Can’t find the right wick please help!

[Sophie]

I have been testing wicks on my XL jars that have a 89mm diameter. First I bought the recommended HTP XL100 wicks, but when I burned it, it mushroomed, had soot and made the jar black. Second wick I bought was the next size down, which resulted in tunnelling. Then I decided to double wick, and had mushrooming and tunnelling. For this size jar I’ve heard that one wick should be enough. But the original one I tried failed as mentioned. Nothing I have tried has worked! Please help 

[Karen Ov]

What type of wax are you using? 

[Sophie]

I’m using ecosoya cb advanced soy wax!

[Sophie]

42 minutes ago, Karen Ov said:

What type of wax are you using? 

I’m using ecosoya cb advanced soy wax

[bfroberts]

I have not used that particular wax, but that's a honker of a wick and may even be too large.  When you say "tunneling" do you mean an actual tunnel burning straight down the center or just a bit wax left on the sides of the jar after the first couple of burns?  How long are you curing before burning?
Take this with a grain of salt:  Based on other soy waxes I've used, I'd recommend possibly larger Eco wicks - maybe Eco 16 or possibly larger CD's - starting with CD 20 and then adjusting up or down from those sizes. Or CDN if those are more readily available to you.

[TallTayl]

Also, please share the dimensions of the container, wall thickness, shape (shoulders, neck, taper, etc) and the material it is made from. All of those variables change the way container candles burn and may require very different suggestions.

 

Too large of a wick will cause the issues you noted, along with the wax, fragrance load, type of fragrance, colorant, and cure time. 

 

3.5" inner diameter is on the cusp of needing multiple wicks.  Any wick more than one is a challenge since they need to be balanced between heat generated by the flames and rates of consumption. 

[Sophie]

[Sophie]

10 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Also, please share the dimensions of the container, wall thickness, shape (shoulders, neck, taper, etc) and the material it is made from. All of those variables change the way container candles burn and may require very different suggestions.

 

Too large of a wick will cause the issues you noted, along with the wax, fragrance load, type of fragrance, colorant, and cure time. 

 

3.5" inner diameter is on the cusp of needing multiple wicks.  Any wick more than one is a challenge since they need to be balanced between heat generated by the flames and rates of consumption. 

I’ve just uploaded a photo, it is made from moulded glass. The wax I use can take 12% fragrance load but I do 11%. It isn’t one specific fragrance I’ve been having this problem with, it’s all of them, which leads me to believe the wick is the problem. I use dye chips where needed, probably 2 for each candle. For the cure time, I’ve been doing test burns so I’ve only been curing them for a day or two. Hope this answers your questions  

[Sophie]

10 hours ago, bfroberts said:

I have not used that particular wax, but that's a honker of a wick and may even be too large.  When you say "tunneling" do you mean an actual tunnel burning straight down the center or just a bit wax left on the sides of the jar after the first couple of burns?  How long are you curing before burning?
Take this with a grain of salt:  Based on other soy waxes I've used, I'd recommend possibly larger Eco wicks - maybe Eco 16 or possibly larger CD's - starting with CD 20 and then adjusting up or down from those sizes. Or CDN if those are more readily available to you.

It is a big wick but when I looked at its burn diameter, it said about 80mm, and my candle jar diameter is 89mm. With the wick when I sized down one, it was tunneling straight down the center. With the double wicks, it had wax left on two sides, not around the whole jar. I’m curing for about a day or two as I wanted to test burn. I’ve also uploaded a picture of my jar diameter if that helps! Also I’ve just bought some cdn wicks in 2 sizes (thank you for the suggestion!) and I am doing a test burn with them on some candles I made a week or two ago. 

[bfroberts]

15 hours ago, Sophie said:

It is a big wick but when I looked at its burn diameter, it said about 80mm, and my candle jar diameter is 89mm. With the wick when I sized down one, it was tunneling straight down the center. With the double wicks, it had wax left on two sides, not around the whole jar. I’m curing for about a day or two as I wanted to test burn. I’ve also uploaded a picture of my jar diameter if that helps! Also I’ve just bought some cdn wicks in 2 sizes (thank you for the suggestion!) and I am doing a test burn with them on some candles I made a week or two ago. 

Soy continues to harden over time, so test burning after just a day or two can really skew your results.  That could definitely be a factor in your tunneling right there.  I would cure longer (I do 2 weeks) before making a determination.   I really do think the XL100 is way too big.