while and settle in makes for a better candle.  After all you're taking 2 different materials (wax and FO) and bringing them together--always good to let them get to know each other a bit.  I don't have a hard and fast rule on the 2 weeks but it has just become habit.  I do see changes within those 2 weeks i.e. CT that just needs time to evolve.  Patience truly is a candle crafting virtue   

[karinz40]

So The lavender sandlewood 8 oz tin has sat for almost 3 weeks.

I put a CD 18 in to test and got a nice burn with a fuull melt pool in 1 hour not deep but no ht at all.  

no vybar was added just 6006.

What the heck am I doing wrong?

Even with athis wick I should be getting a scent right?

[ncraiders]

6 minutes ago, karinz40 said:

So The lavender sandlewood 8 oz tin has sat for almost 3 weeks.

I put a CD 18 in to test and got a nice burn with a fuull melt pool in 1 hour not deep but no ht at all.  

no vybar was added just 6006.

What the heck am I doing wrong?

Even with athis wick I should be getting a scent right?

I would think you are over wicked with a CD-18.  What is the diameter of the 8 oz tin?  Cd-18's are meant for containers with a diameter around 4-4.5 inches.  I would imagine that the wick is too large and you are actually burning the scent off rather than trowing it.  I would think for an 8 oz tin you should be somewhere around a CD-8 to CD-12 depending on the diameter of the container.  Not to mention having a full melt pool in an hour seems way to fast considering the normal rule of thumb is roughly an inch per hour in melt pool diameter.  My soy tins took roughly 3-4 hours depending on scent and color to reach full melt pool diameter before i switched to palm wax.  I imagine other users of 6006 will chime in on this one as well.

 

[lightmyfire]

5 hours ago, ncraiders said:

I would think you are over wicked with a CD-18.  What is the diameter of the 8 oz tin?  Cd-18's are meant for containers with a diameter around 4-4.5 inches.  I would imagine that the wick is too large and you are actually burning the scent off rather than trowing it.  I would think for an 8 oz tin you should be somewhere around a CD-8 to CD-12 depending on the diameter of the container.  Not to mention having a full melt pool in an hour seems way to fast considering the normal rule of thumb is roughly an inch per hour in melt pool diameter.  My soy tins took roughly 3-4 hours depending on scent and color to reach full melt pool diameter before i switched to palm wax.  I imagine other users of 6006 will chime in on this one as well.

 

Yes to all of this!  I use 6006 and when I made 8 oz tins I'd use a CD8, sometimes a CD 10 with a hefty scent, but not often.  Think about using a stronger scent for your first candles so you can get a better gauge of scent throw; anything sandalwood based is usually a light thrower inherently.  Be happy that you found this forum and  you can get immediate feedback!  I didn't know about this site so it took me far longer to figure this stuff out.  Try again with a smaller wick and bigger scent and you'll be just fine. 

[Sarah S]

6 hours ago, karinz40 said:

So The lavender sandlewood 8 oz tin has sat for almost 3 weeks.

I put a CD 18 in to test and got a nice burn with a fuull melt pool in 1 hour not deep but no ht at all.  

no vybar was added just 6006.

What the heck am I doing wrong?

Even with athis wick I should be getting a scent right?

 

+3 on the wick being much too large.

Also, Lavender  Sandalwood is a very subtle fragrance. You're not going to get a "blow the shutters off" kind of throw with that one. Some scents by nature are lighter than others.

But definitely dial in that wick! 🤓

[karinz40]

So my 8 oz tin is aprox 3 inches across.  I'm really sorry I bought the 6006, didn't know this would be so tricky. I should have gone with my first thought of 4625 but did not want to have to break it up.  Also the 606  was supposed to have an excellent scent throw. So the scent comes from the wick or the melt pool of wax? confused on that one.  When I smelled the Lavender Sandlewood in the bottle it smelled pretty strong to me. I guess it's hard to really tell from the bottle.  I like strong scents

[ncraiders]

In general, choosing too large a wick will result in excessive flame size and hence a deep burn pool, causing too large a portion of the candle to liquefy, and, in the case of pillar candles, collapse the walls.  Too much heat will also cause the fragrance to break down, reducing the evaporation of scent and requiring a greater flow of oxygen which, in turn, contributes to burning inconsistency and “sooting.”   You would still have the same issues with the 4625 since the container is that determines the wick size..  Even using 4625  when you wick so large it destroys the scent due to excessive heat.

[TallTayl]

25 minutes ago, karinz40 said:

So my 8 oz tin is aprox 3 inches across.  I'm really sorry I bought the 6006, didn't know this would be so tricky. I should have gone with my first thought of 4625 but did not want to have to break it up.  Also the 606  was supposed to have an excellent scent throw. So the scent comes from the wick or the melt pool of wax? confused on that one.  When I smelled the Lavender Sandlewood in the bottle it smelled pretty strong to me. I guess it's hard to really tell from the bottle.  I like strong scents

I bet if you wick down a bit you will be happily surprised.

 

tins need smaller wicks versus glass, so think small. For comparison sake, C3 naked in a 3” wide tin takes an eco 14. C3 is incredibly difficult to wick because it is so hard to burn safely, especially in a tin. Additives allow me to wick down. Generally speaking, each 10% of additive, such as (typical) fragrance, paraffin, coconut, etc. equals a 1-2 size reduction. Given 6006 is 70% paraffin you can drop to an eco6-8 easily with typical fragrances. 

 

Eco is not the greatest choice for paraffin according to the manufacturers recommendations, but if wicked well it can probably work. 

 

The scent comes from the right balance between temp and fuel consumption of the burn. Some flames are much hotter than others depending on how the wick is designed, what chemical treatments on the wick, the wick material (cotton, paper, zinc core,etc.) and the core. The rate of consumption changes the temp too. If overwicked and the pool is too large, sometimes the wick flame temp lowers a LOT. I use my infrared thermometer when testing just to see how different variables change the burns. It was eye opening. 

 

If overwicked the melt pool can flood the wick, much like a car running rich. A lot of fuel is wasted as soot and carbon because the wick (engine) just can’t consume that amount of fuel. 

 

[karinz40]

So now I am trying the lavender sandle wood 3 in tin with a CD 10 to see how it will do.

[lightmyfire]

1 hour ago, karinz40 said:

So my 8 oz tin is aprox 3 inches across.  I'm really sorry I bought the 6006, didn't know this would be so tricky. I should have gone with my first thought of 4625 but did not want to have to break it up.  Also the 606  was supposed to have an excellent scent throw. So the scent comes from the wick or the melt pool of wax? confused on that one.  When I smelled the Lavender Sandlewood in the bottle it smelled pretty strong to me. I guess it's hard to really tell from the bottle.  I like strong scents

I'm sure others will agree with me that 6006 is a pussycat compared to some pure soy waxes-that's where I started almost 4 years ago and landed on 6006 because for me it's more predictable.  Do not give up on 6006-most of your battle is over!  You just started with way too big of a wick which is part of the process.  But you did start with the right type of wick-awesome!  If the CD 10 is too big then the 8 will be great.  Keep us posted and hang in there; this forum shortens the painful learning curve immensely and you'll get honest, helpful feedback from people who feel your pain and joy with this craft!