came tumbling down

[blueskys]

mold was 1.75 x 3 x 9.5,wax 1343A,colors:smoke-sand-green wick size was 24 ply flt fo jasmine and the additived were 1/4 of vybar per color as well as 1 tTBS of staric per color(wax amount was 12 oz each.poured at 160 deg.came out great but at the test stage was the problem after 7 1/2 hours the wax began to tumble down.any ideas on how to fix?

[Rob in tx]

I am not familiar with this type of wax and additives, or the exact way you tested (7 hours straight?)

Did the candle have a shell? The wick sounds right for the diameter of the candle, but was it in the center all the way thru? Maybe it got a little close to one side?

We hug our pillars as they burn, but don't burn for more than 3-4 hours at a time. Don't know if this helps at all.....

Steph

[blueskys]

how do you asure the wick is centered throughout the candle?

[Garf]

how do you asure the wick is centered throughout the candle?

I pour mine with no wick. After they have cooled, I drill the candle for the wick. It is centered every time.

[Beth-VT]

how do you asure the wick is centered throughout the candle?

Wick Pins.

Even if you're not using pins, if your wick is secured at the top of your mold when you pour, it shouldn't be hard to keep it centered.

[blueskys]

lets say i use the wick pin when ready to pull out what a the next steps to reinsert a wick.never done before so i need instructions

[topofmurrayhill]

From the dimensions you describe, it sounds like you're using a tapered metal mold or something like that. Unfortunately, wick pins won't work with that. They are designed only for the seamless round aluminum molds. However, with some care you can still achieve a centered wick.

I'm not convinced that we entirely understand what happened with your candle. Did the melted wax tunnel through and pour out of the candle? Maybe you could post a pic.

Narrow candles are not necessarily dripless of you burn them for a long time.

[blueskys]

it is tapered and the pin can be inserted from the bottom.I just need the steps for after pulling the pin out.I am not familar with this step.any assistance with this step would be greatly appreciated

[topofmurrayhill]

I suppose it's not impossible to make it work -- i never thought about it -- but the pins weren't designed for that kind of mold.

After you remove the candle from the mold you insert a pre-made wick that has a metal tab at the bottom. Then you finish the bottom of the candle on a pan or other flat metal surface placed on top of a pot of simmering water. This flattens the candle base and embeds the metal tab into the wax.

Many suppliers including Peaks sell pre-tabbed wicks. I would recommend buying a sample pack or two so that you have some different wicks to try. LX wicks for instance are popular for pillar candles. Later you can buy larger quantities of the wicks you use most often.

Just be aware that the longest pre-tabbed wick available off-the-shelf seems to be 6 inches. At least one place will make them longer for you but you have to buy 500 at a time.

I wanted to answer your question about the wick pins but I honestly don't think that's the way for you to go with that kind of mold. There's no reason you can't do fine by simply wicking the mold conventionally with the appropriate size of flat braid wick.

[scrubzz]

Of course you can also tab them yourself in any length you want

[Trish]

Unfortunately, wick pins won't work with that. They are designed only for the seamless round aluminum molds.

This isn't true at all. Many of us use the wick pins on the OUTSIDE of the mold, so they work just fine. I've used wick pins in the oblique, pyramids, squares, etc.

When you have your pin in the mold, it's just a matter of eyeballing it to make sure it's centered in the mold before you pour. There have been times after I've poured that I needed to slightly adjust the pin so that it was centered.

Also, take a look at the pin. Sometimes the pin itself might be slightly crooked. So you'll need to straighten the pin out, lol!

[Trish]

lets say i use the wick pin when ready to pull out what a the next steps to reinsert a wick.never done before so i need instructions

After you remove the wick pin, you can use either a pretabbed wick, or prime your own. If you prime your own, once it's cool, just push the wick through the hole left by the wick pin. And waaa la!

