Wicking tins Vs Glass

[Forrest]

I have some 8 ½ ounce glass containers that are approximately the same diameter as the standard 8 ounce tins. These are new to me so I’m going to do a wick test, but I’m looking for a starting point. Would an equivalent glass container generally use a larger or smaller wick?

[TallTayl]

IME, smaller

[kandlekrazy]

Smaller,  tins get really hot easily if even the slightest bit overwicked.  I intentionally underwick tins and they always seem to catch up anyway.

[lightmyfire]

You use 6006, right?  I do also; for glass I use a smaller wick.  As you know it's always a gamble and every container has a mind of its own!  What do your containers look like?  A picture would help.

[Forrest]

11 minutes ago, lightmyfire said:

You use 6006, right?  I do also; for glass I use a smaller wick.  As you know it's always a gamble and every container has a mind of its own!  What do your containers look like?  A picture would help.

I do use 6006. The best description would be an 8 1/2 oz mason jar. I have good test data with tins for CD6, CD8, and 51Z, so I should probably start a CD6 and a 51Z. I was hopping to make some fall candles in these for my daughters, but I I don't see how I'm going to run two sets of test and be ready on time. I  could put the fall FOs in Tins and use the jars for Christmas candles. If I've learned anything here it is to test and not cut corners.

[birdcharm]

In my experience, tins get hotter than glass, so I usually use a smaller wick in tins than I do with glass.

 

[TallTayl]

When we say “tins burn hotter than glass” do we really mean glass insulates much more efficiently than metal, so we instinctively wick down in glass knowing the wax will more easily catch up earlier in the burn? 

 

The first half of a shallow container, no matter the material, will be difficult to burn just because so much heat escapes with no insulating material. You can see this in polycarbonate tea lights, tins, shallow glass, ceramic, etc.

 

Tins don’t have shoulders or necks, so heat escapes quickly early on. As the shallow container candle burns down,  the container can finally absorb heat energy from the flame. The lower down the candle burns, the more container material is exposed to the heat, the more heat is retained. Too often people wick for the top, for a quick melt pool. That gives tins the bad rep of being too hot by the middle to end. 

 

I have ceramic, glass and tin containers that are very nearly identical in size and proportion. All else being equal,  Glass and ceramic get the “hottest” in the last half of the burn - just measuring depth of melt pool. When over wicked, ALL of them get deep in the last half.