dleonard Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 Hello all:it seems that every candle I burn, I have a tunnel in the middle, is it because my wick is to big or too small??:undecided Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breanna Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 Are you making Pillars? Containers? need to know what your making to help. what size wick, wax and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimmi Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 Hello all:it seems that every candle I burn, I have a tunnel in the middle, is it because my wick is to big or too small??:undecidedtry a bigger size wick and see how that does. keep trying different wick sizes until you get the burn you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henryk Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 Your going to get two answers for this - wick is too small, wick is too large. IMO tunneling is caused by candle memory or by a wick that is too hot. If the former, burn for a longer period of time (it may not be salvageable), if the latter, use a cooler wick, but not one so cool it'll drown out later. Either case, if not burned properly, you'll get what you describe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dleonard Posted August 30, 2005 Author Share Posted August 30, 2005 DESCRIPTION OF MY LAST CANDLEsquare beeswax with lavender scent, wick is braided cotton #2. burns good at first (3 hours) and then starts a tunnel.................. hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 DESCRIPTION OF MY LAST CANDLEsquare beeswax with lavender scent, wick is braided cotton #2. burns good at first (3 hours) and then starts a tunnel.................. hope this helpsPillar or container and diameter? I ask because for containers you don't want any anything left on the sides. In pillars, you do need some wall left to encase the melt pool. If it's a pillar, how thick are the walls when it's tunneling? How large or small is the flame? A picture would help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dleonard Posted August 31, 2005 Author Share Posted August 31, 2005 HI: it's a pillar and 4" diameter, the wall is about 1/2 inch thick, flame is very nice, not too large. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henryk Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 You will probably want to use a #3 if not a #4 square for that. Its going to depend on how long you burn them in a session. Two or 3 hours will probably keep tunneling, longer may not if you hug it as it burns down. Trouble is, if you go up to a higher wick, it may smoke (especially after you first light it), so you'll have to trim it to keep the flame height in check. BW does burn great, but getting it to that point means a lot of testing and at times some compromises. Not to mention that different batches will burn different. If you are using non-refined BW and are getting heavy deposits on your wick from the gunk in it, you can try a flat ply wick, maybe a 42 in what you are doing.To not waste money, you may want to make 3.5" height pillars first to test wicks. I use silicone pillar molds for BW and if I try to use wick pins it would wreck the mold - so I can't pull wicks in and out of BW pillars to test. You can, if you use aluminum molds, but it’s a toss up if you are going to have to fight to get them out of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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