[blueskys]

i read a while back that a heat gun is used to assist in the securing of the reinserted wick can anyone confirm this

[blueskys]

i thought that if your candles were drippless(no matter what type)that it was made correctly.I never want to give/sell a candle to someone that can possibly dripp over and messup the look of the candle.I want my candles to level down and never spill over can anyone tell me other wise(and break my heart)

[topofmurrayhill]

This isn't true at all. Many of us use the wick pins on the OUTSIDE of the mold, so they work just fine. I've used wick pins in the oblique, pyramids, squares, etc.

Sorry Trish, I stand corrected on that one.

I do suspect though that this thread has gone off on a bit of a tangent. Sounds like bluesky is only making a candle or two at a time, so I don't think changing the wicking technique is going to solve any problems. Nothing is straighter than a taut wick, and with a modicum of care it can be nice and centered.

What we know is that there seems to have been some kind of tunneling incident and the wax ran out, if I interpret the description correctly. Some adjustment to wax or wick could make the candle more resistant to doing that, but experimentation is called for.

Another thing we know is that the candle burned for something like 7 1/2 hours before this happened. Candles do tend to have recommended maximum burning times and that was a pretty long session.

Designing a candle that will burn down reasonably well all in one session strikes me as an interesting and educational exercise, but we would have to add about 1/2 lb of coffee beans to the formula because going to sleep with the candle still lit would be dangerous.

[topofmurrayhill]

i thought that if your candles were drippless(no matter what type)that it was made correctly.I never want to give/sell a candle to someone that can possibly dripp over and messup the look of the candle.I want my candles to level down and never spill over can anyone tell me other wise(and break my heart)

Well it's an interesting question. Candles come in so many size and shapes that there isn't an absolute answer. I would say that a 3-inch round pillar for instance should never drip if well designed. I haven't played much with 2-inch pillars but I'm not sure if that is always the design goal. I should probably do some more mucking around with that.

One thing to remember blueskys is that candles aren't totally "automatic" much as we would like them to be. We give people instructions for how to burn our candles. How long they should be burned, how long they should not be burned, trim the wick, hug the candle, whatever. The user's results will always vary depending on what they do.

The important thing is for YOU to develop your own philosophy about how your candles should perform. If the thought of one of your candles dripping breaks your heart, that's excellent. It means you tend to have high standards. People can give you tips but you are going to have to apply your principles and experiment until you are satisfied.

Maybe then you can share some of the things you learned with others.

[blueskys]

thats my goal and hopefully it will be acheived.so tell me exactly how long a day is a candle allowed to burn.i have burned a candle that i made for 54 hours throughtout a course of three weeks for 8 hours a day but didn't know that burning your candle wasn't on the person but yet your saying that the candle decides(bummer)well we'll see how the next candle i make survives my burning.I dont think the candle would mine since i am enjoying the look and smell

[Alohagirl]

Most professional 3" pillars will have a sticker on the bottom with burning instructions. They usually say to burn for 3 to 4 hours at a time, trim the wick to 1/4" before EACH burn, and keep away from drafts. If you follow these instructions, and the candle was not made with an overly large wick, you should have no problems.

Be aware, though, that if your wick is slightly off center, the candle will burn more on one side and the wax could spill over. This can happen with wicks that curl into a "C" shape, and it can also happen when the wick drifts a little to one side of the melt pool. If you keep an eye on the burning candles and nudge the wick back to the center, you will prevent a sidewall blowout. (This is commonly referred to as "babysitting the wick.")

If you really want to prevent drips, keep your fragrance oil to 1/2 ounce or less per pound of wax. Those of us who don't use a lot of FO don't have many problems with wicking or blowouts.

[SatinDucky]

Don't burn for 7 1/2 hrs? I have run across very few candles that will burn that long without some assistance. Like blowing it out to trim the wick, if it's not self trimming. Or letting it cool and hugging it.

As for wicking after using wick pins, it's not hard. The wick should be primed (caoted with wax) and stiff. Measure the length you need, clamp a tab on one end and poke it through the bottom. The tab neck should hold it in place fine. Trim the excess wick, if any, from the top.