can anyone give me a nudge in the right direction

[dixiegal]

hi everyone

Im very new to candle making, right now Im still testing my first candles.

I'm used ecosoy advance cb, 1 oz of fo per lb. (fireside) 2 smoke dye chips.

I heated to 180, added dye stirred then fo, stirred about 1 minute poured at 150 in a smooth sided 8 oz jj. I didnt wick at this time. Covered with a box and let cool slowly.

When candle was cool it had a very large hole, zapped with a heat gun, put a lid on and let it cure 1 week.

Opened not much scent throw,first burn I tried eco8 ( wicked using a knitting needle to make hole then putting in wick) seemed to burned ok ( Im only working on scent throw right now) but no smell while burning, burned about 3 hours, pulled out wick, let harden.. next day I tried eco10, still seemed to burn ok but no scent. I'm at a loss on if I should try eco12, it seems like a very large wick.

I used to left over wax on a warmer plate and the smell was great so I'm guessing my problem is wicking.

Yesterday I made 2 more test candles and tried adding crisco ( 1 tsp.) and yvbar 260 (1/8 tsp) just to see what would happen, heating and pour temp the same as before didnt use dye this time they are curing now. Can anyone tell me what I could try next. Im not looking for an easy way out, I enjoy doing this, just a nodge in the right direction. Sorry this is so long and TIA.

Kim

[Henryk]

You may want to read these threads:

http://www.candletech.com/cgi-local/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=veggiewax;action=display;num=1113016238;start=0 (discussion of the old version of CBA)

http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2196 (discussion of the new version).

You aren't doing anything wrong. I would try a couple FOs that you KNOW throw strong in regular soy. Hot throw is from the meltpool, not the flame, so assuming you have a good meltpool, you don't need to change your wicks (at least on the intial burns, but as you get deeper into your container you may find you do).

Crisco and Vybar aren't going to do anything except make the wax even softer (which this wax doesn't need to be) and frost it (vybar aggravates frosting if there is a tendency toward it) respectively. These won't help throw. Though you can try a bit of BW if you wish (see above first thread).

From what I gather on different boards, the "new" soy waxes have a tendency to throw less but have a fantastic appearance. (That is a generalization on my part. I haven't tried every "new" soy.) I really like the old version of CBA, but the throw just isn't there if you want it super-strong. The new improves on this, but if you want it even stronger you may have to use Eco 135, KY, or whatever - and just put up with some visual imperfections and IMO waiting to pour cooler.

[scottopus]

It doesn't sound like your doing anything completely wrong when making your candles.

Let me give you a "nudge" about hot throw (scent while burning). Hot throw comes from the FO evaporating from the melt pool. The melt pool is the liquefied wax when the candle is burning.

Let's start with a talk about the melt pool. Your wick choice is what determines the size of your melt pool. A good melt pool is one that after a 3-4 hours burn, you'll have no or a small amount of hang up (un-melted wax on the sides of the container) and a pool depth of 3/8-1/2". In your posting you didn't give us any of these parameters (burn time, hang up, and depth) so that we could give you an option about your wick choice. But let’s assume that you have a good melt pool so we can move on to the next part of hot throw - the FO.

I’ve never used CBA (have a sample of Old CBA), but I've read on previous thread that CBA has a lighter hot throw. Since you only used 6% (1 oz per lb), I would increase your FO load to 9% (1.5 oz per lb) to see if that helps. Another problem maybe that your FO's doesn’t work (throw) in soy. Because soy bonds so well with some FO’s, it could be that your FO won’t evaporate from the melt pool. Some people have found that if you let you candles cure longer that I’ll help with throw. I also believe that curing soy candles helps cold and hot throw. My FO’s must cure within 5-7 days otherwise I move on to another one. So you could let you cure longer, but it still may not help you hot throw.

As you can see, a lot goes into making a good candle. It sounds like you’re on the right track. I would recommend that you wait till you get a good candle before testing candles add any additives (Crisco, vybar, ect.). That way you can compare your good candle to your additive candle.

[dixiegal]

ty both for your speedy help. I'll try increasing fo next, and next time I'll be sure to post about the meltpool, I didnt measure on my test but Id say it was between 3/8 and 1/2 inch and nothing left on the sides in 3 hours with eco8, I can see why people love making candles Im enjoying it very much and cant wait to get it right

[Terrie]

I'm testing the CB Advanced right now. The cold throw is great, but the hot throw for me, so far, is non-existent. I did however, throw a tart in the burner that I had from leftover wax, and it threw like crazy. Go figure. :rolleyes2

Just an FYI: For me, the CB Advanced seeped at 9%.

[dixiegal]

I used my leftover wax on a warmer plate and its throwing great too, if I could get the candles to smell that great Id be happy