Soy Wax Wick Problems - Please help!!!!!!!!

[MCee]

Hi everyone - I am a newbie to candle making. I am having difficulty wicking my 3" diameter straight sided 16 oz. glass jar. I am using Mid West container soy wax with an 11% fragrance load. I have tried single wicking this jar with many many different wicks and I get no hot throw at all. I started double wicking and the hot throw is great but I feel like the jar temperature gets way too hot for my liking. The melt pool reaches about 3/4" deep by the hour mark for all the double wicks I have tried. If anyone can provide some insight, that would be great! I have been wick testing for about 6 months to no avail. Please help!!!!

 

I have tried:

HTP

Premier

RRD

CD

Eco 

[TallTayl]

Cd16 or cd18 single wicked in that jar work reliably for me in that specific wax with most FO

 

some fo  I need to wick down to cd12 or cd14

 

full melt pool is a limit not a goal. 
 

midwest soy also performs best with a long cure. 2 weeks is noticeably better than 2 days.

 

I use 8% FO max and can fill several rooms when wicked well. 
 

Midwest wax also performs much better treating the wax like typical soy, not the low temp instructions on the bag. Using the low temps on the bag resulted in fo settling lower in the candle nearly 100% of the times I followed it. I am. Or a fan of candle fires from pooling fragrance 😬.  I now heat to 185 (often a little higher ) and add fo at 170 or above. I’ve been pouring after a couple minutes of stirring with excellent results including better HT and smoother overall candles. I have also cooled to 105 in the pouring pot while stirring periodically to evenly distribute heat with excellent results. 

[GoldieMN]

1 hour ago, TallTayl said:

I now heat to 185 (often a little higher ) and add fo at 170 or above. I’ve been pouring after a couple minutes of stirring with excellent results including better HT and smoother overall candles.

Is this just for Midwest?  (Pouring right after stirring.)  Are you also doing this with C-1?

GoldieMN

[TallTayl]

1 hour ago, GoldieMN said:

Is this just for Midwest?  (Pouring right after stirring.)  Are you also doing this with C-1?

GoldieMN

Midwest yes.  
 

C1, nooooooooo.  Pouring that hot I only ever got cavities within cavities that made other little cavity babies, lol.  I still pour that beast about 105*. 

[GoldieMN]

1 hour ago, TallTayl said:

Midwest yes.  
 

C1, nooooooooo.  Pouring that hot I only ever got cavities within cavities that made other little cavity babies, lol.  I still pour that beast about 105*. 

LOL, thank goodness!  That is what I am doing. . .about 105.

GoldieMN

[MCee]

TallTayl - Thanks for your quick reply. I will definitely try that combination and technique. Do you have any suggestions in regards to double wicking that jar? Also, any way to reduce the pitting appearance that happens when you burn the candle? I feel like customers will see this pitting and think it's defective.

[NightLight]

I might trying using lx wicks and try two at LX 10  or LX 8. Cut down the fragrance oil to 7 - 8 per cent.

11 per cent is probs giving you more issues with burn. Add a small percentage of coconut oil.

 

If appearance is issue you can try making a parasol or buying, tops always smooth as butter afterburn.

[birdcharm]

It's only my own personal belief, but I think if you don't have to double wick, you shouldn't. 

 

I thought it was interesting to see a recent poll asking if people preferred candles with one wick or multiple wicks and the result was that more people actually seemed to prefer single wicks.  I like two smaller doubles in containers greater than about 3.5", but for under that, a single wick should do the trick.  It's less work and only takes one wick, so there is the cost factor wedged in there too. 

[TallTayl]

2 hours ago, MCee said:

TallTayl - Thanks for your quick reply. I will definitely try that combination and technique. Do you have any suggestions in regards to double wicking that jar? Also, any way to reduce the pitting appearance that happens when you burn the candle? I feel like customers will see this pitting and think it's defective.

Single wick whenever possible. People don’t understand how fast double wicks can get out of control. Especially in glass. I’m seeing a trend right now for everybody double wicking and it scares me senseless. On your jar a cd16-19 should handle most common  scents. 
 

As for the pitting you might want to blend. You could try additives such as their soy modifier (which is a monoglyceride). That helps fill in those soy gaps. You could also try what they suggest as far as beeswax, coconut waxes, paraffin, let your imagination run wild. For the most part people expect that soy candles, if they’re pure, will have a weird top After burning. I have sold thousands of soy candles and not one person has ever questioned it.

[MCee]

Great! I appreciate all the good advice/recommendations. I will give them a try. Wish me luck! 

[MCee]

Hi all! I have quite literally been testing wicks for 6 months now. I can’t for the life of me find a wick that 

a. Creates a safe yet effective burn pool

b. Has any hot throw at all! 
 

I have tried different fragrance oil suppliers, different wicks and the only  time I can get any hot throw is double wicking in my 3” straight sided jar. I’ve cut down the fragrance load as recommended above from 11% to 8%. I’ve tried double wicking with CD 6 and 8 and I’ve tried single wicking with Eco 10, 14, 16, 18. I’ve tried single I still can’t get the wax to burn from edge to edge. The higher CD wick series is sold out from the supplier that I don’t have to pay customs for. So I’m not sure what to do at this point. I’m really discouraged but I want this to work so badly! I’m thinking of trying the tin containers with diameter of 3.5” and double wicking. I would like to use the natural wax coating on the wicks so I cannot use LX as recommended above as I have yet to find them that ship to Canada.
 

Any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated.