Wicking a 4" Pillar

[grandmaskitchen]

Hi! I have made a 4" x 4.5" pillar candle using KY 143 pillar blend, 1 oz. FO per pound of wax, and using pillar wick pins.

The question is: What size wick would you recommend using for this size candle? I like using the pretabbed wicks because they are easier to insert but not quite sure which size or kind would work best for it.

If anyone has any suggestions, your help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks a bunch!

P.S. This is my very first pillar candle and it looks great!

[Molly]

I only use square braid cotton for pillars, but I can tell you right off, with it being 4" diameter it's going to need a largish wick. Um, if I were going to guess what tabbed wick I use to try I'd probably first try my 44-36-18 and if that didn't work, go up to a 60-44-18. But I use paper core tabbed wick for containers and I honestly don't know how these compare to a zinc or cotton core wick which I believe are both more commonly used than paper core.

[Fern]

How many wick pins are you using and what kind of wicks do you have now?

[grandmaskitchen]

The molds I am using are aluminum, concave top, and a single wick hole. I purchased these about a year ago and just decided to give it a try to see if I could come up with a decent looking pillar. The pillar looks great, but now I need to find a single wick that will do the job. Someone suggested cotton core, 45 ply braided for this size.

The only kind of wicks I have at the moment are the ones I use in containers; zinc, LX, ECO, and CD. I have tried an LX 30, but it doesn't quite reach the sides when it melts. I think I have read in another post, you should have about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch left at the sides to be able to hug them. Mine melted out to within an inch of the sides.

I'll keep testing other kinds of wicks to see if I can come up with something. Maybe trying to burn a single wicked 4 inch pillar is going to be more than I what I want to try. I may just stick with smaller pillars until I get more experienced with this.

Thank you for your input. Your help is greatly appreciated!

[Fern]

Yeah, it's going to be hard to single wick a 4" pillar, unless you don't mind having a large shell. I can tell you one thing, the LX series will not cut it. Although the LX wicks are great and I use them almost exclusively, the largest they go up to is an LX-30. You need to use an LX-28 or 30 in the 3" pillars so there is no way it's going to work in a 4". I'd suggest trying a CD-20 or 22, if you can find them. I checked the Candlewic website and it seems as though they dropped some of the larger CD wicks they used to carry. I'm pretty sure I've got some raw spools of CD-20 and 22 down in my basement but I didn't see the 22's on their website. If I recall correctly, these larger wicks tended to burn like torches and smoked quite a bit, I think that's why I stopped using them and resorted to double wicking ones that required a larger wick...in containers that is. I haven't tried double or triple wicking pillars as of yet. Maybe someone on the board has successfully wicked a 4" without having to settle for a thick shell. If they have, I'm sure they'll post their info for you. Good luck!

[Trish]

I use a different pillar wax and FB wicks, but I'm having extremely good luck with the 36ply. You can buy a small sample of it through Peaks.

[topofmurrayhill]

Yeah, it's going to be hard to single wick a 4" pillar, unless you don't mind having a large shell. I can tell you one thing, the LX series will not cut it. Although the LX wicks are great and I use them almost exclusively, the largest they go up to is an LX-30. You need to use an LX-28 or 30 in the 3" pillars so there is no way it's going to work in a 4".

I'm a little puzzled every time you post this. Why do you need such a gigantic wick for a 3 inch pillar. I have used the LX series in soy and always thought of LX-30 as the "big guns". What I use for 3 inch pillars is the rough equivalent of LX-22. Hopefully you aren't loading up the wax with Vybar 343.

[Pam W]

I have used LX 30 in my 3" and they barely do the job -- have one sitting on my desk as I type and it has a the wall is almost 1/2" so it isn't too big...so have to agree with Fern.

I've been trying to wick a 4" also and not having much luck with a single wick. 36 ply didn't cut it - left 1/2" wall. Tried all the Zs up to 62-52 and none worked. Haven't tried the 45 or 60 ply yet but I may just give up and double wick that puppy. Besides 2 wicks give more glow;)

(1343 w/stearic)

[Fern]

Top: The reason I always post this about the LX wicks is because in "paraffin" waxes such as 1343 (I don't use this wax any more) and 4045 (this is what I use now) this is how they performed...and believe it or not, sometimes a 30 just barely makes it in a 3". I like the shell of my candles to be about an 1/8" thick or a tad thicker so that when I hug it the first time, it continues to self-consume without a whole lot of additional hugging...sometimes one or two hugs will be all that it takes. I think that you may find quite a few others that will agree with me on having to use the larger wicks. I've wasted a lot of money going by the suggested sizes given by the suppliers and I hate to see people waste their money as well, as so many of these have been so off the mark. I'm not trying to be "right" here, it's just what I have discovered through long term use of these wicks, along with the types of waxes I've used them with. I haven't been over doing the Vybar 343 as I only use it when I'm doing mottles, so using this additive isn't a standard practice with me... most times I just add stearic. I've also found that when I'm making containers with Joy Wax and J223 that I always have to wick way up as well, otherwise I get low-moderate scent throw because the smaller wicks take so incredibly long to reach a full melt pool and just don't burn hot enough to really throw the scent. And in case you might be wondering, the temperature of the jars do not get so hot that I can't touch them. So just as you are puzzled by me saying what I did, I'm puzzled that you can wick a 3" soy candle with a 22 since soy wax usually requires a larger wick than paraffin. I hope that the tone of this response does not seem as though I am being overly defensive here, or that I'm a Ms. Know It All regarding this, because I'm really not feeling that way. I'm just trying to explain why I said what I said. If those 22's are workin' for ya brotha...than more power to ya...they just don't work in my waxes.

