Should I go up on my wick size?

[Cosmic candle creations]

Hello!

 

I use single Eco12 for my white tumblers. My wax is IGI 6006 and I use 8% FO. The picture below is after a 4 hour burn. There is still some wax on the edges, so I'm curious if I should wick up a size. This is my first burn of this candle, with the embeds. The eco 12 works great on my other tests with no embeds. I am trying to prevent as much mushrooming as possible and I've found the eco 12 to be the best. Your advice and input would be greatly appreciated!

[TallTayl]

Two things:

1) is that glitter/mica? That will make your burn inconsistent from candle to candle as it clogs the wicks differently for each individual, making you think a wick is under sized based on inconclusive tests when it may actually be oversized.

 

2) Are those embeds wax or real beans? It is advisable to avoid "real" coffee beans as they can, and do, catch fire. I made that mistake early on and thankfully was there watching like a proud mother hen when it happened. The candle ended up burning itself out on the driveway. Scary stuff.

 

If it were me, I would eliminate the glitter and beans, then test the candle again to be certain of a safe size and type in 6006.  Typically 6006 (which is mainly a VERY easy to burn wax) uses wicks that are a fraction of an ECO12. Most people prefer zinc or small CD in that size jar.

 

Wishing you the best of luck in your candle journey!

[Cosmic candle creations]

TallTayl:

 

Thank you so much for your feedback. Those are wax embeds, not real coffee beans. Yes, that is mica from the embeds. I would prefer to continue to use the Mica. I do not put it into the melt and pour wax, just the embeds that melt. When I was doing my wick testing i did not use embeds or mica and the eco 12 was perfect. I want to make sure I'm understanding you correctly. Are you saying that an Eco 12 seems to large? I have ordered a zinc sample pack because I have heard great things. Based on the picture I provided does the melt pool look okay or to small for the 4 hour mark? 

[TallTayl]

11 minutes ago, Cosmic candle creations said:

TallTayl:

 

Thank you so much for your feedback. Those are wax embeds, not real coffee beans. Yes, that is mica from the embeds. I would prefer to continue to use the Mica. I do not put it into the melt and pour wax, just the embeds that melt. When I was doing my wick testing i did not use embeds or mica and the eco 12 was perfect. I want to make sure I'm understanding you correctly. Are you saying that an Eco 12 seems to large? I have ordered a zinc sample pack because I have heard great things. Based on the picture I provided does the melt pool look okay or to small for the 4 hour mark? 

Thanks for clarifying the embeds are wax! I can breathe a little easier 😃

Glitter is problematic in burning wax for many reasons, so if at all possible I would consider not using it in your candles for gifting or sale. Some candle places sell a shipper dust which is fragments of clear glass that look like sugar that has worked well in my one and only with shimmer. Did not promote clogging, fire hazard, or chemical offgassing from the flame.

 

In 6006 wax in that size jar, yes, ECO12 seems quite large. The FO you use can play a part to choke back the fuel consumption and control the flame, but the wax is the wax, and ECO are a big wick that pulls fuel through efficiently.

 

Have you burned the candle as a customer would, by random trimming/not trimming and power burning? I would be curious what a powerburn would do on that combo.

 

A few 6006 mastermind experts may have other insights to offer with things to consider when wicking 6006. @bfroberts @Forrest

[Forrest]

I can't really say much after just four hours, I wouldn't jump the gun until I got a couple of more burns in, things may be different once the beans melt into the wax. Unfortunately ECO is about the only wick I haven't tried in my 6006.

[Cosmic candle creations]

29 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

Thanks for clarifying the embeds are wax! I can breathe a little easier 😃

Glitter is problematic in burning wax for many reasons, so if at all possible I would consider not using it in your candles for gifting or sale. Some candle places sell a shipper dust which is fragments of clear glass that look like sugar that has worked well in my one and only with shimmer. Did not promote clogging, fire hazard, or chemical offgassing from the flame.

 

In 6006 wax in that size jar, yes, ECO12 seems quite large. The FO you use can play a part to choke back the fuel consumption and control the flame, but the wax is the wax, and ECO are a big wick that pulls fuel through efficiently.

