Mozzie Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 Help, I'm tearing my hair out trying to get my wax to reach higher temps. I use an electric frypan as a double boiler and put my pour pot (I only make 1 or 2 candles at a time) in the water to heat up. The trouble is that when I need to really stir in a hard to mix fo the heat from the steam is too hot for my hands but if I take the pot out of the pan the temperature drops too quickly and I can't seem to get it to heat much over 175 especially when there's only a little wax left for repouring. It seems to me that maybe too much heat is lost through the large surface area of the frypan compared to the tiny area of my melt pot. Am I making any sense to anyone? I use an electric frypan so that I can melt wax anywhere there is a power point however I didn't have any trouble with high temps when I used a proper double boiler on the stove top and wonder if this is because all of the steam in the bottom pot was being used to heat the top pot instead of simply heating up whichever room I'm in. Aaaarghhhh! suggestions please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth-VT Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 I think you would have better luck using something that had more height to it, thus allowing the water to heat the sides of the pour pot more, rather than just the bottom. If you have (or can get) a Presto Pot, that would work, and can double as a wax melter too. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 Yes, you have to have the water higher up the pot. I use a hot plate and a fairly deep sauce with water in it.. Then I put the pouring pot in the water. I also keep a jug of water near, to refill the sauce pan. The highest i've been able to get the temp up to is between 190 - 200 degrees. I use a presto pot just to melt the wax, but often use the double boiler method to do repours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 I think you already got the answer, but I'm chiming in here to mention how this connects with the reply I left you in the other thread about about mixing vanilla FO. If you do the pot-within-pot double boiler method where your wax is surrounded with hot water on the side as well as the bottom, you can clip one of those candy thermometers to the outside pot and use the water temp to control the wax temp. It's handy when you have to stir the FO for a long time. Just let the water temp drop after the wax is melted and keep the wax near pour temp while you mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mozzie Posted August 30, 2005 Author Share Posted August 30, 2005 Thanks for all your great suggestions everyone. I've decided to think outside the square and am bringing the kitchen into the workroom. What that cryptic little comment means is that I've just bought myself a portable hotplate so will be able to use a proper double boiler again and get that water sloshing up the side of the pot. You guys are such a fantastic source of inspiration. I know that I would have run out of steam (no pun intended) a long time ago if it wasn't for everyone's help and support (and stunning candle ideas to steal). Thanks again - I'm just off to try out my new hotplate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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