Heating WHILE mixing

[candlesinflorida]

Has anyone tried leaving the wax on a low heat source while mixing in the fragrance oil? I am wondering if it helps the FO to fully blend with the wax, and I have been experimenting with using a kitchenmaid mixer and a heated electric bowl at about 140 degrees. It seems like candles made this way have a better cold throw, but I am curious to see if others have tried this?

 

I have also seen a video made by candle cocoon and they use a HEAT GUN while swirling the wax/FO in mixing containers. They hold the heat gun beneath the container, as they swirl the container around and make a little whirlpool of the mixture inside.

Apparently, it helps the FO blend with the wax and creates stronger fragrance throw.

[Pam W]

Well, I'm a little confused by the added work involved with the kitchenmaide mixer & adding FO to heated wax.  Personally, I heat my wax in a presto pot, dip out what I want to work with into a 2 or 4 lb pour pot....set that in a pan of hot water and bring it to the appropriate temp for adding my FO...stir and swirl for a couple of minutes and go from there in adding color and then pouring.

You mention that you heat your wax to 140*,,,,,,,,,,can you tell us what type of wax you are using.

 

I have also seen a video made by candle cocoon and they use a HEAT GUN while swirling the wax/FO in mixing containers. They hold the heat gun beneath the container, as they swirl the container around and make a little whirlpool of the mixture inside.

There is absolutely no reason to go to this extent if you put your wax in the pour pot and set in a pan of water and heat to the desired temp.....kinda like heating a baby bottle,,,,,kwim.  there is no reason a heat gun should be involved in heating candle wax....IMHO

There are sooooo many videos on the internet on how to make candles and many of them involve so much unneeded extra work and so many of them really don't know what they are doing to begin with.

Hang out with use and we can make your venture into candle making a much better experience with out all the added work and confusion.

 

 

[ncraiders]

I have heard of people keeping a pot of wax on an electric griddle to keep it warm but never putting a heat gun below it while stirring.  I looked at videos on youtube for a little while when i first started messing with candles before last Christmas but quickly saw that to many people were doing things completely different so i started looking for better info and found this forum.  Have not watched another candle video on youtube since.

[birdcharm]

If this hobby is made any more complicated by people with all of their new ideas, I think I'm going to give up! 

🙃

[birdcharm]

I know!  I'm going to warm my f/o first and hope it doesn't flare up!

[ncraiders]

Ok first you need to stand on one foot and hop around while stirring the wax.  Pour it in a half gallon mason jar add you dye and fragrance then put the lid on the jar.  Shake for 2 minutes remove the lid and pour the wax into your jars.  That is how to make your hot throw even better.

 

This totally dumb idea I just came up with seams just a plausible as alot of other stupid ideas i have seen with candle making on youtube.  Sad thing is if someone showed this on a youtube video there would be people believing it.

[ScentedPleasurez]

52 minutes ago, ncraiders said:

Ok first you need to stand on one foot and hop around while stirring the wax.  Pour it in a half gallon mason jar add you dye and fragrance then put the lid on the jar.  Shake for 2 minutes remove the lid and pour the wax into your jars.  That is how to make your hot throw even better.

 

This totally dumb idea I just came up with seams just a plausible as alot of other stupid ideas i have seen with candle making on youtube.  Sad thing is if someone showed this on a youtube video there would be people believing it.

😂😂😂 sounds legit

[TallTayl]

Well, I’m one of those who uses a heat gun quite often, especially when temps dip during winter months. Sometimes fragrance oils drop the temp of the wax in the pot enough to require a slight blast to get things flowing right again. This is especially true with viscous waxes like beeswax. Nearly always by the last pour the pot has a film of cooled wax that is needed to top off a candle. With beeswax if there’s NOT a film your wax is too darned hot.  Happens a lot with soy wax that needs to cool significantly before pouring into containers.

 

I will not ever, ever use a water bath for candle wax. It’s too easy to introduce moisture into the pour pot and ruin perfectly good wax. Occasionally the griddle helps, but then it tends to heat the bottom too much and the sides not enough. In a production environment a heat gun is one of the best tools available. 

 

[grama]

I keep all my pour pots on an electric griddle.  I pour my wax from presto into another pot, a coffee carafe, that is pretty accurate for lbs, then put my pour pot on scale to measure out what I need.  But all pots are kept on my electric griddle and it never really loses temp from my presto. 

[birdcharm]

There is a certainly a place for heat guns in certain situations, such as what TallTayl has described with her beeswax, or with any surface flaws on soy candles, some artsy techniques with paraffin novelties, etc.  However, I think there are other appliances that can be used to keep pots or glassware warmed that may cost less to use, as I have a feeling heat guns are not very efficient that way ... that's just a guess though.  Also, with a heat gun, the heat is being blown around; on a hot plate, the heat is rising, so you're getting better performance unless you absolutely need directional heat or heat from above.  If you need heat from below, than, imo, a heat gun is not your most efficient method.

 

In one of my old candle books, it advised to add f/o slowly while stirring rather than pouring it in, I supposed this is an "old-fashioned" method of getting the wax and f/o to mix well.

 

[Jcandleattic]

14 hours ago, TallTayl said:

I will not ever, ever use a water bath for candle wax

The absolute only time I ever use a water bath is for my Memorial (aka picture) Hurricane 'candles'. Other than that, no way. 

[candlesinflorida]

Thank you everyone, for the replies!

