Paraffin thoughts?

[Forrest]

8 hours ago, candlesinflorida said:

Do we know the science behind the need for curing to create good HT? Just wondering why the candle would need to sit for longer than merely cooling, to bind “more”. I don’t completely doubt it...just interested in the science behind it.

TT knows the science much better that I do. I know enough to realize that the molecular structure matures over time. There is not a lot of good reading on the subject. I have test data that shows this is true and experiences that verify this. My first attempt at making candles was  with 464, even with two weeks cure time they had no HT. I gave some to my daughter and eventually she gave me back a bag of empty tins, except one of them wasn't empty. So I burned that candle and it had the strongest HT of any candle I have ever burned. I have seen similar stories from people on this board. My experience also shows that the need for cure time is FO dependent. In 6006 some FOs give good HT in a week and some need a month.

[The Candle Nook]

I’ll jump in this conversation....testing out a FO for a particular client/friend. (It’s a fragrance I don’t care for).  Used my standard 464 and a couple of different wicks. Waited 2 weeks. Gave them to her, explained about curing time, she burned them off and on for a week maybe 2. Gave them back and said throw was weak. I shoved them on a shelf and forgot about them. 2 months later I lit 1 and HT was so strong I could smell it thru 1/2 the house (2800 sq ft house). Whatever science/magic happens sometimes takes awhile....

[TallTayl]

Part of the HT is your home, too.  If the air currents while burning are not toward where you are sitting then you won’t smell them. Was a bit surprised yesterday to smell a lilac candle burning in the guest room ... outside...

 

likewise very humid days tend tend to make the air in my house sink down stairwells and vents to the basement.  Was burning Apple candles in the kitchen wondering why I couldn’t smell any.  went to pick up laundry from the basement and was overwhelmed with gorgeous apple scent. 🤷🏻‍♀️

 

keep in mind many homes have very efficient heating and cooling systems that filter most everything out of the air. Hard to smell your beautiful candles when the air filter traps 99% of it 🤗

[bfroberts]

My experience is the same as TT's.  I made a gorgeous candle the other day using a blend of a coffee and a hazelnut FO.  Just to test the blended scent, I lit the candle after 48 hours.  Stellar throw.  Two weeks later and the throw is still there, but it is considerably diminished.  It is diminished because the wick is now too small, although it was perfect after 48 hours.  Now the wax has hardened and the seemingly perfect wick is no longer perfect.  This is in 6006, but I have seem the exact same thing in all paraffin time and time again.  1-2 days is not enough time.  It may seem OK 98% of the time, but I don't want to send out product that is OK 98% of the time.  I aim for 100%.

[Forrest]

1 hour ago, The Candle Nook said:

I’ll jump in this conversation....testing out a FO for a particular client/friend. (It’s a fragrance I don’t care for).  Used my standard 464 and a couple of different wicks. Waited 2 weeks. Gave them to her, explained about curing time, she burned them off and on for a week maybe 2. Gave them back and said throw was weak. I shoved them on a shelf and forgot about them. 2 months later I lit 1 and HT was so strong I could smell it thru 1/2 the house (2800 sq ft house). Whatever science/magic happens sometimes takes awhile....

I think back on all the FOs I gave up on because of poor HT, when all they really needed was more time, and the FOs I used that weren't that good, but they had great HT. Now days I know better. If a FO doesn't throw well at first I just set it aside for a few weeks.

[Forrest]

6 minutes ago, bfroberts said:

My experience is the same as TT's.  I made a gorgeous candle the other day using a blend of a coffee and a hazelnut FO.  Just to test the blended scent, I lit the candle after 48 hours.  Stellar throw.  Two weeks later and the throw is still there, but it is considerably diminished.  It is diminished because the wick is now too small, although it was perfect after 48 hours.  Now the wax has hardened and the seemingly perfect wick is no longer perfect.  This is in 6006, but I have seem the exact same thing in all paraffin time and time again.  1-2 days is not enough time.  It may seem OK 98% of the time, but I don't want to send out product that is OK 98% of the time.  I aim for 100%.