[Fern]

What I use for 3 inch pillars is the rough equivalent of LX-22.

Just re-read your post. I need to pay closer attention to what people write sometimes. I'm gathering you haven't used the LX wicks as of yet. In that case, what I said in my previous post still applies in case you were considering using them. I'm just trying to give people a heads up so that don't go throwing their hard earned money down the drain. And I guess this will be the last time I talk about LX wicks, unless I'm asked. Since you noticed that I've mentioned it quite a few times...I guess I've mentioned it too much! LOL

[topofmurrayhill]

I don't doubt you're getting the results you're getting. I was just surprised a 3 inch pillar would max out LX so I was asking. The 30 is fairly fat and since they burned pretty hot for me in soy containers I figured they would be even more so in paraffin. But I just yanked the wick out of a 3 inch that's been lying around a while and stuck an LX-30 in there. Looks reasonable so far.

[Guest ShellyRobyn]

I haven't had any luck wicking a 4" pillar. My latest attempt was 36 flat braid (mot38). It was great other than a roaring, smoking flame that was reaching for the ceiling but then calmed down after about 15 minutes.

[Fern]

Top: I've never used an LX-30 in a 3" container before...I've used that in a 3" pillar. I think the largest I went up in 3" containers was an LX-28...but it could work in soy since you have to wick up with that wax anyway. I'd be interested to know how you made out with that.

[topofmurrayhill]

Top: I've never used an LX-30 in a 3" container before...I've used that in a 3" pillar. I think the largest I went up in 3" containers was an LX-28...but it could work in soy since you have to wick up with that wax anyway. I'd be interested to know how you made out with that.

It was a 3 inch pillar I just put it into and it burned well. Similar to the firepower of the wick I most often use, or maybe just a little more.

[Fern]

Great! So did you like that particular wick? I found that it burned much more evenly than say an HTP/CD or RRD...less curling of the wick. Did you find that to be true in your candle?

[Sherie]

I use a different pillar wax and FB wicks, but I'm having extremely good luck with the 36ply. You can buy a small sample of it through Peaks.

Ditto Trish on this one! But, it's not soy.

[SheilaW]

Just re-read your post. I need to pay closer attention to what people write sometimes. I'm gathering you haven't used the LX wicks as of yet. In that case, what I said in my previous post still applies in case you were considering using them. I'm just trying to give people a heads up so that don't go throwing their hard earned money down the drain. And I guess this will be the last time I talk about LX wicks, unless I'm asked. Since you noticed that I've mentioned it quite a few times...I guess I've mentioned it too much! LOL

Nah, you haven't mentioned them too much. I love LX wicks. I think I have tried almost every wick out there ( without too much exaggeration) and I keep coming back to the LX. I normally use 27 or 30 flat ply in my 3" palm pillars but have played with the LX in them a bit. I put an LX-28 in a patchouli and it left at least a 1/2" shell. Don't think the 30 would cut it.

I use LX in votives and any paraffin containers. So far I haven't found a wick I like in the 4" palm pillars. Either too big of a shell or too much smoke. I haven't tried wicking a 4' paraffin pillar yet but I imagine it will also be a major PITA. So no help from this corner.

[topofmurrayhill]

Great! So did you like that particular wick? I found that it burned much more evenly than say an HTP/CD or RRD...less curling of the wick. Did you find that to be true in your candle?

The wicks I use burn great and the LX-30 worked at least as well.

I second Sheila's comment. You haven't mentioned them too much, but it just stuck in my mind the few times you did because I was surprised. When I tried this wick in a soy container it seemed to be a bigger gun than ECO 14, just like the test specs suggested it should be. Maybe I was hallucinating about that, because in my 3 inch mottle it was roughly equivalent to an ECO 10.

[topofmurrayhill]

Top: I've never used an LX-30 in a 3" container before...I've used that in a 3" pillar. I think the largest I went up in 3" containers was an LX-28...but it could work in soy since you have to wick up with that wax anyway. I'd be interested to know how you made out with that.

I have an update on this. I guess the initial results were misleading because the top was still concave from the mold. The first burn went OK, but on each subsequent burn the LX-30 proved to be a torch. Once it sent up a column of soot after burning for only 20 minutes.

At least with the mottles, I think we may be getting different results because of the Vybar 343. That goop can easily slow down the burn to the tune of one or two wick sizes. If you don't want to have to use your largest wick in mottles, you could just eliminate it. It doesn't do anything useful anyway.