 

 

[candlesinflorida]

On 8/5/2018 at 12:26 AM, Pam W said:

Well, I'm a little confused by the added work involved with the kitchenmaide mixer & adding FO to heated wax.  Personally, I heat my wax in a presto pot, dip out what I want to work with into a 2 or 4 lb pour pot....set that in a pan of hot water and bring it to the appropriate temp for adding my FO...stir and swirl for a couple of minutes and go from there in adding color and then pouring.

You mention that you heat your wax to 140*,,,,,,,,,,can you tell us what type of wax you are using.

 

I have also seen a video made by candle cocoon and they use a HEAT GUN while swirling the wax/FO in mixing containers. They hold the heat gun beneath the container, as they swirl the container around and make a little whirlpool of the mixture inside.

There is absolutely no reason to go to this extent if you put your wax in the pour pot and set in a pan of water and heat to the desired temp.....kinda like heating a baby bottle,,,,,kwim.  there is no reason a heat gun should be involved in heating candle wax....IMHO

There are sooooo many videos on the internet on how to make candles and many of them involve so much unneeded extra work and so many of them really don't know what they are doing to begin with.

Hang out with use and we can make your venture into candle making a much better experience with out all the added work and confusion.

 

 

I am usually using Northwood soy wax or GB 464.

I hear the wax to about 190, but then I put it in the heated mixer and let it cool to 155  before adding FO. I set the mixer to 140.

 

yea, it could be wasted energy, for sure!

[birdcharm]

22 hours ago, candlesinflorida said:

I am usually using Northwood soy wax or GB 464.

I hear the wax to about 190, but then I put it in the heated mixer and let it cool to 155  before adding FO. I set the mixer to 140.

 

yea, it could be wasted energy, for sure!

 

You're using a wax I've been using, which I heat to 185dF, adding scent after removed from heat, cooling to 150dF, stirring gently again and then pouring.  The mixing part of your method seems to me as though you might be creating opportunity for air bubbles/pockets.  Also, I do think you may be taking an extra step in the process that probably isn't necessary, adding to the time it takes to make the candle, the additional clean up, etc.

 

[Scented]

On 8/4/2018 at 11:29 AM, candlesinflorida said:

Has anyone tried leaving the wax on a low heat source while mixing in the fragrance oil? I am wondering if it helps the FO to fully blend with the wax, and I have been experimenting with using a kitchenmaid mixer and a heated electric bowl at about 140 degrees. It seems like candles made this way have a better cold throw, but I am curious to see if others have tried this?

 

I have also seen a video made by candle cocoon and they use a HEAT GUN while swirling the wax/FO in mixing containers. They hold the heat gun beneath the container, as they swirl the container around and make a little whirlpool of the mixture inside.

Apparently, it helps the FO blend with the wax and creates stronger fragrance throw.

 

I'm not familiar with the video but there are times when a heat gun is good to use to cause swirls in the wax, blend two colors etc., but those are special techniques for various kinds of candles. I think one was to provide a motion/blur look. I will use it to bleed colors or release air bubbles if I suspect a certain press technique squished out the bubbles. Easier to show than explain I suppose. 

I wouldn't use a kitchenmaid for jack with wax. Too much money goes into that apparatus, doesn't it? A regular hand mixer would suffice just fine if I wanted to whip wax. Otherwise, I have no need to incorporate air. Bubbles are fine etc. for a rustic look, but not everything should be rustic. 

Adding FO to heated wax should be good enough, however, in the winter and, in some cases year around, there are fragrances that will be difficult to incorporate. Those might require a little extra heating or some stirring to incorporate. 

What I've noticed about heat and FO is that heat helps the scent to blossom, but you don't have to do anything special to make that happen. 

I use a fry daddy as my vat for melted wax and the fragrance goes in there when everything else is melted (wax and additives). I pull out by cupfuls and color that portion, pour and repeat as often as needed, but then I don't make many solid colored candles. The fry daddy remains on through the entire series of pours, which frankly is at a low temp. There are times when I'll use the heat gun to knock down any splashes in my mold and times when I'll use it because I forgot to make splashes. I don't use it, though, to swirl my wax and fragrance together. 

 

[candlesinflorida]

On 8/12/2018 at 7:14 PM, Scented said:

I'm not familiar with the video but there are times when a heat gun is good to use to cause swirls in the wax, blend two colors etc., but those are special techniques for various kinds of candles. I think one was to provide a motion/blur look. I will use it to bleed colors or release air bubbles if I suspect a certain press technique squished out the bubbles. Easier to show than explain I suppose. 

I wouldn't use a kitchenmaid for jack with wax. Too much money goes into that apparatus, doesn't it? A regular hand mixer would suffice just fine if I wanted to whip wax. Otherwise, I have no need to incorporate air. Bubbles are fine etc. for a rustic look, but not everything should be rustic. 

Adding FO to heated wax should be good enough, however, in the winter and, in some cases year around, there are fragrances that will be difficult to incorporate. Those might require a little extra heating or some stirring to incorporate. 

What I've noticed about heat and FO is that heat helps the scent to blossom, but you don't have to do anything special to make that happen. 

I use a fry daddy as my vat for melted wax and the fragrance goes in there when everything else is melted (wax and additives). I pull out by cupfuls and color that portion, pour and repeat as often as needed, but then I don't make many solid colored candles. The fry daddy remains on through the entire series of pours, which frankly is at a low temp. There are times when I'll use the heat gun to knock down any splashes in my mold and times when I'll use it because I forgot to make splashes. I don't use it, though, to swirl my wax and fragrance together. 

 

It does make the scent blossom, right?

 

The mixer is expensive, but I already had it and never used it for cooking! It can still be used for cooking with a different bowl/attachment.  It takes over some of the labor, with continuous slow stirring, and doesn't bring in air.