I've tested 6006 at two weeks and two months and the two month old candle needed a whole size bigger wick. I've been two week old candles lately and hoping they are over wicked enough to burn well at six months. But you bring up an interesting point, if you're selling candles that burn well at two weeks, but someone buys them and waits two months to burn them they are going to burn differently. This may be a reason the big candle makers use paraffin.

[TallTayl]

@Forrest and @bfroberts sing along with me...  B.I.N.G.O. BINGO was his name-o. 

[Laura C]

On 5/13/2019 at 6:30 PM, candlesinflorida said:

That is interesting. I don’t love the HT of the paraffin candles I made-they are strong, but there is an unmistakable hint of petroleum or fuel scent in the air. And the unmelted pellets smell horrible to me. 

Going straight back to soy!  

 

Hi @candlesinflorida, I'm in FL too, aren't we lucky? LOL. Anyway, the odd smelling candles you are referring to, did you use liquid dye in them? Reason I ask is because I get a plastic/chemical sort of smell from my wax melts, whether I use soy or paraffin, and it's coming from the horrible stench of the liquid dye that I used in them. This includes wax melts I made in plastic clamshells and also loose wax melts. Needless to say, I'm not going to use that particular liquid dye anymore.

[Laura C]

On 5/13/2019 at 6:36 PM, blacktieaffair said:

I saw a video the other night, from Timber Ridge Gifts, and he did a comparison between para and REALLY high end oil/wax like are use by Jo Malone and others. 

 

Thanks for sharing @blacktieaffair. Yes, I've seen Timber Ridge Gifts and his videos, he has some good ones. Especially in some of his earlier videos, he can be funny and I don't know if he is even trying to be. I bought a few of his candles and wax melts and they were really nice and strong.

Edited May 16, 2019 by Laura C

[CandleRush]

Ok so those of you with the great throw after 48 hours ish and the not so great throw 2 week ish later, what is your way to remedy the wick size? Inquiring minds want to know?

[TallTayl]

19 minutes ago, CandleRush said:

Ok so those of you with the great throw after 48 hours ish and the not so great throw 2 week ish later, what is your way to remedy the wick size? Inquiring minds want to know?

😆

perform wickectomy to replace with right size/type then retest with a new candle when I think I have a winner.  

[CandleRush]

Forgot about the wickectomy!

 

See, this is why we need you to publish a candle making book!

 

[blacktieaffair]

All I can say is I bow to you users of soy.  I would start throwing things if after a short time it was great, then needed to cure, and 2 months later it sucked ( wick or whatever caused it ) . 

 

[Forrest]

2 hours ago, TallTayl said:

😆

perform wickectomy to replace with right size/type then retest with a new candle when I think I have a winner.  

Perhaps candles should come with a larger wick and an apple corer in case the customers don't burn them in time. The longer I stay on this board the more I realize how much I don't want to be in the candle business...except I might.

[Forrest]

18 minutes ago, blacktieaffair said:

All I can say is I bow to you users of soy.  I would start throwing things if after a short time it was great, then needed to cure, and 2 months later it sucked ( wick or whatever caused it ) . 

 

I have two FOs that have almost no HT at two weeks but are very nice at six weeks. As a hobbyist the trick is to have so many candles ready to burn that waiting on some isn't an issue. Those FOs wouldn't work if I was in the candle business.

[CandleRush]

I probably have those same f.o.s! Ha!

[Crafty1_AJ]

On 5/11/2019 at 12:14 AM, candlesinflorida said:

Just a general question...why do most high-end candle manufacturers use paraffin? Is it because it holds more fragrance or is it more stable for delivery/shelf life? And do paraffin candles generally have better scent throw?

 

 

IMO, yes to #2 and #3.  

[CandleRush]

Which brands/distributors of paraffin wax do you all consider the best? Higher end wax. Are they blends, or straight paraffin with few additives. I’m not very familiar with paraffin wax.

[Sarah S]

1 hour ago, CandleRush said:

Which brands/distributors of paraffin wax do you all consider the best? Higher end wax. Are they blends, or straight paraffin with few additives. I’m not very familiar with paraffin wax.

 

Ok, you guys know what I'm going to say, right?

 

😂

 

Candlewic's CBL-125

 

That stuff is foolproof, super easy wax to use with great results. It's a paraffin with additives.

Their CBL-130 is also great, it's a parasoy blend.

