Efficient Candle Testing

[Peggy T]

I've had issues on and off with my candles recently; some of it is burn related and some is FO seepage (and not a high % of fragrance). One of the challenges is the amount of time it takes to test out so many different variables. I'm wondering if there's a more efficient way to test a lot of candles? 

[kandlekrazy]

When testing hot throw you really need different rooms where you can close a door or the strong throwing candles may overpower and you won't smell anything else.  I used bedrooms where I could close the doors.  I even used a large bathroom sometimes.  Once you know how the throw is, then you can intermingle the candles if you wanted in an area just to see how the wick performs (but I must say, I've had a good HT go down to almost no HT as the candle progressed because of a wick and you won't catch that).  The other thing I did was to train a few people on what to look for and gave them test sheets to fill out, these were trusted friends and family members and in the beginning I tested same batch & same scent just to see how our notes compared.

[Peggy T]

I don't think I did a great job explaining myself. I am having several on-going issues with my candles that I am trying to resolve and they arent really related to HT per se (but obv HT IS important). I'm really asking about how to go about setting up a better system to test a bunch of different variables.  If, for example, I want to test an 80% 464 and 20% coconut wax, as well as a 70/30 and then also try these at 6 and 8% FO for the eight fragrances I carry. If my math is right that would end up being 32 separate candles and that's assuming I only make one of each option. Then I have to figure out where the heck I'm going to test that many candles at once. 🙃 So I'm trying to come up with a methodology that makes it easier to make 32 or more different candle formulas.

 

 

[TallTayl]

I had a very similar problem every summer. My wax lots would change throwing me into a tailspin before the summer Renaissance fairs. I let a bunch cure in different areas just to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. Garage, front porch, basement. 
 

Someone wants adjusted pouring half of a jar. That always messed up my tests so I have in and tested full jars. What you could do is test small jars to get your baseline and tweak as you move up in size. Not sure I’m explaining myself well.

 

 Curiosity, what was the coconut wax you used? The coconut wax should contain enough emulsifiers to prevent seepage.

[TallTayl]

Oh and before you embark on testing all of them at once, maybe pick your top three and build from there. It’s all complete pain in the butt I know.

[Peggy T]

I use Easy Beads Coconut Container wax: https://www.candlesandsupplies.net/Easy-Beads-Coconut-Container-Wax-Blend-per-45-lb.-Case?sc=7&category=333096

 

At one point I was using (and liked) the Coco83 slab wax from California Candle Supply but it was out of stock for such

a long time and expensive to ship across the country so I got the Easy Beads. They're listed as Coco83 so I thought they were the same except one was a slab and the other was the beads.

[TallTayl]

1 hour ago, Peggy T said:

I use Easy Beads Coconut Container wax: https://www.candlesandsupplies.net/Easy-Beads-Coconut-Container-Wax-Blend-per-45-lb.-Case?sc=7&category=333096

 

At one point I was using (and liked) the Coco83 slab wax from California Candle Supply but it was out of stock for such

a long time and expensive to ship across the country so I got the Easy Beads. They're listed as Coco83 so I thought they were the same except one was a slab and the other was the beads.

i use the same.  Formulas for easybeads are not fixed, so mine varies from lot to lot. Supposedly both the slab and beads are the same, though the slab I have is bright white and the beads are generally ivory to light yellow and smell a bit different. 

 

Beads  worked well with c1 and midwest soy in my summer tins last Faire season.

 

The reason I asked is that many people use hydrogenated coconut oil (sometimes called coconut 92 or high melt point coconut) as a coconut wax. American Soy told Midwest soy users to add up to 10% "high melt point coconut to improve throw.  That was the cause of the absolute worst seepage i have EVER had in a candle. Hydrogenated coconut oil does not have emulsifiers like a candle wax, so it was like adding an extra 10% oil directly to the candle on top of the usual amount of fragrance.  It was WAY too much for the wax to hold.

