Which wicking would you choose?

[Melly]

I am currently test burning jars, and have one that seems to be working with 2 sizes of wicks, I just need to decide which set of small quirks I am going to live with

Wicking A is a smaller size, it reaches full melt pool after about 2 hours. (double wicked 16oz apoth) however, when we get to about the middle of the candle, it dies down a bit, the flames go down to about 1/2 an inch and the scent throw is still there, but not as strong. I like my candles to burn strongly, and am afraid if someone trims the wick, the candle will not work right. The wicks seem to stay at about 1/4 inch and don't mushroom. Also, the soy sometimes still stays cloudy in the melt pool while the candle is lit, as through its not getting hot enough.

Wicking B is the next size of wick up. It is hotter, and reaches a full melt pool faster. There is a bit of mushrooming, and after about 4 hours, the candle does need to be blown out and trimmed or there is some light smoking. If it were not trimmed properly, the candle would not last a very long time, but I did marathon burn it for a bit and the flames never got dangerously high. The throw on this one was also a little better, I just feel it would smoke alot if proper wick trimming procedures were not followed.

Both these candles burn fully with no hangup, I am leaning more towards wicking B, as I would rather slightly overwick then slightly underwick. I just wanted everyones opinions on what they would choose in this scenerio.

[Sharon in KY]

I'm just the opposite, hate a hot candle.

[AngelaVA]

I would rather slightly underwick. None of my customers trim their wicks and I know they all marathon burn. If the underwicked candle will still burn well when attended to properly, then I would definitely choose that over the overwicked candle.

[Crowded House]

To be honest I wouldn't be happy with either.

Is there another brand of wick you could try? I have found that even with the same type of wax, the difference in jars and FOs means that sometimes a cotton core that worked great with one FO needs an HTP with another FO in the same jar, or the HTP that worked great in one jar needs a CD with a different jar even though it's the same FO (or vicey-versy, of course).

Candles are weird.