HTP wicks

[lsbennis]

I had the same problem with HTP, ECO and LX on the second burn, I switiched to RRD's and CD's...they seem to be working much better. :smiley2:

[Meridith]

I've never tested the CBL but I have tested the 444 and think that with that wax (and any soy) and a 2.5" diameter the 73, 83, and 93 are too small for a single wick - hence the tunnelling. The 104 still might end up working so keep test burning with it. Are you getting a complete MP and if so, in what time and how deep? Keep the wick trimmed and the candle out of drafts. Make sure to burn all the way down. Also, try a 105. However, sometimes the 104 will actually burn hotter than the 105 - I don't know why that is but it is. and there isn't that much difference between them. Supposedly, the 126's are bigger than the 1212 or 1312 but my testing did not show that. CDs work well in soy so I would start with an 18 and adjust from there. I myself did not care for the ECO either. I got a great burn but they really stunk and left a burnt smell in the candle after I would extinguish the wick. The RRDs work well too but can differ from supplier to supplier due to the difference in the wax coating - there is two different kinds of coating that I can't right now recall what one of them is called.

Oh and don't get frustrated. You are on the right road and will get this. It just takes time.

[silverm00n]

Hi Meridith,

Lol what melt pool!?! The wicks don't last 2 minutes into the first initial burn. I'm rewicking to the 1212 and 1312 to see what happens. I know you said that the 126 burns hotter and are like the same size, but ya know, gotta see for myself! I want to keep my candles all natural, and so I doubt I will attempt to try LX or RRD wicks. I placed an order with lonestar yesterday for their CD and ECO wicks, and am just praying that I will find one that works! I'm not too upset over the HTP's because I didn't like the way that they bent all ove the place. I'm not sure how the other 2 are, will have to sit on my hands, waiting for UPS to arrive one of these days. Isn't the wait for supplies painful when you have no stock!

Oh and can someone tell me what this smiley means!?! :awww: Ummm it can't be what it looks like to me... can it!!!!

[silverm00n]

Oh and the new jars I'm having a hard time with are the 6oz. ball masons. Did anyone else try these, and have trouble with wicking?

[Meridith]

Hi,

I was talking about the 104 with the CBL. You said it was a torch so I was wondering how the MP and depth were on that one and if you trimmed the wick. You know all that good stuff. Sorry I was not clear. Sometimes its hard to adequately communicate on the board. I don't think the 126 burns hotter - but it is supposed to be larger than the 1212 or 1312 but not from what I have tested. I too keep my candles as natural as possible and won't include paraffin. I'm stubborn too. And yes I completely feel your pain with waiting for supplies. I just love to track them and watch them get closer to me. Been doing this for 4 1/2 years and I still get excited when supplies are on the way. Let me know how the rest of your testing goes. It might not seem like it, but you are doing a good job and all this testing will pay off. You will have awesome candles when you are through.

That smiley is giving a hug. Looks a little perverted though doncha think? LOL

Lol what melt pool!?! The wicks don't last 2 minutes into the first initial burn. I'm rewicking to the 1212 and 1312 to see what happens. I know you said that the 126 burns hotter and are like the same size, but ya know, gotta see for myself! I want to keep my candles all natural, and so I doubt I will attempt to try LX or RRD wicks. I placed an order with lonestar yesterday for their CD and ECO wicks, and am just praying that I will find one that works! I'm not too upset over the HTP's because I didn't like the way that they bent all ove the place. I'm not sure how the other 2 are, will have to sit on my hands, waiting for UPS to arrive one of these days. Isn't the wait for supplies painful when you have no stock!

Oh and can someone tell me what this smiley means!?! :awww: Ummm it can't be what it looks like to me... can it!!!!

[silverm00n]

Oh!!! I'm sorry I got all mixed up! The CBL's wick was trimmed, and the MP was great. Smoked a little at the first and second burn, but I assumed it was either the parafin in it or the fact that the wick was a torch! But on the 3rd burn it seemed to have settled and the flame was fine, MP and all. What I did notice was that the wax was way lower than the flame. Usually it's resting on top, but for me the wax had melted lower, seperating itself from the flame? I'll have to see what happens next. I got a 1lbs sample from candlewic of CBL, because I was curious to see how parasoy works, since my mixture was a bust! I have to say it's very nice wax, and it's easy to work with & wick. Don't know about hot/cold throws because I didn't add any FO's. But the parafin thing bugs me, so I won't be working with this again. But it was fun to test!

