No hot throw at all :(

[blacktoast94]

Hi guys! I'm a newbie at candle making. 

 

So far, I've been making candles with smooth tops and good cold throw, but hot throw is non-existent. 

 

My steps to make my candle is as follows:-

 

1. Use a a 4oz tin container with 6.2cm diameter

2. Put the cotton wick (supplier doesn't state what diameter the wick is for - not much wick choices in my country.. but i did see 1 supplier selling HTP and CDN online .. any advice which kind of wick i can get?)

3. melt a mix of C3 soy wax 90% (74g) + coconut wax 10% (9g) till 75C / 167F (I have tried using 100% soy wax also) 

4. Cool till 65C / 149F, then add 7.5ml (0.25oz) fragrance oil (I've tried 2 suppliers of fragrance oil so far, they seem to be good quality ones)

5. Mix for 2 minutes

6. Cool till 55C / 131F, then pour into the container

7. Cure for 1 week.

 

Results I got:-

 

1. Smooth candle top and good cold throw

2. Not hot throw

3. Candle doesn't burn all the way to the side (the picture attached is after 1h 40 min of burning).

 

The above figures were based on some article I found online. Can't figure out what i did wrong as there is simply too much information online and i'm not sure what is correct

 

Any help will be greatly appreciated Thanks all ~

 

 

Edited January 1, 2021 by blacktoast94
add info

[blacktoast94]

Update:

 

After 3.5 hours of burning, the wax melted all the way to the sides

I suppose the problem is not the wick then.. 

 

Also, if i put my nose directly above the candle, i get a very faint smell of the fragrance. However when i move away just slightly, the scent is gone.

 

[TallTayl]

Hello and welcome!

 

your process does not seem bad.  I would heat the C3 to 185, and add FO right away, then stir until temp drops to 105 or so.  I poured at a cloudy to slushy stage for best overall performance.  C3 can form cavities which make even the prettiest tops useless in a candle.

 

c3 also needs a fairly long cure period to reach its potential. 2 weeks is not uncommon. Your wick choice does not look bad.  Do not wick any candle for fast full melt pool.  A tiny tin will look underwicked to th untrained eye, but in the next blink will be totally melted and super hot. 

 

you’ve hit a set of variables that is very challenging. To get decent HT you need to balance the wick with the wax, fo and container. 
 

first-wax: C3, even with coconut oil added, takes some heat to throw. Soy itself is quite heavy and needs the energy of a strong burn to launch it with scent into the air. Without knowing your exact FO I can’t comment if it is an easy thrower or not. Some just do not work well with soy waxes. 
 

Second obstacle-container: tins are very difficult to wick for hot throw because they are quite short compared to the height. Most great HT is achieved once an air current is started in the container.  If you look at most retail containers, there’s quite a lot of head space and often a “neck” or curve at the top to get the air rolling quickly.  Plus, the metal conducts heat differently than glass or ceramic, and requires a different wicking strategy. Glass holds heat and will help a smaller wick along once the glass warms. Tins release heat fairly quickly, which means most people over wick for the top of the burn, ending up far too hot by the bottom. 
 

third obstacle: small candles are the absolute hardest to wick for HT while maintaining a safe burn. 
 

I would think of small candles more like votives. Use a lighter wax, like a coconut wax, palm or paraffin blend  for best shot at Ht.  If is not impossible with C3 it will just be more difficult unless working with larger, taller containers. The sweet spot seems to be a 3” wide x 3-4” tall glass jar. 
 

coconut oil is not the magic bullet for HT that people claim.  It by itself does not throw well at all.  If you fill a candle jar with coconut oil, scent it and stick  a wick into it you will be quite surprised at how lousy the burn will be. Coconut WAX made for stand alone candles contains additives to improve the burn, and perform like a decent candle wax with potentially good HT. 

[blacktoast94]

On 1/1/2021 at 10:57 PM, TallTayl said:

Hello and welcome!

 

your process does not seem bad.  I would heat the C3 to 185, and add FO right away, then stir until temp drops to 105 or so.  I poured at a cloudy to slushy stage for best overall performance.  C3 can form cavities which make even the prettiest tops useless in a candle.

 

c3 also needs a fairly long cure period to reach its potential. 2 weeks is not uncommon. Your wick choice does not look bad.  Do not wick any candle for fast full melt pool.  A tiny tin will look underwicked to th untrained eye, but in the next blink will be totally melted and super hot. 

 

you’ve hit a set of variables that is very challenging. To get decent HT you need to balance the wick with the wax, fo and container. 
 

first-wax: C3, even with coconut oil added, takes some heat to throw. Soy itself is quite heavy and needs the energy of a strong burn to launch it with scent into the air. Without knowing your exact FO I can’t comment if it is an easy thrower or not. Some just do not work well with soy waxes. 
 

Second obstacle-container: tins are very difficult to wick for hot throw because they are quite short compared to the height. Most great HT is achieved once an air current is started in the container.  If you look at most retail containers, there’s quite a lot of head space and often a “neck” or curve at the top to get the air rolling quickly.  Plus, the metal conducts heat differently than glass or ceramic, and requires a different wicking strategy. Glass holds heat and will help a smaller wick along once the glass warms. Tins release heat fairly quickly, which means most people over wick for the top of the burn, ending up far too hot by the bottom. 
 

third obstacle: small candles are the absolute hardest to wick for HT while maintaining a safe burn. 
 

I would think of small candles more like votives. Use a lighter wax, like a coconut wax, palm or paraffin blend  for best shot at Ht.  If is not impossible with C3 it will just be more difficult unless working with larger, taller containers. The sweet spot seems to be a 3” wide x 3-4” tall glass jar. 
 

coconut oil is not the magic bullet for HT that people claim.  It by itself does not throw well at all.  If you fill a candle jar with coconut oil, scent it and stick  a wick into it you will be quite surprised at how lousy the burn will be. Coconut WAX made for stand alone candles contains additives to improve the burn, and perform like a decent candle wax with potentially good HT. 

 

 

Hi there thank you so much for your detailed reply! It was very helpful  

 

I bought a new glass jar with a curve at the top as you mentioned and am excited to test again using your method once my new bag of wax and fragrance arrives.

 

I contacted the fragrance manufacturer of the fragrance I was using, they said their fragrances can be rather mild.. so i decided to change to another supplier. Will update on my results soon!

 

[TallTayl]

2 hours ago, blacktoast94 said:

 

 

Hi there thank you so much for your detailed reply! It was very helpful  

 

I bought a new glass jar with a curve at the top as you mentioned and am excited to test again using your method once my new bag of wax and fragrance arrives.

 

I contacted the fragrance manufacturer of the fragrance I was using, they said their fragrances can be rather mild.. so i decided to change to another supplier. Will update on my results soon!

 

Good luck! 
fragrance plays a HUGE part in candle systems.  FO by the same name and same supplier have evolved rapidly in just the last 5-7 years.  I have bottles from 10 years ago side by side with new and you would not know they are the same.  Quality, strength and performance all took a big hit.
 

the FO change seems to have gone hand in hand with how our wax blends have changed.  As people demanded more FO in wax the burn of wax itself has changed.  My C3 candle tin forumula used to use a CDN 10 in a 3” wide tin with 6% fo.  That tin would fill half of my house in no time. The same set up now won’t even burn, let alone throw. 
 

I won’t play ball with the 12% FO crowd. More FO just changes the overall balance of a candle system too much.