strugglebrother Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 Latest client return of my candles containing AAK 444 wax. Same wax, same fragrance, same pour temp, same container, same wick for over 2 years. Look at that melt pool and tunneling, this is hilarious. They say it's up to spec and nothing has changed? I have tested random candles from the latest batch, some work some don't. Got refunded from Candle Science for the wax but have to take a loss of $700 in fragrance and other material. Taking all candles back from the store and convinced the client not to use soy wax and move over to coconut wax in the future so this is the last time ever I'm using AAK waxes. I would test this lot extensively before selling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 That looks a lot like a cavity near the top centered around the wick. I have seen enough of those to fill a book. ETA, just the same, soy wax is horrible. 444 and all other GB are horrible beyond words. IMO will always be too risky to build a business around right now, so, yeah, other waxes for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdcharm Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 @strugglebrother, what happens if you continue to burn the candle? Are you saying that the melt pool isn't getting any larger? What type of wick do you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strugglebrother Posted October 10, 2018 Author Share Posted October 10, 2018 I also thought it was an air bubble first and just a dud. I don't have this particular candle on hand, that was just sent to me. Looks like weird tunneling? I have burned a bunch from the batch. A few others will never reach a melt pool and will go out within 10 minutes to an hour in the wax. I have 5 different candles I have burned now that does different strange things. It also looks like some fluid in the wax which I have never seen before. Could that be moist from the wax or something? We never had one single return or any problems with these candles for 2 years... I should have an old candle that is about 2 years old which I will burn and show how they are supposed to look... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strugglebrother Posted October 10, 2018 Author Share Posted October 10, 2018 (edited) 10 minutes ago, birdcharm said: @strugglebrother, what happens if you continue to burn the candle? Are you saying that the melt pool isn't getting any larger? What type of wick do you use? HTP 105... I burned one of them first at home and it did what it was supposed to do, perfect meltpool and flame. Then I burned another one and it didn't reach a melt pool in 5 hours at all. Then another one died in the wax after an hour. I used 444 from two different lots. One from 2017 which I have made a bunch of candles from and I presume is fine (I bought 200lb at the same time from the same batch). I'm 100% the bad ones are from the 2018 batch. I was stupid enough not to mark what candles were made out of which batch hence why I will replace all of their candles for free with the new wax. Edited October 10, 2018 by strugglebrother 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdcharm Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 I know it's Halloween time, but must you tell such horror stories??? 🐽 Yesterday, I took stock of my wax and I wish I had purchased more at the time, but I do have some stash of 444 and 464 from late '16, early '17. I'm getting ready to place an order for more 444, so maybe I need to see if there is a supplier out there with some older stock, if that's even possible! I've used the HTP105 before in these waxes, and although I prefer square braid cotton, that wick usually works okay. Were the candles that went sideways various scents? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonstar Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 (edited) @Trappeur your still ordering GW 464 from Flaming right ? Are you experiencing these problems as well ? Edited October 10, 2018 by Moonstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trappeur Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 No, I haven't as of today..... Trappeur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strugglebrother Posted October 11, 2018 Author Share Posted October 11, 2018 20 hours ago, birdcharm said: I know it's Halloween time, but must you tell such horror stories??? 🐽 Yesterday, I took stock of my wax and I wish I had purchased more at the time, but I do have some stash of 444 and 464 from late '16, early '17. I'm getting ready to place an order for more 444, so maybe I need to see if there is a supplier out there with some older stock, if that's even possible! I've used the HTP105 before in these waxes, and although I prefer square braid cotton, that wick usually works okay. Were the candles that went sideways various scents? Same fragrance oil - scents for the last 2 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strugglebrother Posted October 11, 2018 Author Share Posted October 11, 2018 The 2017 AAK wax had diminishing HT for us but I guess we lived with it... This 2018 AAK batch is just completely messed up... All this in candles which have been using the same fragrance and same process and jars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lighten Up Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 This whole thread makes me