4627 & 3-wicking 4-inch dia container

[Tara Carter]

In a triple-wicked 4-inch container (exactly like BBW) of 4627, what wicks should I be trying? How fast should I expect 4627 to melt?

 

My testers are reaching full melt pool within 30 minutes to an hour with a depth of 1/4 to 1/2 inch.  This seems too fast... or is that ok? There is a little bit of soot and carbon flecks. I am trimming the wicks because these are just for me and I always trim my wicks. The jars are not too hot to handle. These results continue with subsequent burns. Cure time has varied from right after hardening to a few days. I have used LX 16, LX 14, & LX 12, and 8%, 10%, & 12% FO, in multiple combinations. Going down in wick and FO has helped but not as significantly as I expected. All of my FOs have been from CandleScience.

 

Is three wicks going to be overkill on 4627? I tried one wick (several variations) in 8 oz containers and didn’t get the ht desired. I tried two wicks in these 4-inch containers but didn’t like the look of the uneven, oval-shaped melt pool. Is that a trade-off I have to accept? 

 

I’m making them because I want the ht I get from BBW 3-wick candles with the freedom to make my own scents, not be stuck with their often goofy labels, and not spend quite so much money. If I can’t match that ht and beat the cost, then it isn’t worth it for my purposes. My calculations say I can beat the cost of buying them - AFTER I get past this testing phase! I know now the ht can be matched. So what remains is the question of wicking & safety. 
 

I have thoroughly researched 4627 in this forum, google, and six Facebook candle-making groups I joined for the last few weeks thinking I’ve just missed the answers to my questions and continued to test on my own. I think it’s time to appeal to your collective expertise and experience. 

[TallTayl]

Hi and welcome!

 

4627 is a "special" kind of wax in my experience. It is a vaseline feeling goo that usually does not require any real cure time like other waxes. What you get at day 2 and day 20 seem to be pretty much "it". 

 

Multiple wicking is very tricky, as you have discovered. The heat generated by the flames does not usually match the wax consumption, so you get a deep pool, and larger and larger flames as the candle continues to burn (because the fuel is essentially flooding the wicks). Heat will continue to build the further down the jar you get as air convection increases.

 

I would wick down in a triple wick candle quite a bit to prevent the burns further down in the container from growing too out of control. Sometimes wicking down actually makes throw better. Too hot and the FO can be burned off before it hits your nose.  it is a balancing act with each new FO.

 

As for matching hot throw from commercial candles, it will be rather difficult given the strength of fragrance oils from typical retailers is nowhere near the concentration places like BBW use. More fragrance is not often better as it can easily throw the balance out of whack. Their wax recipes are also custom developed to work with their fragrances.

 

Anecdotally, I am using up a bottle of English Garden from candle science that is at least 8 years old in some new wax testers for my own pleasure. 6% of that bottle is stronger than 12% of a new bottle. Besides that, many retailers, like candle science, have reformulated fragrances to remove phthlates. That in many people's experience diminished hot throw quite a lot. 

 

SO...... keep testing, and expect to not duplicate a product without having their materials.  Your candles will be very enjoyable just the same because you made them 😃 

[ErronB]

I used 4627 for quite a while, whenever I tried double or triple wicking it would cause too many issues burning the bottom section of the candles. Worked great in tins with a single wick but that was about it, any jars I had to add soy or i'd get drowning wicks or smoke and soot even with low FO loads.