Homebrew OK6228?

[topofmurrayhill]

I have this bad habit of getting distracted by things I don't need to be spending time on. The recent discussions about OK6228 being discontinued got me thinking about how to make something similar.

Not that I would know how similar it is because I've never used OK6228. But I do know it should be around 145 MP and hold a fragrance load of about 8%. I also know from a clue on an old MSDS sheet that the hardener they use is EVA, so that's a nice puzzle piece right there. Doesn't seem like there should be a lot more to it.

The plain old pillar below is what I came up with. The formula is 1% Elvax 210, 2.5% Multiwax W-180, 8% FO, and 88.5% 142 MP straight paraffin (IGI 1977). The W-180 is a microcrystalline wax from Sonneborn that you can buy from Candlewic. They sell it as Mico 180. I dumped a whole 1 oz FO sample from CandleScience in there (Pomegranate Sage) and 3 drops of cranberry liquid dye. I guess a drop or 2 more would have made a nicer color.

So far the only thing I would do differently is add more micro wax. The outside surface is fine but the bottom as it was setting up had some patches of film that made me think the FO load is right at the limit. Maybe a good amount of micro is more like 4%. I'd hesitate to put in more EVA for fear of slowing down the burn too much.

I have this pillar on my desk and the cold throw is kinda in my face. Not bad at all. We'll give it some time to get over the shock of birth, then light it up and see what happens. It's wicked with ECO 8.

[MasterBaker2]

Nice looking candle Top. Much too technical for me. I like the look of the candle in the background too. Can barely see it but the effect is nice.

[snow]

what does this micro do to wax? I use j50 for containers and it is real soft, what would miicro 180 do to it?

[candlenose]

snow, i think it retains the scent and also hardens your wax.But you cant use too much because it can block thee scent too.I think like 1 or 2 tsp per lb. Do a search ,i know its on here somewhere.Peaks also has a description and what it does.

My question is ,what is Elvax?

And Top, that is a beautiful candle!

Edited because i cant spell

[topofmurrayhill]

My question is ,what is Elvax?

And Top, that is a beautiful candle!

Thanks.

Elvax is a DuPont brand name for various ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer products. Elvax 210 has been used as a candle additive for decades but you don't see it much from the suppliers we usually buy from, probably because it's a pain in the ass to use. It requires heat and a lot of time to incorporate into wax. It melts into thick clear goop and dissolves ever so slowly.

There's an additive available from a different manufacturer that's about the same thing. It's called Poly AC-400 and Genwax sells it.

I think the EVA additive might have some advantage over polyethylene like Gloss Poly C-15, or maybe Astor just used it to make their blend harder to duplicate. I think Candlewic is big on the Gloss Poly, so I'm guessing Candlewic 4144 wax + Gloss Poly + micro gets you CBL-141.

(Snow, you wouldn't want to use a high MP micro like that in a container blend. You wouldn't generally want to add anything to J-50 because it's fully formulated to be used as it is.)

[candlenose]

You said, "dissolves ever so slowly",so does that mean it slows the burn time or a binder ? If not, what is it for?

I use pariffin with additives but havent heard of that one.

oops, read the first post again, theres the answer...lol

[topofmurrayhill]

You said, "dissolves ever so slowly",so does that mean it slows the burn time or a binder ? If not, what is it for? I use pariffin with additives but havent heard of that one.

In a broad sense all the non-paraffin additives are stearic alternatives. They harden and opacify the wax and help retain fragrance and they do it cheaper because you can use small amounts versus 10-20% stearic. However, there are some differences in how they work. Some of the Fischer-Tropsch synthetic waxes (Paraflint, Vestowax, a.k.a. Translucent and Clear Crystals) don't add much opacity. Stearic lowers the MP, Vybar doesn't affect it much, most of the others raise it.