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Super frustrating no HT on winter soy candles


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Hi all!   I’m new to the group and I have begun to have issues with GB 464.  I have been making candles for about 6 months and have had great success with most of the candles I have made so far.  Great scent throw (hot and cold) clean burn etc....  now I’ve been trying to make a winter line of about 4 scents and I am going a little crazy.  My candles are burning very well but there is such a weak hot scent throw I can’t possible sell them.  I have tried FO from all different companies, I’m in the process of changing wicks from eco to cd, I have modified my process and nothing’s helping.  My procedure is to use eco or cd wicks in 8ozmasons and 4 oz tins.  I usually add 10%-12% FO at 150 and pour.   Curing time is 2 weeks although with all the duds I have bumped it a week to see if I get any scent throw at all.  I have modified my FO add temp to 185 to see if that helps but I haven’t smelled a difference.  In very small rooms like a bathroom I will get a nice scent but in normal sized rooms it’s barely noticeable.   I haven’t bought any new 464 and it seems like it performed perfectly with my previous recipes and now just sucks with all my new stuff. Any help or tips would be great.  Thank you!!!

Edited by Dha
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I think it's a good thing that you raised your temperature for adding scent.  I normally add just after removing from heat, so at about 170, then I gently stir again prior to pouring the candles.  In some ways, I think soy wax is like gel wax in that scent throw isn't their best feature, but you should get some anyway.  What scents are you using?

Edited by birdcharm
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That sure is a large percentage of FO.  I use about 8 percent, and most all the candles I've made have a good HT, especially the fall/winter spicy scents.  I have run into a few FO's through the years that are weak, but that is the exception rather than the rule.  I use GW444. 

 

I hope you figure out your problem.  Have you asked others if they can smell them?  

 

 

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@Dha I'm in the same boat as you with my four pine scents!  I've been busy getting ready for a sale and left the pine scents to test for last since I've always had good success with them in the past.  And just as you say, I don't want to sell something that will disappoint the customer.  I heat to 183, add approx. 7.25% oil, stir for 3 minutes, wait two weeks to cure.  I'm using Candlescience Mistletoe and Fraser Fir; Fillmore's Christmas Tree; RusticEscentual's Christmas Bliss.   I plan on trying C3 as soon as possible after my sale.

GoldieMN 

 

 

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Bird charm 

16 hours ago, birdcharm said:

I think it's a good thing that you raised your temperature for adding scent.  I normally add just after removing from heat, so at about 170, then I gently stir again prior to pouring the candles.  In some ways, I think soy wax is like gel wax in that scent throw isn't their best feature, but you should get some anyway.  What scents are you using?

Yeah I read a lot about candles prior to making them but there’s this one guy on YouTube saying that he puts his FO at 120 and all the commenters were saying the hotter temp strategy was burning off a lot of FO so I started doing it colder.  I think there’s a lot of misinformation online so that’s why I enjoy talking to other candle makers directly.   I mostly use candle science but I have tried some rustic escentuals and I just ordered from Flaming candle.   

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15 hours ago, GailC said:

That sure is a large percentage of FO.  I use about 8 percent, and most all the candles I've made have a good HT, especially the fall/winter spicy scents.  I have run into a few FO's through the years that are weak, but that is the exception rather than the rule.  I use GW444. 

 

I hope you figure out your problem.  Have you asked others if they can smell them?  

 

 

Yeah I have a business where people are in and out all day.  I usually take my testers there and see if people respond to the scent.  I also have a few friends that I give testers too.  Plus my husband who aside from an occasional eyeroll (he’s so over the candle talk lol) is very good for feedback.   I’ll try lowering my FO load and see if that makes a difference.  What’s the difference between 464 and 444?

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6 hours ago, GoldieMN said:

@Dha I'm in the same boat as you with my four pine scents!  I've been busy getting ready for a sale and left the pine scents to test for last since I've always had good success with them in the past.  And just as you say, I don't want to sell something that will disappoint the customer.  I heat to 183, add approx. 7.25% oil, stir for 3 minutes, wait two weeks to cure.  I'm using Candlescience Mistletoe and Fraser Fir; Fillmore's Christmas Tree; RusticEscentual's Christmas Bliss.   I plan on trying C3 as soon as possible after my sale.

GoldieMN 

 

 

Holy cow that’s stressful!  I totally get the frustration.   I didn’t have any luck with CS mistletoe.   I even tried to do a 50/50 blend with CS Christmas Hearth and still weak.  Right now I have had minimal success with wassail, cypress and bayberry, and peppermint eucalyptus, hit or miss with lemon pound cake, no luck with blue spruce, pomegranate cider, and Christmas hearth/mistletoe and snickerdoodle/carmelized pralines.  That’s such a broad spectrum of scents that I’m feeling like it’s somethibg else. I was interested in trying joy wax as a candle making friend told me about it the other day.  

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@Dha Well, after  a straight 7 hours of burning today, I got a really strong throw in the last 2 hours from my Candlescience Mistletoe pint jar.  This is the third-fourth day of testing it so the wax is in the bottom third of the jar which I know @TallTayl said happens.  No hot jar, no hangups along the sides, good melt pool.  So not sure what this tells me.  I can't suggest to customers to burn the candles for a few days before they will smell it. lol

GoldieMN

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8 hours ago, Dha said:

Yeah I have a business where people are in and out all day.  I usually take my testers there and see if people respond to the scent.  I also have a few friends that I give testers too.  Plus my husband who aside from an occasional eyeroll (he’s so over the candle talk lol) is very good for feedback.   I’ll try lowering my FO load and see if that makes a difference.  What’s the difference between 464 and 444?

 

Not much difference to me.  444 has a higher melt point than 464.  I just started out with 444 and liked it. 

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1 hour ago, Scents and Warmers said:

Environment has alot to do with working with wax. If I do not heat up my work area prior to doing pours, my melts look horrid and crack. If your work area is cooler than you normally work in that very well could be the culprit. 

Can’t possibly agree more with this.

 

When beeswax cools too quickly it can Split in two in the mold - Not just develop cavities. Though the deep cavities are shockingly large. I’ve had a solid beeswax pillar split across a melt pool after burning in a location that was too cold. So weird. 

 

Soy wax candles have split in two in the containers from cooling too fast. Some you don’t notice until months later. 

 

It’s true in other areas of the house too. For instance, my house got super cold fast with the weather change. Was baking for an event over the weekend and the Italian buttercream (perfected when it was a few degrees warmer) was like an entirely different recipe. Was able to do a few quick workarounds and save it, but a few degrees and humidity point differences and the chemistry changes.

 

in the pottery studio temp and humidity fluctuations can quickly result in cracks if not careful.

 

its all related. The key is reading the clues and adapting.  It takes time to find your range. Make 1,000 of something and the clues start to read like neon signs. 

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  • 2 months later...
On 11/11/2018 at 11:42 AM, Dha said:

 I was interested in trying joy wax as a candle making friend told me about it the other day.  

Not many good reviews I find on this wax, but I did see someone on the Facebook groups post a photo. I have to admit, it is a beautiful wax and believe it is a one pour if correct temperatures.

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8 hours ago, Trappeur said:

So what temperature(s) do you suggest to pour at?

 

Trappeur

I have been having good luck by following the flash points recently.  That and a long cure for the 464.  I tried all different types of wicks and personally have the best luck w ECO’s.    

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Hello Dha,

You have been going by flash points?    Meaning what?    what temperatures?

 

flashing points have absolutely nothing to do with adding oils....there is a big mistake right there.

 

Please explain further.

 

Trapper

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