gerrie Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 What is the correct way to double wick a jar? I was told that you don't take the jars diameter and divide it in 1/2 and center your wick in each half. I thought that's what you want to do, but I read I was wrong. I read that your wicks should only be 1" apart, so they would actually be closer in the middle and more room on the outside of each wick. Doesn't make sense to me....is that so it will keep the jar cool...cause I guess if the wick is to close to the jar it would get the jar pretty hot. Any one know? TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltbox Pantry Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 When I double wick my jars I find the middle point. I then take my measuring tape and measure 1/2 out to the left, anchor the wick, 1/2 inch to the right. This give you 1 inch spread between the wicks....and yes it is closer to the center of the jar. You definitely don't want the hot flame close to the glass.Oh yes I also drew a template by tracing the bottom of the glass on a piece of paper, folding it in half one way then the other so you get a +. Draw the lines and you have your center mark where both lines meet. ....1/2 " left 1/2" right.Hope this makes sense,Saltbox Pantry:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth-VT Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I don't think there's necessarily any right way to do it. 1" could very well be a good starting point, but the size of the jar (and the size of the wick) certainly should be more of a deciding factor. For instance.....if you're wicking a 4" container, your original method would have your wicks 2" apart/1" from the sides. Your melt pools might be a bit far apart to join well. The 1" method puts them 1" apart (of course) and 1-1/2" from the sides. You'd have more of an issue reaching the sides than the above method. You could also divide the diameter by 3, leaving 3 equal distances. I tend to space based more upon my known burn diameters of the wick I'm using....say, if each wick creates a 3" melt pool (radius of 1.5") then I would spaced them maybe 2" apart. That gives a pretty good overlap, but not so much as to take away too much from my overall melt pool diameter. In other words, larger containers will require larger wick spacing and/or larger wicks. You really have to test to decide which you prefer and what works better. You could quite possibly achieve equal burns with 2 smaller wicks spaced further apart, as you could with two slightly larger wicks placed closer together. Confused yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerrie Posted March 20, 2006 Author Share Posted March 20, 2006 Okay Beth, hang on while I try to stop my head from spinning off No, really, I do understand what you are saying. Cause if you had a 6 inch diameter container, there is no way you could put them 1" apart unless you enjoy 1/2" hang up all the way around. :undecided So I got what you mean, and I'll just test. Just don't want the flame to close to the sides like Saltbox said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltbox Pantry Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Oh yes, It would all depend on the size of your jar. The bigger the jar more of a space between wicks and the sides of the jar. I personally have more of a concern on jars being too hot. Saltbox Pantry:grin2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindym Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 For my 4 inch apothecary's I put the side by side in the middle of the jar, which makes the wicks about an inch apart in the wax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geekrunner Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I use an EZ-Wick Multi-setter. The closest setting is 3/4", the next size is 1 1/2". For 4" wide jars, I wick at 3/4" space, then use a wick holder that spaces them at 1" at the top, so they slightly angle outward. I also make the HTP wicks curl outward from the center to help spread a little more heat out but not too much to overheat the jar. On a 3" to 3 1/2" keepsake jar, I use 3/4" spacing and just us two wick bars to heep the wicks parallel to each other.You have to watch out sometimes, wicking can be challenging. Sometimes the wicking can be so close that the MP gets pretty deep even when the flames are pretty puny. Other times it works just fine!geek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerrie Posted March 20, 2006 Author Share Posted March 20, 2006 I use an EZ-Wick Multi-setter. The closest setting is 3/4", the next size is 1 1/2". For 4" wide jars, I wick at 3/4" space, then use a wick holder that spaces them at 1" at the top, so they slightly angle outward. I also make the HTP wicks curl outward from the center to help spread a little more heat out but not too much to overheat the jar. On a 3" to 3 1/2" keepsake jar, I use 3/4" spacing and just us two wick bars to heep the wicks parallel to each other.You have to watch out sometimes, wicking can be challenging. Sometimes the wicking can be so close that the MP gets pretty deep even when the flames are pretty puny. Other times it works just fine!geekOkay, let me see if I get this. When you say you use 3/4" spacing on a 3 - 3 1/2" jar, does that mean you are 3/4" from the center of the jar, which would mean the 2 wicks are 1 1/2" apart from each other? Sound good to me. I didn't want to double wick, but I have a jar that I think is going to need it so I'll be testing it with different spacing, but just needed a starting point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuskokaMom Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 My jars are 3.5 inches in diameter. I usually eyeball it so that the tabs are equal distances from each other and also equal from the outside of the jar. I would definitely say one inch apart is a good start. I may go just a touch more than that, but pretty close. I think that testing how each combination is with each wax and scent should be the way to go, but in general, for me they all pretty work at about the same placement. Did that make sense??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 How do you know if you need to double wick? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaybee23 Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 When I double wick my jars I find the middle point. I then take my measuring tape and measure 1/2 out to the left, anchor the wick, 1/2 inch to the right. This give you 1 inch spread between the wicks....and yes it is closer to the center of the jar. You definitely don't want the hot flame close to the glass.Oh yes I also drew a template by tracing the bottom of the glass on a piece of paper, folding it in half one way then the other so you get a +. Draw the lines and you have your center mark where both lines meet. ....1/2 " left 1/2" right.Hope this makes sense,Saltbox Pantry:)This is how I have been doing my 3 1/2 jars and it works well. But can see how you would have to make some adjustments with larger jars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltbox Pantry Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Hi Kerry,Yes you would have to adjust to the size of the jar. I only carry the one large jar and its 3 1/2 - 4" and that's big enough for me....LOL Saltbox Pantry:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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