Cold

[Back]

Hi All

 

How cold is to cold to make candles ? My old shop heater died and it will take another week or 2 to get a new burn pan made. I can only get my shop up to about 40 degrees. Is that warm enough or do i need to wait for my shop heater to be fixed ?

 

I have new oil,wax and wicks and ready to start testing and dont want to have any problems because of the cold.

 

Thanks

Shawn

 

[Forrest]

I see three potential problems. The first is cold FO will drop your wax temp to below 180. The second is that your wax will cool too quickly once the heat source is removed. The last one is pouring into a cold container might be an issue. So it all depends on your equipment.

[TallTayl]

On 2/14/2022 at 10:25 AM, Back said:

Hi All

 

How cold is to cold to make candles ? My old shop heater died and it will take another week or 2 to get a new burn pan made. I can only get my shop up to about 40 degrees. Is that warm enough or do i need to wait for my shop heater to be fixed ?

 

I have new oil,wax and wicks and ready to start testing and dont want to have any problems because of the cold.

 

Thanks

Shawn

 

My shop gets cold, but not THAT cold.  The biggest problem is the super fast, and excessive shrinking of waxes. Normally a container wax will shrink somewhat.  Excessive cold makes my container waxes shrink to the point of rattling if I’m not careful. Excessive shrink can possibly squeeze some FO out of suspension on some waxes.

 

another problem I encounter if too cold is cracking.  Some waxes don’t love to be chilled or rapid cooled.

 

surface imperfections when heat gunned cause surface cracks due to the wide difference in temps between the surface and inside the candles.

 

finally, cavities. big fat cavities that need to be thoroughly opened and filled. I sometimes if too cold multiple fills are needed.

 

a solution is to create a micro climate. A ceramic or stone floor tile soaked in hot water will retain a decent amount of heat. Setting the candle containers on the warm stone to pour and slow cool helps the candle set up more slowly.
 

Tip a box over the cooling candle and drafts will be minimized. drafts can cause the top of the candle to seal over before the inside sets.  That is the number 1 cause of cavities and cracking.

 

for larger production, some safe Christmas string lights under a sheet of plywood helps. Or a hearty for starting seeds. Anything to create a warm zone without needing to heat an entire will work better than crash cooling.