 

Have you burned the candle as a customer would, by random trimming/not trimming and power burning? I would be curious what a powerburn would do on that combo.

 

A few 6006 mastermind experts may have other insights to offer with things to consider when wicking 6006. @bfroberts @Forrest

The longest I have test burned my candles is 4 hours and then I burn them again the next day for 4 hours. I do trim the wick though. How long would you consider a power burn to be? 6+ hours? What I am looking for when testing is full melt pool, no or little mushrooming, temperature of glass, and flame height. Obviously scent is important as well but I'm trying to evaluate the other factures first. However my scent throw has been awesome too. To clarify my glass tumbler is 3.25" in diameter. 7.5 oz, 8.5 to rim. The recommended wick was an eco 8, so I went up two sized due to all my candles having dye and an 8% FO. As for the mica, I'm a little perplexed. Many candle suppliers sell the cosmetic grade mica I use. I think it adds a lot of elegance to the embeds I make, and since it is not added directly to the poured wax, I didnt think it would clog the wicks that much. I am new to candle making though so all of this feedback is so much appreciated.

[Cosmic candle creations]

5 minutes ago, Forrest said:

I can't really say much after just four hours, I wouldn't jump the gun until I got a couple of more burns in, things may be different once the beans melt into the wax. Unfortunately ECO is about the only wick I haven't tried in my 6006.

Hi Forrest!

 

What type of wick do you use with the 6006? I've just ordered a zinc sample pack. What are your thoughts on zinc? Also do you have any feedback on using mica? I'm second guessing myself now..

[TallTayl]

A powerburn is much longer than the 4 hour ideal burn. It simulates how a person may not be timing a candle, and how things change, especially later in the jar. The mid point is where things get interesting.  The last 1/4-1/3 is where things can go horribly wrong.
 

My powerburns can last anywhere from 8-24 hours. Having a family that lights and forgets these have been literal life saver simulations. 
 

I have too many customers who do the same, or intentionally light a candle in the morning and extinguish at night and never trim a wick. 
 

some people just plain get distracted and boom, it’s 6+ hours later. You just don’t know. 
 

any time your jar gets above 175*F it I a Sign to wick down. Measure the heat at th hottest part, typically the rim where the flame is pointing. I sacrifice a little hot throw to give myself and my customers who trust me, peace of mind. 

[bfroberts]

If that is a 3" diameter jar, Eco 12 is way too big.  Eco 8 should be spot on. 
You should also eliminate the mica.  It's very problematic.  

Edited to add:  Some people may not know this....a wick that is too large will tunnel, not just a wick that is too small, and Eco's don't have to be much too big for this to happen.  With 6006 in a 3" tumbler, you won't get a full melt pool on the first burn without using a wick that is way too large.  I see a lot of people that are looking for that large melt pool and they keep using bigger and bigger wicks, which then causes tunneling, and then they think they need a larger wick and just keep going up and up.  It's a vicious cycle.  

Edited November 3, 2020 by bfroberts

[TallTayl]

49 minutes ago, bfroberts said:

If that is a 3" diameter jar, Eco 12 is way too big.  Eco 8 should be spot on. 
You should also eliminate the mica.  It's very problematic.  

Edited to add:  Some people may not know this....a wick that is too large will tunnel, not just a wick that is too small, and Eco's don't have to be much too big for this to happen.  With 6006 in a 3" tumbler, you won't get a full melt pool on the first burn without using a wick that is way too large.  I see a lot of people that are looking for that large melt pool and they keep using bigger and bigger wicks, which then causes tunneling, and then they think they need a larger wick and just keep going up and up.  It's a vicious cycle.  

They will tunnel around the top half  and torch at the bottom half.  Given the number of sooty, shattered glass pictures circulating with, “why Did this happen?” This Phenomenon is happening often. 
 

a smaller wick, as long as the flame is not choked, will generate enough heat to melt the wax, and control the amount of fuel being pulled through the wick. These give nice, fragrant, clean, long burns that customers appreciate.  Everyone asks how long candles will burn. The same candle wicked two ways can have double (or half) the burn time. 

