Melt Pool too Deep

[MariahWhite]

Hello Everyone! I am a hobbyist looking to make candles to give as gifts and I've been testing candles since May of this year. I use BW 908 Paraffin/Soy mix with a 12% fragrance load in a 3" diameter vessel. I get a great HT, but my melt pool can get as deep as 2 inches which isn't safe. I've tried every CD and ECO wick size and the end result is always a very deep melt pool. Someone mentioned to me to lower my FO % by half and that should resolve the melt pool issue. 

Can adding too much FO have a negative impact on how deep a candles melt pool is? I've tried other waxes with every size of CD and ECO wick and the end result is the same very deep melt pool. 

[TallTayl]

5 hours ago, MariahWhite said:

Hello Everyone! I am a hobbyist looking to make candles to give as gifts and I've been testing candles since May of this year. I use BW 908 Paraffin/Soy mix with a 12% fragrance load in a 3" diameter vessel. I get a great HT, but my melt pool can get as deep as 2 inches which isn't safe. I've tried every CD and ECO wick size and the end result is always a very deep melt pool. Someone mentioned to me to lower my FO % by half and that should resolve the melt pool issue. 

Can adding too much FO have a negative impact on how deep a candles melt pool is? I've tried other waxes with every size of CD and ECO wick and the end result is the same very deep melt pool. 

Hello and welcome!

Can adding too much FO have a negative impact on how deep a candles melt pool is? I've tried other waxes with every size of CD and ECO wick and the end result is the same very deep melt pool. 
Absolutely, yes. Everything you add to a base wax changes the wax properties.  Imagine adding 12% of mineral oil to your wax. It would change the melt point, melt properties, and likely the stability of the wax when unlit as well. 
 

I’m not familiar with your wax, but it reads from tech docs to be similar to IGI6006. Your gut thought about the deep melt pool is spot on. I would wick way down, and probably change wick series. ECO series wicks create a lot of heat during a burn without the fuel consumption balance needed for easier melting wax blends.  Sure you may get some early strong HT, but the expense is with later burns or unstable burn in the  latter part of the candle (the most critical for candle safety). 
 

 CD series can be ok, but it too can be relatively hot compared to the consumption.  Ideally you want to balance the rate of melting with the rate of consumption. Think of it like a car… too much fuel through the engine is dirty, expensive and wasteful. 
 

I would also back down on the FO% personally.  I don’t need that high of a FO% in wax melts, let alone candles. There’s this modern notion out there that more FO means better HT.  This is simply not the rule. The combo of excellent FO and a balanced burn is the key.  IME way too many waxes boast FO% capacity without regard to burn performance. I prefer more concentrated FO that I can use 6% or less so that my candle wax doesn’t need so many additives to hold together. All those additives just glue everything together creating more burn issues.  It has become a vicious cycle. 
 

You don’t note what wick sizes you have tested, but the post reads as if all were far too large for your candle. if you find the melt pool is still not “right” after  wicking down many sizes to balance,  I would try Premier 700 series wick or FilTec Rigid Curl in that wax. Both of those series have a cooler flame, but more even combustion. 

 

[MariahWhite]

Thank you so very much for your insight! I truly appreciate it more than you know. In regards to the wicks I've used evert Eco wick size from 1 - 16, and with CD from size 4 - 20. I started out with the larger sizes then wicked down from there and it was still way too large of a melt pool, you could swim in it 😀.

When I first started I was using 10% FO and although the HT was great I wanted it to be stronger so I went to a few Facebook groups (as you've probably guessed) and everyone told me to increase the FO % up to even 15%! I tried 12% since that was the general consensus and here I am today. After reading your response I made a few candles using 6%, will let them cure for 2 weeks, and retest them. 

Your analogies made so much sense! I didn't even think to look at it that way so thank you much! 

I looked at the BW website for more information on fragrance load amounts and sure enough 12% is way too much. Also looked at the IGI website for 6006 and 12% is too much as well. 

If the Eco's and CD's that I used this morning doesn't work out I will definitely try the Premier 700 wicks next.

I hope to report back with some promising results  

[TallTayl]

Best of luck to you! 
another question: how long after pouring to do wait to light for the first time? 

[MariahWhite]

I always wait 2 weeks before testing them. Is that long enough or should I let them cure for longer? 

[TallTayl]

that should be plenty. Was troubleshooting in my head and wondered if you lit within 24 hours for those tiny eco to pool that deeply. 

[MariahWhite]

Ah gotcha 👌 

Wick testing is so tough and I've thought about giving up & just buying the candles but I'm too invested now lol. It's a personal mission now to make these the correct & safe way.