Forrest Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 My daughter texted to tell me how great the candle she was burning was; it was one I gave her last Thanksgiving. That got me to thinking; if I aged a candle and then re-melted the wax would it be as strong as before I melted it, or would it be like starting over? I ask this because blending the wax and FO and then storing it would be easier than storing a bunch of candles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darbla Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 I guess it depends on how long you're considering, but every candle and bar of soap I've kept too long lost scent after a while. Lesson learned; I now control my shopping impulses and just don't allow myself to accumulate too much, because that was money wasted. Some may last a couple of years, but there's no way to know for sure how long, and different scents could have shorter shelf scent lives even if from the same supplier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScentedPleasurez Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 I have candles that I made years ago and as I mentioned on another thread I used to keep 1 of each scent that I made. The only fragrance I've seen that has had issues was a pear glacee. It smells a bit funky in the jar but I burned it and got the actual pear scent lol. Spices seem to be super strong so probably could cut back on fo load if going to cure for months. I purchased a bunch (cleared the shelf) of their storage boxes. It's 10 in the pack for 8$ and pp. I'm making my tarts and cubes and storing them in those. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted October 22, 2018 Author Share Posted October 22, 2018 6 hours ago, Darbla said: every candle and bar of soap I've kept too long lost scent after a while That is odd, were they exposed to the air? Any scented item that is not in a sealed container is likely to lose potency. I have two candles that are over 18 months old that are supper strong. That may not work for every wax/FO combination, but from what I have seen the curing process continues, but decelerates over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 I'm guessing that the answer to my question is unknown, but I think I can run a test to find the answer. I plan on taking the two candles I have that are 18 months old and remelting them in the oven at 180. I'll pour the wax into a beaker and stir it for a minute or so and then pour it back in the original container. I'll give it one weeks cure and then burn them. If it reverts back to what it was 18 months ago the wicks will be to big and the HT will be weak. If it stays like it is that would be big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Well, crystal structure changes over time. Part of the new success may be due to how firmly those wax crystals stabilized to burn well. Other points to consider: you’ll need to reheat that entire bit to the temp needed to re-blend all of the wax components. Different fractions of the wax melt and solidify at different rates. This is where heavy frosting and polymorphism of soy waxes get in the way. remelting wax with fragrance already in the blend releases some FO into the air, changing how it can perform later. Some Manufacturers get around this by creating their scented wax in little pellets or grains, then press them in pneumatic machines. Yankee began doing this with tarts and votives a couple of decades ago. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenni Wix Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 "Polymorphism" ..."pneumatic" (brain goes into the kaleidoscope of astral projection to try to envision what this means). 3 seconds later (brain still doesn't know what this means). (consults google). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 2 hours ago, Jenni Wix said: "Polymorphism" ..."pneumatic" (brain goes into the kaleidoscope of astral projection to try to envision what this means). 3 seconds later (brain still doesn't know what this means). (consults google). Really? I love it when she talks that way. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 I think you’re saying that after it is re-melted most of the advantage of ageing will probably be lost. This is what I expect based on my very limited understanding, but I do love to test things. I hadn’t thought about the need to re-blend, but that shouldn’t be a problem. I expect some loss of potency due to re-melting, but given the difference between what the candles were 18 months ago and what they are now I think the test will be valid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenni Wix Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 (edited) Oh, no! I totally love it too. Makes me think and sometimes even retain stuff. I spent a few minutes looking all of that and more up. Thinking about the how the crystal form with slow cooling, etc, etc. I love it. Edited October 23, 2018 by Jenni Wix Spelling 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flicker Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 I think you re simply making this more work than it needs to be or should be, and also creating a HUGE storage nightmare for yourself. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 2 hours ago, Flicker said: I think you re simply making this more work than it needs to be or should be, and also creating a HUGE storage nightmare for yourself. If I were a successful candle seller I would agree with you. But, with my kids grown and gone and some time spent reorganizing the garage over the past few years I have more storage than I know what to do with. The idea of ageing my candles just means I can make a lot more candles now and put them away for later. When I run out of space I guess I’ll have to start selling them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 Here’s a little light reading about crystal structures of waxes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScentedPleasurez Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 I course remelting you would lose some of the fragrance, I hear what you are saying and thought of something but I think 6006 could be to soft. You could make mini chunks and store them 3-6 months maybe then fill your tin with the chunks and do an overpour of the same scent or a different scent. I have a ton of room so storage is no issue for me either😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted October 24, 2018 Author Share Posted October 24, 2018 25 minutes ago, TallTayl said: Here’s a little light reading about crystal structures of waxes. Only 199 pages, I'll have to stay up late tonight. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 Most of it early on is credits, etc. you’ll breeze through that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted October 24, 2018 Author Share Posted October 24, 2018 11 minutes ago, ScentedPleasurez said: I course remelting you would lose some of the fragrance, I hear what you are saying and thought of something but I think 6006 could be to soft. You could make mini chunks and store them 3-6 months maybe then fill your tin with the chunks and do an overpour of the same scent or a different scent. I have a ton of room so storage is no issue for me either😂 You must be clairvoyant. I was thinking about that today and wondering if it would work. It may be the way to go for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted October 24, 2018 Author Share Posted October 24, 2018 3 minutes ago, TallTayl said: Most of it early on is credits, etc. you’ll breeze through that. Yea, there is only about 175 pages of good stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScentedPleasurez Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 2 hours ago, Forrest said: You must be clairvoyant. I was thinking about that today and wondering if it would work. It may be the way to go for me. You could come up with some pretty great scent combos I'm sure. Those containers from wm hold alot. I purchased my cookie sheets from dollar tree to make my chunks. Alot less than online lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted October 24, 2018 Author Share Posted October 24, 2018 Yesterday I took the older of my two candles, a tin made with 464, and melted it using the double boiler method. I got t above 180 and gently stirred it for a minute and put the lid on it. This candle was from the batch of candles that convinced me I would never make soy candle with an acceptable level of HT. This morning I took the lid off and was shocked at the CT. I'll test the HT this weekend, but this looks promising. If the HT is anything close to the CT, I'm already working on a plan for 6 month test. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandlekrazy Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 I can't say I've ever had a candle lose most of it's scent. I have some 5 years old. NOW, I cannot smell a whole lot on the top of the candle (CT) but once lit it's the same as the ones that are 4-6 months old but sometimes soy looks plain old ugly after a year or so. I'd never sell those really old ones but they perform just fine. Remelting is a whole different ballgame that I don't like to play in unless it's immediately after screwing something up (aka too much fo, not enough fo, forgot to add fo, brain lapse). In reality, I only remelt if I'm testing something out and those are for myself or my tester friends. Soap is a whole different game! Rebatch was my favorite word for a while there when I started out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 On 10/22/2018 at 7:04 AM, Darbla said: every candle and bar of soap I've kept too long lost scent after a while. I've definitely had this happen with soap, but never with a candle. Yeah, some cold throw is gone after a long while, but as @kandlekrazy said, my old candles, when lit, will fill a room with scent. Even if they are upwards of 5, 10 or even 15+ years old. IMO if a candle 'loses' it's hot throw after sitting a while it was either 1) made incorrectly, or 2) non-quality fragrance, or EO was used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted October 24, 2018 Author Share Posted October 24, 2018 30 minutes ago, kandlekrazy said: Remelting is a whole different ballgame that I don't like to play in unless it's immediately after screwing something up (aka too much fo, not enough fo, forgot to add fo, brain lapse). My candle had been in a bag in my garage for over a year, but when I remelted it the top was nice and smooth and it looked much better. It was like a facelift for an old candle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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