Kevin Fischer Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 Hi everyone! It's an honor to be part of such a positive community. I've come to a dead end in my own research on this topic, but I swear I've tried everything. There's tremendous variety in wick technology: CD, ECO, CSN, LX, HTP, Wooden Wicks... Is there a good resource for truly diving deep and learning about all these technologies? What do all these letters mean? I've read the summaries on Candlescience and a few of the other distributors, but I'm looking for a bit more of a tech dive on how these wicks are put together and the major differences between them all. Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura C Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 13 minutes ago, Kevin Fischer said: Hi everyone! It's an honor to be part of such a positive community. I've come to a dead end in my own research on this topic, but I swear I've tried everything. There's tremendous variety in wick technology: CD, ECO, CSN, LX, HTP, Wooden Wicks... Is there a good resource for truly diving deep and learning about all these technologies? What do all these letters mean? I've read the summaries on Candlescience and a few of the other distributors, but I'm looking for a bit more of a tech dive on how these wicks are put together and the major differences between them all. Thanks in advance Hi @Kevin Fischer. An end all, be all list or web page doesn't exist that I know of and I've put in lots of mileage looking for it myself. Unless something has popped up recently. I'll try to point you in the right direction. "Is there a good resource for truly diving deep and learning about all these technologies?" - Yes, this forum is one source, let your fingers get to searching. Plus, look up wick manufacturers, some have good info on their sites. Also some of the candle supply sites have helpful wick info and charts. https://www.theflamingcandle.com/wick-guide/ https://www.candlesandsupplies.net/Candle-Making/Wicks-Wicking https://www.candlesandsupplies.net/wick_selection_chart_by_wax.pdf "What do all these letters mean?" - Here's two of my favorite sources, they are wick makers. Atkins and Pearce http://www.atkinsandpearce.com/candle-solutions/ and Wicks Unlimited https://wicksunlimited.com/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 I’d take a gander at the manufacturers sites and Distributors Precision Wicking, etc. I would pay good money to have a one-on-one with a real tech. From wax development, to fragrance compounding to wicking, so many things are dependent on a successful outcome. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusyBee Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 You should be able to get more technical insight from wick manufacturers website, and below are not all of them but popular. Other than these, there are also what they call wick assembling companies. You might want to look into them also. When you are going thru their website, pay attention to their basic wick guide articles. Without good basic knowledge, technical aspect wouldn't be come to good use. And for the technical data, you would want to concentrate on "yields" number, and maybe ROC figure. Materials, Braiding, core type & material, pre-treatment, & wax coating are other things you want to look at. Wedo [*Wedo owns HJ Technical Braidings(CD & CDN wick) also.] https://www.wedowick.de/en/ Atkins & Pearce, Inc. http://www.atkinsandpearce.com/candle-solutions/ Wick It https://wickit.net/ Passamanaria Sao Vitor https://www.saovitor.com.br/ Hayes & Finch https://www.candlewick-supplies.com/ Fil-Tec https://www.fil-tec.com/candlewick The Wooden Wick Company [*Wooden wicks are different breed.] https://woodenwick.com/ EricX Light [Chinese company] http://www.ericxlight.com/index.php?route=common/home Have fun! You have just touched tip of ice bug on wick. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fischer Posted February 20, 2020 Author Share Posted February 20, 2020 Thanks @Laura C, @TallTayl and @BusyBee! I'm going to take a careful look through all of these over the next few days and report back with (hopefully) useful information and findings. If I do a good job the information might be useful to anyone else asking my same questions (or people just getting into the craft wondering what the heck all those things mean). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusyBee Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 Wick is all about capillary action. Delivering perfect amount of fuel to end of wick to achieve most complete combustion with safety in mind. Getting a full melt pool is minor thing, but it should be put into consideration also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fischer Posted February 22, 2020 Author Share Posted February 22, 2020 Given the sensitivity to the combustion system all candles are designed to be, I'm finding that the actual wick type is secondary to proper testing and size selection (within that type). For instance, I've found the best way to build a high performance candle is to select the right size wick for my system - yes, some wicks burn hotter than others (looking at you, HTP). Here's a small table I put together. Not inclusive of everything on the market but I captured a few of the big ones. Wick Series Description Distinguishing Features Popular choice for CD Flat braided cotton with paper in the weave. Is quite stable despite not having a core. Rigid, and generally recommended for viscous waxes (vegetables), but works fine in paraffin too Any ECO Similar to CD except the paper is designed to make “self-trimming” more efficient ECO performs best in lower melt-temp waxes (vegetable) Vegetable LX No core either, and braided uniquely to improve stability and reduce issues with sooting and mushrooming “Stabilizing threads” that improves flame stability. Generally recommended for paraffin wax. Paraffin HTP Flat braided weave with “high performance” fibers. Burns hotter than most other wicks. Have a tendency to curl for performance - generally towards the “V” side of the braid. Paraffin Zinc Core Actually has a core. Cotton braid with high stability (due to the core) Super stable. Relatively versatile. Any Every wick is generally a braid of some form of fiber and may or may not have a core which everything is braided around. The core serves to provide stability to the wick whereas the fibers are meant to enhance a candle's performance. Before anything is brought to market, it is common to chemically treat this braided bad boy with a wax coating. The best coatings permeate the entirety of the braid system without stressing the fibers to enhance the combustion. What I really gather is that candle makers don't need a wick strategy for selecting wicks - they need a testing strategy. I'd wager that most any wick type will work for any candle (with some obvious exceptions). And each candle maker may have preferences for their threshold of "works great" actually means. Think melt pool preferences, HT, CT, etc. Some wicks offer neat features (or better versions of those features), but nearly all of them pursue some level of self trimming and stability. HTP wicks curl a lot which can be a headache to position, but they offer some pleasantries in the areas of pollution too. Trade offs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightLight Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 No I have not found that so. Some waxes you can use multiple types. Others they are wick specific. Then add additives and you get different results. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fischer Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 For sure. The point I'm making is that although wick type is important, if one doesn't conduct proper sizing within it then choosing that type didn't matter in the first place. But you're definitely right - the spice of life in candle making is what keeps it exciting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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