Trying to make a votive like Partylite votives

[jaybear]

A number of years ago I had the Partylite Iced trio frosted stem votive holders.  Recently I've become obsessed with trying to make votives similar to the PartyLite brand I'm finding it quite difficult.  The candles burn for about 10 hours and achieve a full melt pool filing the holder quickly,  The closest I have have come is by blending about 180 grams of C3 wax with 320 grams IGI 6028.  The wax blend has good mold release due to the 6028 shrinkage.  I'm also playing around with different proportions of this.  Over all the wax is softer than the PartyLite candles, but does achieve a full melt pool in about 90 minutes with an lx 12 wick and using a 40 gram candle,  I'm molding with a Wandic candle mold I found on Amazon (it has a nice belltop close to the PartyLite mold. But is a few millimeters wider.  I found if I drill the wick hole slightly I can fit a wick pin in it and it doesn't leak.  It ends up being a nearly perfect mold and looks similar to a PartyLite votive.

 

But I've still yet to nail the wax.  the blend I'm using is not a bad substitute, although it isn't as translucent as partylile and is a little softer.  It holds fragrance well, but want to see if someone nailed this type of wax or has some great suggestions.  My concerns is the wax takes a touch too long to form a full melt pool and burns a little quicker than I would like with the LX 12 wick

[TallTayl]

What a fun puzzle project! 
 

I’d start a Google search for any CAS documents for the candles and work backward from there. Some sources say they’re all paraffin.  Some say soy paraffin.  The CAS docs would show the wax types and range of proportions if you can find one. 
 

as you’ve probably discovered, “soy wax” varies so much from brand to brand, product to product that it will take ages to find the one closest to what they use.  Ditto for paraffin.  I have not burned one of those candles in decades, but remember somewhat how they burn. 
 

I would not worry too much about how fast it melts in the container.  Instead, I’d keep focus on a clean safe burn, with the hot throw I love.  Keep tabs on the temperature of the glass container to make sure it isn’t getting too hot through the long burn.  C3 can be rather hard to burn with all of its soy additive. Perhaps try a more basic soy, like Midwest Soy, GB 415 or similar.  Those two tend to be the most basic with fewest additives.

[Lizzy]

Try 4794. It's a Votive wax. Makes excellent votives. You could add 10% soy if that is a must for you but 4794 on it's own is awesome. It does have shrinkage so you'd need a repour. 

[jaybear]

On 4/14/2023 at 3:25 AM, Lizzy said:

Try 4794. It's a Votive wax. Makes excellent votives. You could add 10% soy if that is a must for you but 4794 on it's own is awesome. It does have shrinkage so you'd need a repour. 

Thanks for the info,  I'll give that wax a try.  with so many different waxes out there, its great to hear from others!

[Lizzy]

22 hours ago, jaybear said:

Thanks for the info,  I'll give that wax a try.  with so many different waxes out there, its great to hear from others!

I have been using 4794 since 2006 so if you need any help, feel free to message me. I don't check this forum daily but will get back to you