I have not really worked with FO's, maybe made 1 or 2. The shipments I'm waiting for are going to be my first real testers. 10 samples of 2oz each! I was just wondering if I can burn 2 of the same FO testers side by side? Will I be able to tell which has the better throw if they are so close? Also since I am figuring out which wick works with this wax and jar, do I still need to try a size down or up to see if the throw is affected, or should I leave it alone and worry about the %'s instead?

Thank you guys for reading my ramblings, and giving advice!

Ya that does not look like a hug to me! :awww: I just don't see it, lol!

[Meridith]

I myself if burning side by side would not be able to really tell which had a stronger throw. You could put them in different rooms that are of equal size with equal ceiling heights - if you test with one in a really large room and one is a much smaller, it would be IMO hard to get a good take on the throw - unless the one in the larger room fills it, then you would know that was a good throw. I would test with a certain FO % to determine which wick size to use. Once you add FO and/or any other additives like BW, it changes your wicking. But wicking w/out FO does give you a ballpark idea of the size wick for your jar and can make it easier in determining a starting point. If you find that a wick works well with an FO and the throw is O.K., sometimes adding more FO can improve that throw, sometimes even decreasing the FO can help. Now that you are getting some FOs in (YEAH!!) I would start with a 6% load and test for wicks adjusting the load amount as necessary. I am happy to help and appreciate your willingness to help yourself by diving in and trying stuff out. Testing is so important and makes it easier to help when we know where you stand and the problems you are encountering.

OMG I am so excited for you that you are getting FOs. You think you are addicted to this already ... well get ready for a new addiction, an FO addiction.. And this one is bad too but oh so fun.

[silverm00n]

WOO HOO my supplies are coming tommorrow!!! :yay:

I found Cotton core wicks that I had and gave those a shot. I tried the

60-44-18C, 51-32-18C, which are comprable to the 104 I was having trouble with, and 44-28-18C. Surprisingly the smaller C wick works great, where I could barely get a burn with the HTP's in this wax. What sucks is that MC reblended their 444, so hopefully I won't have to adjust the wick too much. It gets so much easier once you can cross off all the things that don't like, or that don't work for you!

[jhepp7gw2]

SilvermOOn, have you tried the paper core wicks? I tried the htp wicks and didn't like the them. I am using the Golden Brands 444 wax making 8 ounce jelly jar containers and they burn great with a nice melt pool and a pretty good throw. They burn nice and hot ,,you do get some mushrooming though.

I think every supplier is different just to confuse you. I know I was till I found a supplier who was a big help to me in recomending the right wicks and even sending me free samples to experiment with not to mention I get my wax from them to.

[silverm00n]

jhepp, I've only tried MC's HTP and Cotton wicks. The shipment I'm getting tommorrow contains a sample pack of CDN and ECO. I don't think I've run across the paper cores yet, is there a special name for them or just paper core? Thanks for the recommendation, nice to know there's someone else on here using 444! :smiley2:

[Meridith]

I believe you can get the paper core wicks at BCN. Cotton wicks are supposedly the hottest wicks out. They are what I use in one of my jars. You will experience some mushrooming with them but I really like the way they burn in soy. It's not uncommon too for the waxes to be reformulated. I remember a few years back they reforumlated the CB135. Folks were hopping mad because it messed with the wicking on their candles. At that time I was still testing it and coming to the conclusion I didn't care for it.

Keep buring the candle and try to burn all the way down if you think it is working. Getting a complete burn gives a better idea of the wicks performance.

[jhepp7gw2]

SilvermOOn, I get my wicks from www.soycandle.com .

You can actually call Melissa and she will give you recomondations. She just

sent me some cotton wicks which I havent tried yet. They are so helpfull there. The Golden Brands 444 is working good for me too , just keep the heat gun handy though beacause your gonna need to smooth out those tops with air pockets. OH and MC didnt reblend their 444 ,, the manufacturer Golden Brands did. By the way Jason at Golden Brands is another helpful person on the wax itself. Its kind of nice to be able to talk to the manufacturer.