sad. As a long-time user of 415, it's scary to think that a bad batch of wax could sink me. So far, I have had no horrible issues except for re-wicking everything beginning with the 2017 wax. I've bought wax from 2 batches in 2018 (Feb & June), and (so far) no issues except minor wicking adjustments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strugglebrother Posted October 12, 2018 Author Share Posted October 12, 2018 19 hours ago, Lighten Up said: This whole thread makes me sad. As a long-time user of 415, it's scary to think that a bad batch of wax could sink me. So far, I have had no horrible issues except for re-wicking everything beginning with the 2017 wax. I've bought wax from 2 batches in 2018 (Feb & June), and (so far) no issues except minor wicking adjustments. To me, having to rewick a whole line of candles just due to that the wax is changing is almost like starting again. You end up between wick sizes, when you wick up you sometimes get soot, really bad mushrooming etc... Or is it maybe just me and I'm very unlucky? Pretty much all of our own private line has been on hold for 6 months now... But I'm not crying. We got the chance to reevaluate our whole wax situation due to these problems. We forced ourselves to find even better fragrance and wax. Without these major errors, we could have been selling the same soy wax candles with a bad throw and kept on thinking that it was the best we could do. I'm very excited to relaunch before Christmas with 11 candles which has great performance. This forum has been a great help. As sellers keep on pushing out bad products it's very helpful to be able to share information about the quality. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lighten Up Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 6 hours ago, strugglebrother said: To me, having to rewick a whole line of candles just due to that the wax is changing is almost like starting again. You end up between wick sizes, when you wick up you sometimes get soot, really bad mushrooming etc... Or is it maybe just me and I'm very unlucky? Pretty much all of our own private line has been on hold for 6 months now... But I'm not crying. We got the chance to reevaluate our whole wax situation due to these problems. We forced ourselves to find even better fragrance and wax. Without these major errors, we could have been selling the same soy wax candles with a bad throw and kept on thinking that it was the best we could do. I'm very excited to relaunch before Christmas with 11 candles which has great performance. This forum has been a great help. As sellers keep on pushing out bad products it's very helpful to be able to share information about the quality. I had to make some major changes with my wax last year. I was up to about 100 fragrances and now have streamlined to focus on my fundraiser fragrances & one jar. I still dabble with the other fragrances, but they take the back seat. I also have a few boxes of wax from '16, so I can use that as I am phasing fragrances out in my smaller jars. I totally agree about the 'in between' size wick. I use CDs and I could use a 9 & 11, if they existed. When in doubt, I'd rather see a little struggle than a torch. I wick for the bottom third. I may be slowly finding the joy in candle making again, last year almost ruined it for me. I would have quit if I could have. This year, not so bad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 Forthe in between sizes, have you tried CDN or CSN? Those tend to be half way between sin my soys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lighten Up Posted October 13, 2018 Share Posted October 13, 2018 18 hours ago, TallTayl said: Forthe in between sizes, have you tried CDN or CSN? Those tend to be half way between sin my soys. I have not tried the CDN or CSN, I have tried some HTP and LX, and always go back to the CDs. Do you have a suggestion on sizes that would be closest to the CD10, or smaller or larger? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 The CSN sizes are like a number size down from their number in a CD. CSN 10 is like a cd9 if there were a 9 CDN 12 would be like a CD 11 and so on. at least in my waxes. CDN are similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lighten Up Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 On 10/13/2018 at 8:05 PM, TallTayl said: The CSN sizes are like a number size down from their number in a CD. CSN 10 is like a cd9 if there were a 9 CDN 12 would be like a CD 11 and so on. at least in my waxes. CDN are similar. Thank you! Do they curl like the CDs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 They are the same wick material as cd, just with a different chemical treatment to make them resist more acidic waxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenB Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 I have been using up my older 444. You all have me rethinking bulk buying on it. For those who have gotten away from the 444, did you go to an entirely different brand? Was it still soy and do you mind sharing the type? I have been using 16 oz straight sided mason jars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightLight Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 That’s scary. That’s why I moved to C3 and Cargill products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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