[bfroberts]

6 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

They will tunnel around the top half  and torch at the bottom half.  Given the number of sooty, shattered glass pictures circulating with, “why Did this happen?” This Phenomenon is happening often. 

Speaking of which, I've lately come across a new breed of candle maker that doesn't feel the need to test to the bottom.  I've read, "I don't have time for all that testing," more than once. Scary stuff.

[Marisa11]

The Mica is pretty I wish it did work. I had bought 3 candles from a vendor not knowing 2 of the 3 candles had Mica in it and was pleasantly surprised when I did see it because I had not been aware that it was a thing. I’m am a girl so yay glitter!  However I was not getting any kind of HT and the flame was teeny tiny or would just go out on it’s own. When I told the vendor she said I probably cut the wick too short. Well I use wick trimmers that measure the wick to 1/4” and am familiar with candle care just not candle care with Mica. So I dumped out some of the wax and re-lit without trimming and still had the same issue. The vendor then said it was probably the new glitter she tried. (So no testing?)

 

the 3rd candle w/o Mica had a HT and I had no issues with it. 
 

look at a candle like a glass of water(Wax) and a straw(wick) now take a glass of water (wax) a straw(wick) and add some fresh Cut up fruit (Mica) to it to pizazz it up.
 

well when you put your mouth (the flame) to the straw and start sucking up the plain glass of water it has no issues going through the straw and into your mouth.  
Now the water with fruit the chances of getting a piece of fruit stuck in the straw of obscuring it are high. When that happens your mouth will need to suck harder to try and get that fruit all

the way through the straw to continue drinking it otherwise you will have to stop drinking it all together. Well the flame doesn’t have the ability to (suck harder) so therefore (the fruit is left stuck in the straw) the wicks go out because it can’t pull in any more wax through the wick and when you cut off the fuel to the wick the flame dies out. 
 

well what if you used a bigger straw so that the fruit pieces had less of a chance of getting stuck? Yeah that might work but the amount of energy it would take to suck on a straw that big and then you are consuming more water and pieces of fruit in your mouth than you can swallow causing other problems like choking (mushrooming) But still no guarantee no fruit will clog it up. 
 

on a side not you did a great job on the embeds as they do look real. I use Mica but in my wax melts to be used on a warmer.  You can use your embed making skills to add those to a cool looking wax tart. There is a big market for it and you obviously have talent for it. 

[prs7979]

If you just want something that looks sparkly, you may want to consider using palm.   I'm not the best at it but mine still look really pretty.   I know we have a couple of more experienced chandlers who use palm.

 

As far as 6006 goes I've had nothing but trouble wicking that wax.   The only wick I've been able to make it work with is HTP83 on one particular fragrance (CS Caribbean Teakwood).

 

 

 

 

[TallTayl]

21 minutes ago, bfroberts said:

Speaking of which, I've lately come across a new breed of candle maker that doesn't feel the need to test to the bottom.  I've read, "I don't have time for all that testing," more than once. Scary stuff.

and no accountability when the jar shatters. It's sad. No wonder new startups don't have the customers beating down their doors like they were promised in youtube.

[ErronB]

2 hours ago, bfroberts said:

If that is a 3" diameter jar, Eco 12 is way too big.  Eco 8 should be spot on. 
You should also eliminate the mica.  It's very problematic.  

Edited to add:  Some people may not know this....a wick that is too large will tunnel, not just a wick that is too small, and Eco's don't have to be much too big for this to happen.  With 6006 in a 3" tumbler, you won't get a full melt pool on the first burn without using a wick that is way too large.  I see a lot of people that are looking for that large melt pool and they keep using bigger and bigger wicks, which then causes tunneling, and then they think they need a larger wick and just keep going up and up.  It's a vicious cycle.  

A common thing I’ve been seeing lately in local ‘wannabe pros’ circles is using max fragrance and mica powder to lower the flame height, therefore being able to use a bigger wick to get that big melt pool faster. I did test one of their candles and funnily enough it did work until I got about half way down then the mica just clogged the hell out of the wick and it just burning without self-trimming. It’s the only time I’ve seen an Eco with a really long piece of wick just flopped over horizontally on top lol.

