Beeswax used in paraffin candles?

[Ramr]

Been away for a while doing Other Stuff that got in the way of candle making. Even got in the way of candle burning ! Tore the house apart for renos that ended up taking WAAAY longer than expected! And went wrong to boot.

 

Anyhow... was reading somewhere where someone was making wicks out of basic old kitchen string and finding that it burned okay but towards end of candle it got all wobbly and flopped over and the last 1/2 inch of candle was wasted because the wick dropped over. My crochet thread wicks do this same thing! Get floppy, plop over.

 

Someone else suggested that dipping the wicks in beeswax would make them stand up better and not do the flop and drop. Is this true? Is that all it takes? All I have to do is pre-dip my wicks in beeswax and they will work okay in my paraffin candles (IGI 1245)? Wouldn't it be wonderful to think this would work? Oh please, let this work!

 

In that same vein, I have some little jars, SO CUTE but they are humped up on the bottom. Setting a wick holder on there is like balancing a dinner plate on your elbow, it wants to slide off to one side. I have had them do this while burning! Would pouring the bottom 1/4 inch in beeswax to secure the wick holder keep it in place without slithering off the high point? Beeswax bottom, paraffin candle? Can this work? I base this on the different melt temps of beeswax and paraffin.

[Candybee]

Kitchen string? Crochet thread? Why aren't you using wicking made for candlemaking? I wouldn't trust or use anything else in my candles. 

[Jcandleattic]

20 minutes ago, Candybee said:

Kitchen string? Crochet thread? Why aren't you using wicking made for candlemaking? I wouldn't trust or use anything else in my candles. 

Exactly this

 

On 11/27/2018 at 11:44 PM, Ramr said:

the last 1/2 inch of candle was wasted because the wick dropped over

 

The last 1/4-1/2 inch of any candle is not meant to be consumed 100%. A candle will stop burning once the wick hits the neck of the wick tab anyway, and it's purposely designed this way for safety measures. 

 

On 11/27/2018 at 11:44 PM, Ramr said:

Setting a wick holder on there is like balancing a dinner plate on your elbow, it wants to slide off to one side. I have had them do this while burning!

Are you not securing the wick tabs with a silicone glue, wick stickers, or some other type of wick tab securement? Using those is what will secure them in place. Not just setting them in the jar, whether the bottom is flat, concave, or humped. 

 

I don't mean this to sound harsh, but it sounds like you need to go back to the basics, and start from scratch using proper candlemaking supplies, techniques, and testing. 

[TallTayl]

Lots of questions in that post. 

 

Can you fill the bottom with beeswax and place the tab so minimize the wick tab drift. Possibly. Wicks for paraffin are often pretty small and will drown in beeswax.  That may be an expensive, but elegant solution.

 

a few months back someone posted a local candle maker they knew used simple sugar syrup to fill the bottom 1/4” (from memory) portion of the container and secure wick tabs.  That too seems like an elegant solution, only much less $$. 

 

Beeswax to stiffen a wick. Do you mean as a prime? Or as a replacement for a proper tab base? 

If you mean as a prime, Beeswax coating “can” “possibly” stiffen floppy wick but usually does not do a great job of it. First, the burn changes since your choice of wick to burn paraffin won’t easily burn beeswax, so the candle changes. Secondly, if themelt pool gets warm enough to soften the beeswax uncored wick (which will almost alway be floppy to a degree) will still flop. 

 

If you mean in exchange for a base, you’ll need quite a lot in every candle to secure 1/4”-1/2” to hold the wick upright. Wick tabs are cheaper and safer.  Heck, use a small binder clip. You can raise the bottom of the wick itself 1/4” from the vessel bottom to act as a safety feature. Just stick that holder with some really strong glue or a wick sticker to hold it fast. Wandering wicks shatter glass (as you know already, but writing it for the people in the back of the room.)

[Ramr]

Hello and thank you everyone.

Why do I fool around with things that are not approved wick material? Because it's more funner. (yeah, bad grammar, I know. But funner grammar). I like to invent things, or at least challenge ideas. Sometimes I fail (mostly) but sometimes I win!  I have the luxury of fooling around because I make these ghastly candles for myself and a few people who will love me even if I burn their houses down with my crappy candles. Although I endeavour not to do this and advise them if any of my candles start acting really weird, please throw it out.

 

I did make some wicks out of crochet cotton. Primed them in beeswax. Set them in the wick holders. They worked great. Until they didn't. I think the QUALITY of crochet cotton might be lacking and while it is 'pure' enough for garment making, it is not pure enough for wicking. In some cases it will be burning along with a lovely little flame then OH MY GOD IT'S 10 INCHES HIGH SMOKIN LIKE AN OLD DIESEL ENGINE!!!!!!!  I believe this is due to a tiny piece of dynamite that was accidentally in the cotton field where the cotton grew and got woven into the cotton when it was produced. Kitchen inferno.

 

As for flopping, the beeswax primed wicks did not flop in the last bit of molten wax. But this had more to do with the wick tab, I believe, than the beeswax priming. Prior to this I did not have wick tabs and just used crochet string that worked okay-ish, but the last bit, splat, over it went and pffft, out it burned. That did not happen with the wick tabs. However, I do believe the beeswax added a slight amount of rigidity, more than priming with paraffin did. I could tell when I trimmed the cold wick. They were stiffer to work with than the paraffin dipped.

 

As for securing the wick tab to stop it sliding, I was just reading some posts on how to deal with that. So far I have been relying on good luck, which is highly unpredictable and I do get wicks skidding around. But if I glue my wicks into my votive burners, then I have a glued wick in a burner I want to re-use! Who knew candles could be so difficult.

 

BREAKING NEWS!!!  As I was about to submit this I had a thought. I went to the kitchen, took a fridge magnet off the fridge and stuck a wick tab to it. MAGNETIC! If you stuck a little piece of magnetic tape to the outside bottom of your holder / container, would this not keep the wick from scooching around?  I dropped the wick in the glass votive burner, I slid the magnet around the bottom of the holder, the wick tab bounced around following the magnet. I might have to change the bottom of the holder to sit up a bit to accommodate the magnetic tape, but this might work! Thoughts?