Calwax CB 30

[Jeannie]

OK, so I broke down and bought a couple slabs from swans. I got the Calwax CB 30 and the CB 10. Been curing a few days now and I'm so disappointed in the cold throw of the CB 30 :undecided Leaves a lot to be desired since the cold throw is generally what sells the candle. I've got 5 testers and I can barely smell but one of them, all at 8%. Grrrr, it's always something! They do look nice, color nicely, very few wetspots. Getting ready to burn one and see how the burn/throw goes. It says on the site it has a really great throw so I'm crossing my fingers.

The CB 10 actually smells really nice. I made a few tarts & votives with it, unwrapped and they are still holding a fairly nice cold throw. The wax itself is a lot harder then I expected. I almost didn't get the votives from the wick pin without cracking. I may add a touch of crisco to it and see what I get

[Holly]

Hi Jeannie,

I am a Calsoy CB-3 user (the soy/veggie wax). This has a great cold throw. I have tried the CB-30 a long time ago and have recently tried it again for one wick candles. I have noticed a change between the recent CB-3 and the one I tested a long time ago. I have noticed a decrease in cold throw and hot throw with the recent CB-3. This bums me out too. I am not sure but I was told that they are getting it from another supplier but it does not make sense to me since it is suppose to be a Calwax. It has a slight different color tone now too. The CB-3 I tested a while ago is not quite as white as the latest one. When I first tested the CB-3 a long time ago I also ran a test on the CB-2 and found that the CB-3 had a way better cold throw than the CB-2 -- this was the first version of the CB-3 that I tested.

I am in the same situation as you. I like the GL 70/30 but I think the cold throw stinks compared to my CB-3 (not the 30 para/soy) soy. This is one thing that I do not like about GL 70/30. I also am having a heck of a time wicking it in any jar that is not a widemouthed jar. I get weak flames in every jar but the tureens and 10 oz. apothecary. I have not tested it in the 16 oz. apothecary yet so I hope I will not have problems there too. It burns slower the the CB-30 Calwax so that is why I wanted to use it instead -- I double wick. The hot throw may be better too than the newer CB-30 but not sure yet. I really can't say how good the hot throw is with the CB-30 now because I have not tested it enough to really know.

I am testing the CB-10 for clamshells and so far so good. But I will test it up against some others to make sure. I also like the CB-3 Pillar which I think has a better cold throw than the CB-10.

You are right, it is either one thing or another and it gets really frustrating. :undecided Good luck in your testing.

~Holly

[Jeannie]

Well Holly, that doesn't surprise me as that seems to be my luck, LOL. Something either changes or ends up getting discontinued.

I haven't burned one yet but personally with such poor cold throw I don't feel it is something that I would want to carry. What a bummer, another slab to add to my collection! The GL 70/30 has a better cold throw then this wax but I had a problem with the seepage from the heat in my house during the day. I'm apparently the only person who noticed that though. I still have the testers sitting around and they all are wet on top. It comes and goes with the temperature changes! Other then that it seemed a good wax, great adhesion, nice color. Can't much comment on the hot throw & wicking but the one I did burn did very well (violet musk). To me the KY125 soy has the best cold throw out of any wax I have ever tried soy or paraffin...So I guess this makes it hard for me if something isn't even remotely close. I would settle for less but it still needs to be pretty darn good

I guess I was on the right track when I started blending my own. The last batch I made was KY125 soy and IGI 4786 50/50 and 3% crisco. I chose the 4786 because it is NOT a single pour and well it burns better then single pours. I find when you mix soy & single pours you end up with wicking issues. Both are viscous! My combination above is a wicking dream for me. I was able to wick a 3.5" jar with a single wick & a substantial melt pool. I have never been able to single wick this jar and I have been fighting them for the last 5 years. I was double wicking them with the soy but the soy doesn't stay the same either. My main reason for blending. Personally I prefer at least a 4" jar for double wicking but that has been my other nightmare.

What wicking are you using Holly? I hate to say this but I have tried every wicking out there when working with single pour type waxes (paraffin) and it's been a disaster since I gave up using zincs. Yeah they can be a mess but the other wicks are a constant battle. I hate the HTP wicks everybody uses, to me they stink profusely. The CD's are better but again like the HTP they tend to get a very large flame height & flicker. They eco's did OK but they are messy like the zinc and burn uneven so what's the point? The only bending wick I like is the LX but they just don't have the guts to hold up in this type of wax. To many drowning issues in anything larger then a 8 oz candle. Also when wicking larger with them they respond the same as the others in the flame height gets really large. I cannot stand that with any wick! They are great in votives and small containers though, such beautiful burning wicks.

The only free standing wick (natural) that I liked in my old single pour paraffin besides the zinc was the hemp. They tend to smoke if not trimmed though, sigh. In my soy they burned beautiful in my double wick jar.....Messy (mushroom) but perfect clean burn without drowning. I think a lot will always depend on the jar. Unfortunately when you are double wicking it has been my experience that the freestanding wicks are the ones that can withstand the heat. For paraffin/soy blends my first choice would be zinc. Hate to say that as I gave them up years ago but learning a hard lesson. I would love to tell you LX cause I still reach for them but they always seem to eventually drown as the candle burns down. Not only that it certainly affects the throw when the flames become weak. I would try the hemp & the cotton but I think the zinc will probably burn the cleanest with the addition of paraffin. Cotton doesn't do good in paraffin (smokes) and hemp can be tricky too. Would depend on how much is paraffin but I love the cotton in soy for 8 oz jars. Love the hemp in soy for double wicking. The LX in any of the above for 3-4 oz jars.

Well, now that I have finished my latest novel I think I will get back to testing and burn one of these babies

[Holly]

Hi Jeannie,

Thanks for the informative response. I will respond back in more detail regarding wicks sometime tomorrow. I am so pooped right now -- gone all day. It seems like you and I prefer the same type of wicks. Check back.

~Holly