[ErronB]

1 hour ago, TallTayl said:

and no accountability when the jar shatters. It's sad. No wonder new startups don't have the customers beating down their doors like they were promised in youtube.

It’s been quite a weird time, because all these noobs set up shop when the pandemic hit, and then got a flood of business when everyone got their stimulus check, which they presumed it meant ‘this is your time to start the business for real’. So not knowing barely anything about candle making safety they would just spend all the money on huge amounts of supplies and think ‘this is it, my dream to own my own business is here’. Fast forward to now, almost all of them here locally have gone already. Their candles were so terrible and dangerous that nobody came back to buy anything ever again. Now they are left with huge amounts of supplies which I will buy for pennies on the dollar. Thx noobs lol.

 

 

Edited November 3, 2020 by ErronB

[bfroberts]

18 minutes ago, ErronB said:

A common thing I’ve been seeing lately in local ‘wannabe pros’ circles is using max fragrance and mica powder to lower the flame height, therefore being able to use a bigger wick to get that big melt pool faster. I did test one of their candles and funnily enough it did work until I got about half way down then the mica just clogged the hell out of the wick and it just burning without self-trimming. It’s the only time I’ve seen an Eco with a really long piece of wick just flopped over horizontally on top lol.

Wow....that's one I haven't seen yet.  Yikes.  Just when you think you have seen it all.

A sweet girl in one of the FB groups pm'd me a couple weeks ago and asked if she could mail me a couple of her candles to burn and give her some feedback.  I thought it would be fun, so I agreed, and she sent 4.  I've test burned them for 4 days now.  They are all nice, conservatively wicked, good throw, pretty nice all around.  It was a happy surprise, and I enjoyed trying someone else's product.  So there is one new candle maker that seems to know what she is doing.

[Marisa11]

47 minutes ago, bfroberts said:

A sweet girl in one of the FB groups pm'd me a couple weeks ago and asked if she could mail me a couple of her candles to burn and give her some feedback.  I thought it would be fun, so I agreed, and she sent 4.  I've test burned them for 4 days now.  They are all nice, conservatively wicked, good throw, pretty nice all around.  It was a happy surprise, and I enjoyed trying someone else's product.  So there is one new candle maker that seems to know what she is doing.

That is awesome that you did that for her. I bet she was nervous sending them to you. I am glad you ended up liking them.  I enjoy burning other peoples candles because I can actually enjoy the candle and not have to set a timer, and take notes, and pictures every 30min or so. I have peaked at the list in here with the users shop links. I also have been checking that holiday thread. Just haven't pulled the trigger yet.

[birdcharm]

I've never used any mica or glitters in soy candles, although I've used some specialty glitters on embeds within gel candles.  Many years ago, I purchased several different shades and types of specialty glitters just to use a very small amount around the edges of my gel candles, or on certain embeds.  I found that the ultra-fine glitter would tend to clog the wick, but the regular/fine or dazzle types (I forget the name) with larger flakes seemed to flow away from the wick.  Once I realized that, I never used the ultra-fine again and that kind of told me to stay clear of mica.  I know some people may suggest to only use mica and never glitter, but I find that a bit perplexing.  Perhaps a small amount of mica does alright, I guess I'd have to test it sometime.  Yet, I think that an extremely small amount of specialty glitter looks prettier, as "gobs" of anything usually looks just like that (gobs).  I think if I were to try any mica, it would probably be something I would somehow try to sprinkle (just a little) onto the inside of the glass.  With the candle featured here, I think the mica is messing with the wick.

[Cosmic candle creations]

2 hours ago, Marisa11 said:

The Mica is pretty I wish it did work. I had bought 3 candles from a vendor not knowing 2 of the 3 candles had Mica in it and was pleasantly surprised when I did see it because I had not been aware that it was a thing. I’m am a girl so yay glitter!  However I was not getting any kind of HT and the flame was teeny tiny or would just go out on it’s own. When I told the vendor she said I probably cut the wick too short. Well I use wick trimmers that measure the wick to 1/4” and am familiar with candle care just not candle care with Mica. So I dumped out some of the wax and re-lit without trimming and still had the same issue. The vendor then said it was probably the new glitter she tried. (So no testing?)

