Cottonwood Braided Wicks - Northwood Candle Supply

[Bambi]

Hello,

 

I came across a FB post about cottonwood wicks from Northwood Candle Supply providing a really good melt pool and HT with coconut wax.  There aren't many reviews on the website, just curious if anyone has previously or is currently testing out these wicks?  I'm still on the search for the perfect wax, wick combo for Coconut 83.  Thanks!

 

Edited October 11, 2018 by Bambi

[Harmonyluxx]

Right there will you Bambi. Following and hoping for responses.

[TallTayl]

I had a hard time with them in coconut and soy on my first try. They tend to fray and develop pretty giant flames if not carefully trimmed. I ordered the smallest size again and will give it another go, since I really want a wood like wick that is more predictable.

[Bambi]

Thanks Tally, I guess I will order some to test. 

[TallTayl]

When I first started playing with cottonwood they all got out of control early with my coconut wax.  As promised I ordered the smallest size to test from northstar. 

 

This is the CW20 on the left and eco6 on the right in coconut blended with soy wax compared to the same wax at the same point in an albeit different container. The conditions are close enough to compare. Second burn. Just lit. The flame height remain pretty similar between the two different wicks throughout the burns.

 

Both reduce in height as the solid wax fuel begins to melt and feed the flames. Both draw down the wax in the melt pool versus melting all the way across, which I personally like. The wick uses the fuel and gets it into the air quickly and efficiently. The wax hang up on the sides catches up throughout the burn ensuring fresh wax/fo throughout the entire life of the candle, and a nice clean burn. 

 

 

Here is the cw20 after a two hour burn last night. It developed the characteristic split fiber look and a small carbon ball. The melt pool is very similar to the eco 6 (not pictured) which had no carbon development at this stage. 

 

Will  continue to burn this one as usual to see if I need to wick up to a cw30 eventually. 

[Bambi]

Thanks Tally, very insightful. I believe I have some ECOs on hand as well.  Once the wicks arrive I will do a side by side comparison as well.

[TallTayl]

after 4 hours the tin was more liquid than I prefer. Will try a CW30 to see if it's just too small to consume that fuel. Throw was nothing to write home about, so maybe the one size up wil make a difference.

 

some carbon on this wick after the burn which is not surprising given the melt pool

[TallTayl]

I really wish there was one size smaller than the 20. I have a few smaller containers, like the maxi tea lites, that would be great with this wick. The 20 just is too much. 2” tall flames in a tea light are a bit unsettling 👻🎃

 

i’ll try trimming one to taper, but worry about being able to correctly “size” future tests for continuity. Likewise, in taller jars I bet a little trim to taper the bottom third might make a perfect burn top to bottom. It has always frustrated me that a burn has to be perfect either at the top or bottom. Wooden wicks have been too finicky to burn let alone trim to taper. These - CW when you underwick a bit - have been pretty nice. They dance a lot once the flame top gets below the lip of the vessel, but are steady as she goes at the top.

 

For kicks, I stuck ribbon wicks in a few candles I’ve been testing. They get fab reviews. In my waxes they got pretty deep pools, enough to let the wick shift and twist. I didn’t love the appearance, but they may be interesting in some containers. The CW are far prettier. 

 

My final wish for both ribbon and cw: better ; smaller sustainer clips. The round metal ones that come on the tabbed wicks are big and clunky. You can tab with the wooden wick sustainer clips which are also a bit clunky. Maybe a normal sustainer clip could work if it had a neck opening big enough to cram the wider CS or ribbon into? 

[Laura C]

6 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

The 20 just is too much. 2” tall flames in a tea light are a bit unsettling 👻🎃

 

LOL, I know what you mean.

[lightmyfire]

I ordered some of these wicks to try in my IGI 6006.  Holy shinola--they burn hot hot hot.  The suggestions for wick size by container is way off in my opinion.  And as stated, they fray and can actually take on the characteristics of 2 wicks.  I bought a sample pack to try which will look great in my ever growing collection of wicks 

[TallTayl]

59 minutes ago, lightmyfire said:

I ordered some of these wicks to try in my IGI 6006.  Holy shinola--they burn hot hot hot.  The suggestions for wick size by container is way off in my opinion.  And as stated, they fray and can actually take on the characteristics of 2 wicks.  I bought a sample pack to try which will look great in my ever growing collection of wicks 

the secret with these is to wick waaaaaay down, at least in my coconut and coconut blends. I have split some in half lengthwise to make smaller sizes.  Not very scientific, but they worked so far. I’m going to keep emailing them weekly asking for smaller sizes 🤣. A cw5 and a cw10 would be pretty perfect in my waxes in smaller jars. 

[Clear Black]

On 10/21/2018 at 10:22 AM, TallTayl said:

the secret with these is to wick waaaaaay down, at least in my coconut and coconut blends. I have split some in half lengthwise to make smaller sizes.  Not very scientific, but they worked so far. I’m going to keep emailing them weekly asking for smaller sizes 🤣. A cw5 and a cw10 would be pretty perfect in my waxes in smaller jars. 

TT. I believe those wicks are actually made by Atkins & Pierce with Northwood being a licensed distributor. You may want to email A&P directly next time if you do not get any answers from NW. I believe there is a link to A&P on the CottonWood description page.

 

Cheers

[TallTayl]

Actually I did email A&P direct earlier this week and got the same answer 🤗

 

doesn't hurt to have multipje sources of the question. Loud squeaky wheels are good!