Tarts Smoking?

[Shadowbox]

(This is my first post!)

I've burned quite a many tarts in my time and even made a few with soy wax, but I have one Q:

I've had some start smoking quite a bit once they were completely melted. What causes this? Too much oil? The wax? This has never happened with the ones I've made (soy wax & 1oz FO to the lb).

[Ring of Fire]

Got me hanging. Never saw a tart smoke in my life. Was it a Virginia Slims?

Just playing. I have no idea.

[geekrunner]

I thought Britney Spears kicked the habit

Man: Do you smoke after sex?

Woman: I don't know, I've never looked!

But seriously, if the tart wax is truly smoking, it may be getting too hot. Do you use an electric or tealight tart melter?

geek

BTW Hi noob and Welcome!

[Shadowbox]

Tealight warmer.

Glad to know I'm not in-the-know about the cause!

Thanks for the welcome. :smiley2:

[Sharon in PA]

I've seen some light smoke come from a few of my tarts (which are paraffin BTW) and always w/ a tealight warmer. I think most tea light warmers heat up more that electric warmers, and I have attributed it too too much FO in the tart, IMO.

Welcome to the board!

[Laura]

i have never had one smoke, but a few do let off steam....

[MaryAnnKacz]

Mine smoked in my tea light warmer. But I added 1.5 oz FO(BCN) Spiced Cranberry. I am going to let my boyfriends mother try them in her electric tart warmer and see what happens before I melt them down and add more wax. I need to get an electric one.

[bugtussle]

Tarts appearing to smoke has been discussed before. It is not smoke, it is the FO evaporating from the tart. Some FO/wax combos do it more, some not at all. Carole

[MaryAnnKacz]

Would this be excess FO evaporating? Or is it most of it evaporating?

[bugtussle]

Fo evaporating, whether 1oz or 2 oz/#. A tart does not scent forever because the Fo is released. Carole

[Cissy]

I find that strong scented tarts will sometimes appear to "smoke" in tealight burners or high wattage electric warmers. That is why I prefer neither type. They actually do get too hot, burn the FO off quicker, and scent will not last as long. Of course, if you are using a low scented tart which can be made and sold at a lessor price, you will probably need more heat to activate the scent throw, and you will be changing the wax much more often, so you really are not saving money to buy the low scented ones. You will simply be buying more tarts to achieve the same hours of fragrance. A strong scented tart costs more to make and purchase, but will last much longer when used in a lower wattage electric warmer.

[MaryAnnKacz]

I want to buy an electric tart warmer. What would be considered a low wattage?

[KMommy]

I have used two types of electric warmers. One has the light bulb inside as the heat source the other has a small metal plate as the heating element. The problem with the metal heating plate is that it doesn't heat up enough to even melt the tart and release scent. I am not sure if they all work this way but I purchased several from a wholesale supplier and this was the problem with them all. Several people have also reported this on other message boards. I prefer the warmers with the light bulb. I imagine that there might be different recomendations for what bulb to use from the manufactor. The ones I have stated not to use anything above 40. Depending on the melt point of the wax used to make the tarts would be a factor. If using a low melt point wax I would think the 20watt would work fine. If it was made with a higher melt point wax a 40 maybe needed. Good Luck

[GrayMaire]

This is interesting - I just had this happen this week using a tealight warmer (4-1/2 inches tall) and el-cheapo tealight from Michael's. The FO was Apple Jack and Peel from KY Candle, the wax was IGI 4794 from Peak's - regular fluted tart (1 oz).

Once the tart had melted, it smoked/steamed heavily until the scent became noticeably less strong (in about 1 to 1-1/2 hours). So I did a little research... the melt pool in the warmer was 250 degrees, and the FP of that particular FO is 147 degrees. I tried another tart (same batch of tarts) in my electric warmer - melt pool was right at 198 degrees, and scent lasted longer, although also burned off noticeably (steam/smoke).

It seems to me that the low-FP FOs must burn their scent off quicker than those with FPs up around 200 degrees - when dealing with melt pools in this temperature range. Am I missing something else that would affect the dynamics of the tart/warmer thing? Surely I'm missing something - there must be a way to make tarts with low-FP oils that last longer than that one of mine did.

Any enlightenment would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Lori

[Cissy]

If you use a lower melt point wax even in a 12 or 14 watt electric warmer, your tart will melt just fine, will not "smoke", and the scent will last longer. I read somewhere that the melt pool should not be more than approximately

165 degrees. I don't think the FP of the oil has anything to do with how long it lasts or whether it smokes or not. I think you would only need to be concerned with the FP if you did not put it in wax. My tarts don't smoke in my warmer. I have noticed though that they do smoke if I put them in a high watt warmer or a tealight warmer, because I make mine strong. I tested these same warmers out by making some weaker tarts and they did not smoke in them, so you apparently have a strong scented tart. I do know the hotter your tart gets, the more fragrance it will put out, and if too hot, it can smoke, burning the FO off quicker, but your tart will not last as long. So if your tart "smokes" and you don't want it to, you need to use a warmer with less heat or buy lower scented tarts and lots more of them. (LOL)

What really makes a customer happy is a scent they like that will last a long time. Then they feel like they got their money's worth. No one likes changing the wax or adding to it every 2 to 4 hrs. Test all your tarts for throw and longevity before you ever start selling them. Some FO's are not as strong or won't last as long as others. I have used less of one FO that lasted longer than more of another FO. No matter how good it smells, I will not sell it if it doesn't last a long time. For this reason, I have only used app. 20 out of 200 (1)oz samples I purchased. This results in more costly expenses and much, much testing. It also complicates the usual 1 oz per lb. of wax formula, since I use different amounts for each fragrance, depending on how well it throws and how long it lasts.

[GrayMaire]

Hi Cissy!

This makes sense to me... thanks! I'll have to check the wattage on my electric warmer when I get done working today.

The tart in question had FO at 6%, so not really heavily scented, but not light either.

Lori

[Cissy]

GrayMaire

No, 6% (1 oz per lb.) is not heavily scented at all, not for tarts. The 4-1/2" tealight warmer from Michael's is also not tall enough...flame too close to the top, getting it even hotter. This could be the reason it smoked.

[hollyberry]

yup the tealight warmer...gets to hot sometimes... lol

[GrayMaire]

Thanks ladies! I appreciate the input!

The thing that's still odd to me is that I've made other tarts with the same FO load and wax that don't seem to "smoke" at all... (one is Amish Harvest from Peak's, FP >200). :undecided

Lori

[candlefolks]

If you are oiling your molds for release, that will make them smoke.

[The Soap Diva]

Sorry, never seen a tart smoke, can't help you out!

[doglover]

And wouldn't the "steam" or "smoke" let off also depend on the FP of the oil? I have had some with lower FP's "steam" more, or faster, than others with higher FP's.

[tamsoycandles]

And wouldn't the "steam" or "smoke" let off also depend on the FP of the oil? I have had some with lower FP's "steam" more, or faster, than others with higher FP's.

Flash point is the temperature at which the liquid will begin to "flash" or ignite with a flame present.

The property you're observing is the temperature at which the liquid will evaporate (don't recall the name of this property).

I suppose these two properties could be related, but not necessarily.

Tony

[snow]

So after all of this, is it possible for a tart to catch fire? I've noticed mine smoking also and I use a tea light burner. But if there is no flame there is no fire? Correct? This is interesting!

[IndyGirl]

I used 2 different tea light burners and I have 3 electric.......only the tea light burners are smoking with my tarts! I have never seen that happen before..........hmmmmmm!