 

the 3rd candle w/o Mica had a HT and I had no issues with it. 
 

look at a candle like a glass of water(Wax) and a straw(wick) now take a glass of water (wax) a straw(wick) and add some fresh Cut up fruit (Mica) to it to pizazz it up.
 

well when you put your mouth (the flame) to the straw and start sucking up the plain glass of water it has no issues going through the straw and into your mouth.  
Now the water with fruit the chances of getting a piece of fruit stuck in the straw of obscuring it are high. When that happens your mouth will need to suck harder to try and get that fruit all

the way through the straw to continue drinking it otherwise you will have to stop drinking it all together. Well the flame doesn’t have the ability to (suck harder) so therefore (the fruit is left stuck in the straw) the wicks go out because it can’t pull in any more wax through the wick and when you cut off the fuel to the wick the flame dies out. 
 

well what if you used a bigger straw so that the fruit pieces had less of a chance of getting stuck? Yeah that might work but the amount of energy it would take to suck on a straw that big and then you are consuming more water and pieces of fruit in your mouth than you can swallow causing other problems like choking (mushrooming) But still no guarantee no fruit will clog it up. 
 

on a side not you did a great job on the embeds as they do look real. I use Mica but in my wax melts to be used on a warmer.  You can use your embed making skills to add those to a cool looking wax tart. There is a big market for it and you obviously have talent for it. 

Thank you for all of that useful information. It seems I will be going the route of no mica on my embeds when placed on a candle, and only using mica on my wax melts and tarts 😕

[Cosmic candle creations]

3 hours ago, bfroberts said:

If that is a 3" diameter jar, Eco 12 is way too big.  Eco 8 should be spot on. 
You should also eliminate the mica.  It's very problematic.  

Edited to add:  Some people may not know this....a wick that is too large will tunnel, not just a wick that is too small, and Eco's don't have to be much too big for this to happen.  With 6006 in a 3" tumbler, you won't get a full melt pool on the first burn without using a wick that is way too large.  I see a lot of people that are looking for that large melt pool and they keep using bigger and bigger wicks, which then causes tunneling, and then they think they need a larger wick and just keep going up and up.  It's a vicious cycle.  

This was really helpful information, thank you. I am going to be testing an eco 8 to the bottom and see how that does. I have heard that you may not get a full melt pool the first burn and that's okay. I guess my thought of needing a full melt pool within 4 hours is incorrect thinking. This will definitely be changing my wick testing. I personally have thought that the eco wicks were not the best choice but I haven't had anything else to compare it to. I'm hoping I get better results with the zinc wicks. 

[Marisa11]

2 minutes ago, Cosmic candle creations said:

Thank you for all of that useful information. It seems I will be going the route of no mica on my embeds when placed on a candle, and only using mica on my wax melts and tarts 😕

Not a problem. Glad it helped. I would like to see any tarts you end up making with those coffee bean embeds!

[Cosmic candle creations]

5 minutes ago, Marisa11 said:

Not a problem. Glad it helped. I would like to see any tarts you end up making with those coffee bean embeds!

Wish me luck on my eco 8 wick test with no mica 👍

[Marisa11]

28 minutes ago, Cosmic candle creations said:

Wish me luck on my eco 8 wick test with no mica 👍

Wow! That was fast. The scent?

[bfroberts]

35 minutes ago, Cosmic candle creations said:

This was really helpful information, thank you. I am going to be testing an eco 8 to the bottom and see how that does. I have heard that you may not get a full melt pool the first burn and that's okay. I guess my thought of needing a full melt pool within 4 hours is incorrect thinking. This will definitely be changing my wick testing. I personally have thought that the eco wicks were not the best choice but I haven't had anything else to compare it to. I'm hoping I get better results with the zinc wicks. 

I used to use a lot of zincs in 6006, but a couple of years ago I started having problems with batches of 6006 being softer and more gooey and it didn't burn as well.  I retested for months and determined that Eco wicks were the best of the lot, hands down.  The only real problem w/Eco's is that being just one size off can be ugly and make a person think ALL Eco's suck.  In truth, the right one is golden.  But definitely try zincs.  You may love them. Good luck!