 

Could your case of 464 be deficient of emulsifiers? Perhaps a little beeswax would help stabilize it if you have a lot of it to use up.

[Peggy T]

1 hour ago, TallTayl said:

Formulas for easybeads are not fixed, so mine varies from lot to lot.

This kind of blows my mind, TBH. How can you manufacture something without a fixed formula??

[Jeana]

4 hours ago, Peggy T said:

I don't think I did a great job explaining myself. I am having several on-going issues with my candles that I am trying to resolve and they arent really related to HT per se (but obv HT IS important). I'm really asking about how to go about setting up a better system to test a bunch of different variables.  If, for example, I want to test an 80% 464 and 20% coconut wax, as well as a 70/30 and then also try these at 6 and 8% FO for the eight fragrances I carry. If my math is right that would end up being 32 separate candles and that's assuming I only make one of each option. Then I have to figure out where the heck I'm going to test that many candles at once. 🙃 So I'm trying to come up with a methodology that makes it easier to make 32 or more different candle formulas.

 

 

 

Since you're not set on your wax preference yet I would start with that before worrying about the scents in the beginning.  I would take your favorite scent (you'll get to know it really well, and most likely hate it by the time you're done) and make all the wax blends you think you want to try.  You can also start with no scent. That will give you the best idea of the burn characteristics of the waxes with no other influences. But if you do use a scent make all your wax blends the same scent so the only variables are the waxes. 

 

The percentages and waxes that you could test could be infinite, so make up your mind what results you want to see ahead of time, and how many blends you're willing to test. Setting up these boundaries will help you feel less confused when testing your own wax blends. Maybe say you'll only try 4 different wax blends and that's it. Take really good notes. 

 

When I was picking my latest wax formula, decided I could only use certain waxes because they were what I could get with reasonable prices and shipping. I decided what I was looking for in the finished candle and went from there. I didn't want to deal with the inconsistencies of wax manufacturers so I worked with some basics to make my own blend. It's a lot of work, but you really get to know candle making inside and out, and you're not at the mercy of wax manufacturers when they want to have their wacky changes. 

 

After you settle on your wax blend you can start testing your scents. I usually start at 6% because it's cheaper, and most scents are fine at 6%. I would only try 1 or 2 scents at a time to get them perfected.

 

If you try to do testing for all the different variables at one time, it will waste more time and product in the long run than breaking it down to testing one thing at a time. 

[Peggy T]

I've been using the same formula for 3 or 4 years and it has worked well but in the past 6 months or so it has become more unpredictable (weak burns, seeping FO). My gut says a big portion of my problems have been from the 464. I have been trying to limit my testing to the waxes I can get locally. Those are the GB family of waxes, C3 and C6. I don't use paraffin because my customer base wants plant based waxes. I tested C6 for a while last year and hated it. I've chosen to order Easy Beads because I don't use that in a particularly high percent.

[Jeana]

44 minutes ago, Peggy T said:

I've been using the same formula for 3 or 4 years and it has worked well but in the past 6 months or so it has become more unpredictable (weak burns, seeping FO). My gut says a big portion of my problems have been from the 464. I have been trying to limit my testing to the waxes I can get locally. Those are the GB family of waxes, C3 and C6. I don't use paraffin because my customer base wants plant based waxes. I tested C6 for a while last year and hated it. I've chosen to order Easy Beads because I don't use that in a particularly high percent.

I used to have all kinds of issues with 464. I used it for about 7 years. It changed every season. Sometimes it would have some type of liquid in it. It would even start to boil at times. I hated that wax after a while LOL. 

Are you sure easy beads don't have paraffin? 

You asked how to simplify your testing. I was just saying it will be a lot less complicated to finalize your wax first, then worry about scents so you don't have to make 32 testers like you said. 

[NightLight]

I was told the beads from candles and supplies were only coconut and soy, but they feel like they have beeswax in them.

FYI I like coconut 92 never had issue with seepage. I didn’t like the easy beads at all in wax, that’s just me and I really can’t stand the idea of in consistency.