Electric Melters or Tealite Melters??

[TallPineCandles]

Ok, here is a question for you all!! Forgive the mid-west draw but I am from Kansas. Do you prefer Electric Melters or Tealite Melters?? Here is why I ask....

 

Normally, I use and electric type to test my melts. I use just a plain ole 25w bulb (that came installed). I get a pretty good throw from it. I have 2 set up in my living area. I had decided to put a melter in my bathroom for personal use. The problem was I could not put an electric one in because of no available outlet.... So, when I was at Wal-Mart the other day I found a really cheap tealight melter (it was a buck). Brought it home, set it up in the bathroom, dropped in half a melt and lit the candle. No I have to admit here that I was a bit sceptical about getting a good throw from such a cheap set-up but to my surprise......It has overpowered the electric burners I have in the living room!!!

 

Now...can a person upgrade the bulb in the electric burner, say to 35w or even 40w without causing damage to the wax? Or should I just convert my burners to tealights? The only thing is I do not really like the idea of the tealight only lasting a couple hours. I am a long haul kinda of melt burner.

 

Thanks in advance....

Bob

[TallTayl]

I have seen videos of people changing out bulbs in warmers, but wonder if that exceeds the safety range in those melters. Not sure my homeowners policy would cover if I put in a replaced a bulb with something not rated for a Particular melter and it caused a fire.

 

tea light melters are not all created equally either.  major differences that change the performance:

- Variations of tea light (cool burning paraffin from Ikea versys hotter burning soy or home made) 

- difference in distance from flame to heated part of the bowl. Some are close while some are really far. 
- some people shy away from tea light versions over greater potential for fire hazard. The container area inside the burning chamber can exceed the tea light cup range of heat tolerance, especially if scented and/or overwicked.
 

For home scenting, a quick, simple and relatively safer option is dropping plain old salt in a melter, then add a few drops of fragrance. Works in all temps with less variability than waxes used to make melts. When sick of the fragrance, spread on your carpets and vacuum up for a freshening effect in a dank dusty vacuum.

 

[Karen Ov]

2 hours ago, TallTayl said:

I have seen videos of people changing out bulbs in warmers, but wonder if that exceeds the safety range in those melters. Not sure my homeowners policy would cover if I put in a replaced a bulb with something not rated for a Particular melter and it caused a fire.

 

tea light melters are not all created equally either.  major differences that change the performance:

- Variations of tea light (cool burning paraffin from Ikea versys hotter burning soy or home made) 

- difference in distance from flame to heated part of the bowl. Some are close while some are really far. 
- some people shy away from tea light versions over greater potential for fire hazard. The container area inside the burning chamber can exceed the tea light cup range of heat tolerance, especially if scented and/or overwicked.
 

For home scenting, a quick, simple and relatively safer option is dropping plain old salt in a melter, then add a few drops of fragrance. Works in all temps with less variability than waxes used to make melts. When sick of the fragrance, spread on your carpets and vacuum up for a freshening effect in a dank dusty vacuum.

 

That's cool, I never heard of this..  How much salt do you need? And you just put salt and some drops of fo? 

[TallTayl]

3 minutes ago, Karen Ov said:

That's cool, I never heard of this..  How much salt do you need? And you just put salt and some drops of fo? 

Any amount of salt you want. A tablespoon, more less, doesn’t matter. Then a few drops of FO

 

there is an old thread on the board. I will look for it. 
 

The prettiest salt is the water softener salt. Big crystals and like $6 for a 50 lb bag. You can add mica or food coloring for some pizazz 

[TallTayl]

Here’s one thread of several I remember.

https://www.craftserver.com/topic/110658-mason-jar-aroma-beads/?tab=comments#comment-1040983

[kandlekrazy]

I had problems with tealight if the dish is close to the flame, like the little coffee cup/tea cup warmers.  Also customers won't trim that wick!  The scent would smell burnt or it would burn off really quickly.  Same thing with the hot plate warmers, they just got too hot.  I like the light bulb the best, but you still have to watch how hot they get and use the smallest watt needed to throw the scent.

[Karen Ov]

4 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Here’s one thread of several I remember.

https://www.craftserver.com/topic/110658-mason-jar-aroma-beads/?tab=comments#comment-1040983

Thank you