Digiboil for Candle Wax

[Nour]

Hey guys,

Just got my Digiboil in! For those of you that have one, I have a few questions, sorry if it's a lot but better safe than sorry! ...

 

1. Do you keep the lid on or off while the wax is melting? I read somewhere, that doing so will create condensation and you end up with water in your wax so you should always keep lid OFF. However with me previous presto pot melter, Keeping the lid off drew in a lot of dust/particles into the wax.
2. Does the seal/rubber go inside or outside? I've heard of some leakage stories.
3. What is the least amount of wax I can put in it?
4. Do you set to 500W or 1000W. I heard a lot about not using both at the same time!

[TallTayl]

I love mine, and use it 24/7 for months on end for dipping beeswax and bayberry wax tapers. My wax is different from yours, so take this with a grain of salt.

 

my wax needs to stay about 145-150*F. the internal thermometer is VERY inaccurate with wax.  I set at 129 to keep  at a consistent 146*F. I raise the temp on the digital pad to 135 to melt the wax off the dippers and when I add new wax.  I keep it at least half full to full all the time during dipping months.
 

 I leave both heaters on otherwise the bottom congeals.  Last year I kept one or the other one on to see if there was a difference.  It seemed to cycle on and off much more than when both are on and the tank insulated. If people are having issues with both being on, perhaps their home wiring isn’t sufficient. And as noted above, the thermostat is WAY off for anything not water. 
 

when starting it from cold a few months ago it sizzled and burned the first layer of wax, but it was all good in the end. I turned it to the absolute lowest setting to start it off and it settled down. My wax takes 12-ish hours to melt. Soy and coconut should be a breeze by comparison. 

 

I keep the cover on or the top layer of wax congeals. When not being used to actively dip I throw blankets over the lid to contain the heat. I take care to NEVER cover the little vented area of the bottom portion to prevent overheating.  
 

am considering an insulated jacket for it. Quite a bit of heat escapes through the walls.
 

Condensation sounds like wet wax to me. That has been an issue with many retail soy and coconut (and some paraffin blends) for a while, not a problem with the melter. One manufacturer in Central America was accidentally injecting water during soy oil hydrogenation. The climate would lend itself to excess moisture regardless to machine problems. I received several wet cases of wax before I just refused to work with those waxes again. To capture the moisture I would use a towel under the lid to catch and wick away. Damp wax sure does explain all the burn issues, doesn’t it?
 

I bought additional rubber gaskets and use one inside and one outside. No leaks yet.  I pipe threaded with Teflon tape too. Wax is to $$$ to risk. If only using one, I always seal the inside. 

[dlourence]

@talltayl

 I use the Ditgiboil also and I was wondering about scorching the wax. can that happen? I use coconut 83 and from what I've learned they recommend 215-225 temp. I feel like the wax on the bottom is hotter so I sometimes give a stir. Do you think its ok to keep it at that high of a temp most of the day. 

 

[TallTayl]

The only waxes I leave on are beeswax and bayberry.

 

I find other waxes break down if left on too long and develop an off odor. the good news is coconut waxes melt really fast. My bee and bayberry take most of the day to fully melt if starting from scratch. 

 

I also have a water jacket melter. I left soy wax on over night to melt so I could make candles in the morning and it was a smelly mess. 

[TallPineCandles]

Hello Everyone!! I bought a couple of the 35L/9 gallon Wax Melter DigiBoil Retrofitted for candle wax (110v). So far I love them. Bought 2 because I use one for just my candle blend and the other for my wax melt and sample blends. Took about 4 hours to melt down 45lbs to start with. Have shut it down each night for the last couple of days and flipped it back on of a morning. Takes about the same amount of time to re-heat of a morning.

 

I find that the temp that reads on the DigiBoil is higher that what the wax really is. I have the dial set at 195 and the wax runs about 187 or so once its poured. I use a soy wax personal blend of C-3 and 464. Currently, now that it is more difficult to blend the waxes, I heat the C-3 and 464 separately and blend them when I need to pour. I use a much smaller melter for the 464.

 

Now, with all that being said, I seem to have developed an issue. I suddenly started getting very bad adhesion and lots and lots of air bubbles. The tops are sinking and cracking beyond explanation. This never happened when I used my Fry Daddy conversation melter. I still do everything the same just now I am using the DigiBoil. Where is all this air coming from? There is a lot of air!! Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas as to what's going on? I am at a loss.

 

Thanks in advance....Bob

[TallPineCandles]

Sorry, here are some photos....

[TallTayl]

Looks like the wax is breaking down. Or a blending/cooling issue. Or it could be a dodgy lot of wax. Or a fragrance oil specific problem. 

 

an easy test, take some fresh wax from the cases and melt in a smaller batch, then pour one baseline wax container, and one with your FO like usual. If it does the same unscented, then we can isolate the problem to be the wax lot(s). If the problem happens with the FO, then test a different FO to isolate the variable.

 

I have experienced weird issues when I heated soy wax for too long in a big melter. it’s a big reason why I usually don’t leave excess soy in a melter beyond the immediate batch. I keep the wax melted in the hot melter for as short a time as humanly possible.
 

If any wax is leftover I rapid cool in a different container. When time for the next production run, it is blended with loads more “fresh” wax in later batches. 
 

Have also had weird textures when I  poured too hot. Large grains formed as the wax cooled unevenly and  too slowly in the final container. 

[NightLight]

All I know I have fairly new batches of 464 and c3 and both problems, cracking and splitting with each, doesn’t matter what I pour at. Bad wax, me thinks. TT gave good advice you have to troubleshoot by making one from smaller melter, larger melter, plain and with fragrance. Could be ambient temp too, depending on where you live.

Is it cold where you pour? Maybe you have to raise pour temp.