[candlesinflorida]

1 hour ago, Sarah S said:

 

Ok, you guys know what I'm going to say, right?

 

😂

 

Candlewic's CBL-125

 

That stuff is foolproof, super easy wax to use with great results. It's a paraffin with additives.

Their CBL-130 is also great, it's a parasoy blend.

Two new ones to try!

And I assume you like them much more than a straight soy wax?

[candlesinflorida]

8 hours ago, Laura C said:

 

Hi @candlesinflorida, I'm in FL too, aren't we lucky? LOL. Anyway, the odd smelling candles you are referring to, did you use liquid dye in them? Reason I ask is because I get a plastic/chemical sort of smell from my wax melts, whether I use soy or paraffin, and it's coming from the horrible stench of the liquid dye that I used in them. This includes wax melts I made in plastic clamshells and also loose wax melts. Needless to say, I'm not going to use that particular liquid dye anymore.

Hi fellow Floridian! Are you in South Fl too?

I actually got the smell right out of the bag-the pellets smelled like motor oil. When heated, the scent wafted through my house. In the finished candles, the FO helped mask the motor oil smell. In fact, now that they have been technically curing for a week, they smell good. But I don't care to work with the wax again, thanks to the initial stink!

[candlesinflorida]

12 hours ago, TallTayl said:

From what I’ve seen, the polymorphic soy crystals develop and strengthen bonds over time.  Plus, organic waxes continue to evaporate latent moisture remaining from the manufacturing process. Both of these things amount to a hotter, dryer flame which can more efficiently burn fuel and throw it into the air.

 

i’ve had great HT on a 2 day old soy candle that completely flops a couple of weeks / months out. The initial wick was great for a soft-ish damp-ish wax, so by the time the crystallization process finished the wick was not nearly hot enough. And of course vice versa.  

 

Soy (and other natural waxes) do contain a range of moisture. Some cases you open and they feel noticeably wet, while others are crispy and dry. This throws off wicking really badly.  I’m sitting here frustrated that it happened again, with C1 this time. My new cases are initially several sizes off from my last lot. 😖🙈 I will need to age this wax a few months to see if that changes (which I suspect it will).

 

many of these irritating things can be tamed to a degree with paraffin. Paraffin waxes have. More stable crystal structure, are inert and don’t tend to change much, if at all, over time. 

 

SO helpful-thank you!

[bfroberts]

2 hours ago, Sarah S said:

 

Ok, you guys know what I'm going to say, right?

 

😂

 

Candlewic's CBL-125

 

That stuff is foolproof, super easy wax to use with great results. It's a paraffin with additives.

Their CBL-130 is also great, it's a parasoy blend.

 
Sarah, how is the CBL 125 with wet spots?  I tried a slab of it last year when I was ticked off with 4630,  and it performed pretty much the same as 4630 as far as wicking and throw, but I didn't take much notice of wet spots.  I made a few holiday candles with it and they are long gone.  My 4630 candles look so dang horrible lately with all these tiny wet spots.  I'm ready to ditch it again, so I was considering ordering a case of CBL-125, but I'm on the fence.

[Laura C]

1 hour ago, candlesinflorida said:

Hi fellow Floridian! Are you in South Fl too?

I actually got the smell right out of the bag-the pellets smelled like motor oil. When heated, the scent wafted through my house. In the finished candles, the FO helped mask the motor oil smell. In fact, now that they have been technically curing for a week, they smell good. But I don't care to work with the wax again, thanks to the initial stink!

 

Yes, I'm in Pompano Beach, near Fort Lauderdale.

[candlesinflorida]

12 hours ago, bfroberts said:

 
Sarah, how is the CBL 125 with wet spots?  I tried a slab of it last year when I was ticked off with 4630,  and it performed pretty much the same as 4630 as far as wicking and throw, but I didn't take much notice of wet spots.  I made a few holiday candles with it and they are long gone.  My 4630 candles look so dang horrible lately with all these tiny wet spots.  I'm ready to ditch it again, so I was considering ordering a case of CBL-125, but I'm on the fence.

Just a thought....I have switched to solid white containers to avoid caring about wet spots! When I can't see them, it is like the aren't there! Every time I go back to clear containers, it is heat gun time...with almost any wax.