Is there a way...

[pixie*dust]

to have some mods limit my candle gallery viewing!

Looking all the different types of candles there are to make.. I assure you I want to try every single one of them...

But my real question is .. how should a pillar burn, should it burn down the center and have a rather thick shell on the outside? I havent seen this question yet on a search, so forgive me if someone has already asked it. So how big of a outer shell is supposed to be on the outside?

I admit, that I attempted a pillar.. yesterday. I didnt have the 'right' wick.. and am burning 1 with a c65 and one with a htp93. (cant find my assorted bag of random wicks atm).. have read over the various posts of huggin the candle, but not really understanding it, as of yet.. you hug it so it burns more of the side, so it doesnt have the hole in the center.. meaning a bunch of wasted wax, correct?

I went to target and got a pillar.. to burn for comparison.. there's burns right down the center too.. and I thought my flame was a tad high with the c65, but this target one has a even higher flame.. now the htp93 has a small flame.. I know I'll need to do more research on the wick sizing. But so far, I think I'am happy with the c65, between the 2 I've used.

Sorry this is soo long, but it's all the candle gallerys fault! :tiptoe:

pix

[BrySC]

I'm curious to see the experienced candle makers answer to this one also. I'm fairly new to candle making, and the pillars I've made burn right down the middle. I THINK that's called tunneling...which is a bad thing. (correct me if I'm wrong someone) I'm going to try a larger wick to see if it stops the tunnelling.

[Oh-MYo]

Have you hugged your candle today?

Personally I stopped burning pillars long ago because of this. They will tunnel unless you..well..hug them. And you can only do that when they are warm. That is, after they have burned for several hours and your melt pool is pretty big.

One hour burn for every inch of diameter more or less.

When you squeeze the top slowly you can feel it give. Go slowly and go all the way around, pushing the outside in towards the middle. If you already have a sizeable tunnel you may have to take a sharp knife and just cut some off the top.

Of course be careful not to push so much in that you drown the wick. You may not even know this until 20 minutes later when the wax starts to melt more into the pool. So go slowly. Dont even bother lighting a pillar unless you know you have lots of time to burn it.

My pillars always ended up looking stupid because I would end up having to push soft wax into the middle with my fingertips and sometimes the top would crack because I was too impatient.

I have never seen a pillar burned that didnt end up looking retarded after several burnings.

Yes, please experts, we would love to hear how to burn a pillar and still keep it looking as nice as possible.

[Candle Man]

My 3"X6" pillars burn a total of 120 hours, that's 20 hours an inch, and completly only just about 1/4"-1/2" left at the bottom.

I use straight pillar/votive wax with additives and zink wicks.

3" are the only ones I can get a complete burn with 4" and above still have a shell. To me 4" and above are hard to wick for a good burn.

[pixie*dust]

After searching some more I did find this link http://www.candletech.com/cgi-local/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Discussions;action=display;num=1112822236;start=

It was reply#13, by SatinDucky and she shows a pic of a hugged candle.

Here is mine at a hour and a half and again at 3 hr's. I know its not smooth and all that pretty, but its a start.

pix

[topofmurrayhill]

With the right wick and wax formulation, a 3 inch pillar will burn down nicely all by itself in 3 hour burns, no hugging required. I hate hugging. You'll have to experiment a bit to get it.

If you use just straight paraffin and stearic, it will be hard or impossible to get a good hugless burn with softer waxes like 1343 or waxes below 140MP. The candles will tend to bulge and misbehave. If you use additives like Vybar or UA the wax selection isn't as critical.

Here's an example of a good burn for a 3 inch pillar. This candle was burned 4 hours at a time. With 3 hour burns it has more of a rim but still burns down neatly. This one is just paraffin & stearic.

[pixie*dust]

Ohhh TY !!! Now I def see how it should burn.. not have the huge outer shell,like mine so obviously does,lol.

So I'll dig around and try to find my asst wickbag.. I'm sure I have something that would wick up.

Thanks again,

pix

eta: I'am using 4625 wax, no additives.

[MasterBaker2]

With the right wick and wax formulation, a 3 inch pillar will burn down nicely all by itself in 3 hour burns, no hugging required. I hate hugging. You'll have to experiment a bit to get it.

If you use just straight paraffin and stearic, it will be hard or impossible to get a good hugless burn with softer waxes like 1343 or waxes below 140MP. The candles will tend to bulge and misbehave. If you use additives like Vybar or UA the wax selection isn't as critical.

Here's an example of a good burn for a 3 inch pillar. This candle was burned 4 hours at a time. With 3 hour burns it has more of a rim but still burns down neatly. This one is just paraffin & stearic.

That's a nice looking burn. I'm curious as to what wick you used.

Chris

[Oh-MYo]

Thats a beautiful burn Top...I'm sooo impressed! I dont make pillars but I have never seen a department store, even a 3" pillar burn that nicely.

Thanks for showing us how the experts do it.

[topofmurrayhill]

That's a nice looking burn. I'm curious as to what wick you used.

Chris

I'm partial to flat-braided type wicks. But it's more the wax and additives that make it work that way.