Hypothetical question

[Forrest]

Would I get better hot throw out of one triple wicked candle or two single wicked candles if the surface area of the triple wicked was the same as the two single wicked candles?

[Trappeur]

This is a very debatable question.   There are some scents that are very powerful throwers of course if properly wicked, etc. and I have made many a candle single wicked in a 16 pint jar that throw fabulously....maybe I'm being somewhat biased here but I do a lot of triple wicking of candles that are huge diameters of 5, 6, 7" diameters that have to be triple wicked and yes, for me, absolutely I believe them to be of a much better hot throw....and then that too depends of what fragrance I use that is a strong thrower to begin with.  I'm sure your going to get a lot of different answers on that question.

 

Trappeur 

[Sarah S]

Great question! 

I would surmise that the triple wicked candle presents a larger melt pool with a larger surface area and a wider aperture than two separate candles, thereby exposing more heated wax and fragrance to the air. Even if the two separate candles had the same diameter melt pool, I think the wider opening of the large container would create more favorable conditions for air flow and fragrance dispersion. Also, three wicks would consume and then disperse more wax and fragrance than the two, so there is that to consider.

Of course all this is predicated by the assumption that all the candles are appropriately wicked (not wick-ed, lol!), and your FO is a good thrower to begin with.

Anecdotally,  I agree with @Trappeur, my large 3-4 wick bowls throw like crazy. But I've never tried grouping smaller candles of the same fragrance to compare.