Cotton Core wick?

[NicoleLM]

Hi all, I’m new here and have been doing a lot of testing on wicks for my C3 wax. Surprisingly the cc wick I tested gave me a nice HT. But the carbon balls it made, as well as the deep melt pool told me it was too large. I sized down 2 sizes, and I’m still concerned about these carbon balls. Is this just a normal thing? The first picture is 2 hours in, and second and third picture are 4 hours in. This is 8% FO, cured 2 weeks. 

[TallTayl]

I learned during my extensive experiments that all cored wicks create carbon balls. We trade an off center melt pool of non-cored wicks for carbon balls when choosing cored wicks. 
 

some people are turning to ultra core from filtec. Again, the core makes the carbon balls form and increases soot potential even though the wick material is knit versus braided like other wick series. The salespeople I spoke with at filtec over the last couple of years confirmed that carbon build up will nearly always happen with UC (cored) wicks.

 

Popular soy on the market tends to create the least amount of carbon with coreless such as CD, CDN, etc. the curl on the wick allows more complete combustion of the wax/fo fuel drawn into it. Twisting the wick along the length to rotate the flame throughout the burn sometimes solves that off center issue. Offsetting the wick at the top about 1/4” to account for the curl works too. If double wicking, pointing the curl in opposite directions makes the melt pool perfectly centered. 

 

Though that curled wick combustion rule of thumb changes with “improved” soy waxes as manufacturers tweak to meet customer expectations for FO load. Makes the waxes harder and harder to get a decent burn. When I started with C3 all I needed was a cdn 10 and 6% FO in a 3” wide (8oz) tin to completely scent large rooms. That configuration has changed many times since I started, and will not work now. I miss the old “point and shoot” waxes. 

 

if the candle burns safely and clean enough otherwise, I don’t consider a small carbon ball to be the worst thing in the world. If the carbon balls get too big where they glow and smoke heavily after extinguishing, then it’s probably a good time to find another wick type. Some carbon balls pop and shoot black bits when first lit and while burning. That would be a deal breaker for me. 

[NicoleLM]

5 hours ago, TallTayl said:

I learned during my extensive experiments that all cored wicks create carbon balls. We trade an off center melt pool of non-cored wicks for carbon balls when choosing cored wicks. 
 

some people are turning to ultra core from filtec. Again, the core makes the carbon balls form and increases soot potential even though the wick material is knit versus braided like other wick series. The salespeople I spoke with at filtec over the last couple of years confirmed that carbon build up will nearly always happen with UC (cored) wicks.

 

Popular soy on the market tends to create the least amount of carbon with coreless such as CD, CDN, etc. the curl on the wick allows more complete combustion of the wax/fo fuel drawn into it. Twisting the wick along the length to rotate the flame throughout the burn sometimes solves that off center issue. Offsetting the wick at the top about 1/4” to account for the curl works too. If double wicking, pointing the curl in opposite directions makes the melt pool perfectly centered. 

 

Though that curled wick combustion rule of thumb changes with “improved” soy waxes as manufacturers tweak to meet customer expectations for FO load. Makes the waxes harder and harder to get a decent burn. When I started with C3 all I needed was a cdn 10 and 6% FO in a 3” wide (8oz) tin to completely scent large rooms. That configuration has changed many times since I started, and will not work now. I miss the old “point and shoot” waxes. 

 

if the candle burns safely and clean enough otherwise, I don’t consider a small carbon ball to be the worst thing in the world. If the carbon balls get too big where they glow and smoke heavily after extinguishing, then it’s probably a good time to find another wick type. Some carbon balls pop and shoot black bits when first lit and while burning. That would be a deal breaker for me. 

Thank you so much, I really needed to hear this. I thought I was doing something wrong. I didn’t realize this about these wick types, thank you for educating me, I really do appreciate it. I have tested HTP wicks and I love the way they burn, but I’m just not getting a decent hot throw.  
 

In your opinion, would you recommend CD wicks if I wanted to change from the cotton core?  Also, do you think it’s ok I got a full melt pool on my first burn with my cc wicks, as pictured?  I initially tried this with 44-28-18, but I thought it was just too large as the melt pool became deep very early on, although the HT was great. So I wanted to test smaller sizes, and 44-24-18 was out of stock with my supplier, so I tried the second size down and what you see pictured in my first post is 44-20-18. I will say, the HT is not as amazing as it was when I used the larger size 44-28-18, but halfway thru the jar the  fragrance did peter out and smelled like wax, so I assume that is from the wick being too large at that time.  The smaller size 44-20-18 is giving a nice HT though, just not as amazing as the larger one. 
 

thank you so much for you help and time, I’ve been doing research and experimenting all on my own for a bit, and thought it was finally time to give in and ask for help 😂 

[TallTayl]

I default to cd for most soy wax combos. 

one thing I disliked about the cored wicks was lack of sizes. A size jump is usually significant. 
 

full Melt pool on the first burn with single wicks is a red flag to me. You need to keep measuring glass temp to ensure it’s not going to be a dangerous candle during the burn. If it exceeds 175*F at any time during the burn it is a fail to me. Power burn, don’t trim wicks, etc. and if it stays within the ASTM guideline of 175*F you’re good.  What good is excellent early throw if it catches fire further down, or cracks the jar? 
 

that said, how long did you cure before burning? C3 hardens A LOT over time.  It may require an entirely different wick after a month on the shelf.

[NicoleLM]

Exactly, I’m trying to do it right to make sure it’s a quality candle with decent throw all the way thru. The vessel did not get too hot, but I just ordered a few different sizes of CD wicks to try. Hopefully this will be a good fit that I’ll be more comfortable with; thank you for your advice.

 

I have been curing for 2 weeks before I do any tests.

[birdcharm]

On 9/9/2021 at 11:02 PM, NicoleLM said:

Exactly, I’m trying to do it right to make sure it’s a quality candle with decent throw all the way thru. The vessel did not get too hot, but I just ordered a few different sizes of CD wicks to try. Hopefully this will be a good fit that I’ll be more comfortable with; thank you for your advice.

 

I have been curing for 2 weeks before I do any tests.

 

 

Are you using any type of additive at 8%?  I'm under the impression that 6% is the maximum, but 8% is okay along with some sort of additives.