Hot throw expectations from a single (wooden wick), 7 oz coconut wax candle?

[TheNovice]

Hi all!
 

Fiance and I are new to the hobby and had some questions about what our expectations should be for a single, wooden wick 7 oz coconut candle with an average FO load of 9%. We love candles, and have always bought them, but they've always been larger triple-wick candles from places like Bath and Body Works.  The scent for these were always pretty strong, but we're wanting to know realistically what we should expect from our own candles assuming we do it right.

 

We've been doing some tests here and there, and have noticed our hot throw is virtually non-existent compared to what we're used to. I know we're comparing apples to oranges to some degree, but we're trying to find a way to make the best candles we can. 

 

We've been reading cure time is a big deal, so we're going extend that instead of burning next day and see how that plays out. We feel like on our most recent sample candle we made last night, we did it perfectly.. and now we're just waiting for it to cure so we can give it a shot.

Anyone have any experience with coconut/apricot wax (from Wooden Wick/Lab Co) as well as their FO and would want to share?

[Sarah S]

I am going to give you my very opinion-laden point of view, so please understand that others on the board may disagree with me as their tastes and experiences differ from mine.

If you are used to and enjoy the big multi-wicked candles from major retailers, your hot throw expectations may not be realistic for your candles. The big retailers, specifically B&BW and Yankee, use paraffin wax. Most container paraffin waxes give excellent hot throw with little effort and little cure time. They do not require a large fragrance load, and are generally easy to wick. Paraffin waxes are generally less expensive as well, so the occasional "bad" candle is not a tragic event.

A natural wax blend is going to be much trickier to work with, require extensive testing, possibly wildly varied results depending on the lot, and generally not throw as well as a comparable paraffin candle. I know there are exceptions, and we have many people on the board that do make awesome veggie wax candles, but I would argue that their years of experience are the secret to their success.

This isn't to discourage you from making a veggie wax candle if that is what you really want to do. Go for it! There is certainly a lot of satisfaction to be had from creating a luxury type candle! But do be prepared for tons of research, testing, more research, and more testing.

I would suggest going to the soy & veggie wax sub section of the forum and doing a search for "coconut wax". There has been a lot of discussion on that wax recently, and you are sure to find a ton of great info! Good luck!