doris Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 I've been testing soy votives, (ecosoya pillar/votive) and being new to this, am just burning unscented, undyed. HTP73 tunneled badly, as did HTP83. HTP93's are giving quite a good burn, with a little hang-up on one side of the holder. HTP105 is also burning well, a little faster, but also with a little hang-up left on the side. Is this acceptable? I'm doing one long burn, and they are currently @ 16 hours, HTP93 about 1/3 left, HTP105, less than 1/4. These seem reasonably long to me, would it benefit me to go up one more size? The next size available to me in Canada is I think HTP1212, and they look huge. The HTP93 is burning in a tightly fitting holder, the HTP105 is burning in a holder with about 1/4-1/8" around the candle. Would this make a difference? I'm finding it difficult to find a well fitting votive holder around here, and am assuming that most people would just stuff them into anything.I've done quite a lot of looking for answers on the site, but have never found any specifically to those questions.I was burning some at my shop yesterday, and a friend said, "why are they doing that (full melt pool). Are you sure that's right? Every votive I've ever bought just burned down the middle. That doesn't look right". And she's right. I love candles, especially votives, and seldom burn them because of the work involved in getting the remains out of the holder. I'm so impressed with these, you can't imagine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henryk Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 Treat a votive like a pillar candle that TURNS INTO a container candle. So, you want it to clean the glass as much as possible without the MP getting too deep and the glass too hot. In soy I usually use an LX14, I've not used the HPTs, but the 1212 is way too big for a votive. If you are worried about the hangup on one side and/or its getting to hot on the other side - you may want to try a wick that gives a more centered MP - such as an LX - or a cotton (on the ones you are not using FO, you should get very little mushrooming).Here's a Martha Stewart tip for you. I do it all the time and it works perfectly. After you are done with the votive - stick it in the freezer until it gets really cold. Any left-over wax - paraffin or soy - should pop right out. It even works with beeswax - up to a point. It won't work on a "films" of waxes but after you let it warm up, just use paper towels.HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doris Posted January 14, 2007 Author Share Posted January 14, 2007 Henry,I just ordered and received a large order of wicks that I ordered specifically for testing in beeswax and soy. 50 pieces or 50 yards of every size of square braid, ply, LX, HTP, cotton core wick I didn't yet have. The only ones I didn't get were the LX14's and 16's. Wouln't you know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaybee23 Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 Mine did well with HTP73 or 83. The first burn should be about an hour and a half. I also wouldn't judge it on the first burn. If it gets close on the first burn, a lot of times it will catch up on the next couple of burns and the remaining wax will melt off the sides. You want to use the smallest wick possible to get the job done, so you are not overheating the votive holder. You always want to burn them in a tight fitting votive cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henryk Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 Henry,I just ordered and received a large order of wicks that I ordered specifically for testing in beeswax and soy. 50 pieces or 50 yards of every size of square braid, ply, LX, HTP, cotton core wick I didn't yet have. The only ones I didn't get were the LX14's and 16's. Wouln't you know!Doesn't it always seem to go that way? If you do get some, the LX16s may work really well in your BW votives BTW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacien Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Mine did well with HTP73 or 83. The first burn should be about an hour and a half. I also wouldn't judge it on the first burn. If it gets close on the first burn, a lot of times it will catch up on the next couple of burns and the remaining wax will melt off the sides. You want to use the smallest wick possible to get the job done, so you are not overheating the votive holder. You always want to burn them in a tight fitting votive cup.I use 73's too. I wanna know how big these votives are? I use HTP73's on crytalizing palm wax and that stuff is harder to burn at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doris Posted January 16, 2007 Author Share Posted January 16, 2007 Plastic molds this time, the 93's burned for 25 hours (1 long burn) with some wax left on the side, and the 105's burned for 19 hours with a clean votive holder. The 93's flame was a little hesitant at times, but the 105's had a nice flame throughout.I will be ordering some LX wicks on the near future, and will also try some HTP's from another supplier in Canada to see if there is a difference.I had some poured a while ago in the metal molds (standard size), and the 73's tunneled really badly there too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretchen Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 Boy do I hate votives! (Actually, just the clean up!) I was going to start a post asking what do you dislike most about candlemaking!). Anyway, I just got a new account (resturant) that orders 250 unscented at a time, and I use the Eco blend as well. I'm wicking with a CD-10. Burns perfect, about 16 hours. I sent them a dozen samples to try before they took mine in officially, and they were happy with the burn, and they're used to burning soy. They use a close fitting holder. I tested in both a close fit and a looser fitting holder. Obviously the closer the fit, the slower and better the burn with the natural waxes. I use the CBA Advanced for my container candles, and strictly the CD wicks for them as well. HTH.Gretchen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doris Posted January 23, 2007 Author Share Posted January 23, 2007 I haven't found a source for CD wicks in Canada, and am afraid to order from the States, last time I did the duties and taxes added were astronomical. I'm waiting for some LX wicks. I'm just amazed that I have to go so much larger than the recommended size to get anything resembling a proper burn, and that different people have such varied results with the same materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SherriLynn Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 I pour soy votives and use a 62HTP for a wick, sometimes an HTP 73 for pine or vanilla scents. HTP 93 , 105 and 1212 sound really , really big to me. Are you using an additive with your pillar blend or just the straight wax? I use enchanted lites votive blend, adding 1oz of beeswax per pound, typical burn time on votives is 15 - 17 hours. I've started testing some of the Eco wicks in my votives. I'm getting a real nice burn with the Eco 2. HTP 105's to big to use in my 8oz mason jars (EL container) so I use a 51 cotton. HTP 1212's are used in an open 3 inch crock, single wick,, awesome burn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doris Posted January 23, 2007 Author Share Posted January 23, 2007 I'm using Ecosoya votive/pillar blend with nothing added, and HTP wicks from Canwax in Toronto. I was quite amazed at the fact that the 73's didn't work, because from what I've read, most people do well with a 62 or a 73. The 73 just burns a hole down the middle and then drowns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rae_g Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Gretchen, I'm surprised that the CD-10s are working well for your votives. I'm using FO in my Ecosoya PB votives and use either a CD6 or CD7 (or 8 in really heavy FOs). It's strange how different wicks and batches of soy seem to behave for different people!I have the same problem with tight fitting votive holders. I know that's what you're supposed to use, but I have a vast collection of votive holders and only 2 or 3 that are actually snug. I'm sure most other people have similar holders, so I try to test at least once in a slightly roomier holder to see how it will perform under those less-than-ideal circumstances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretchen Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Isn't that wild! I'm always amazed by the differences in the wick sizes different people use with the same wax. You have me itching to test them again. I was just gearing up to pur lemongrass and rosemary (seperate scents- not together; although that combo sounds good too) for patio burning. I've been wanting to try those newer wicks; can't think of the name right now; they were sending out those HUGE sample packs, like six months ago or so. They're around here somewhere!If I get different results when I test burn, I'll be sure to update! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rae_g Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 You definitely have me not worrying about CD-8 being too big for my votives any more! You'll have to post if you end up with different results for different wicks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenancy Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 wow! i have to use lx 20's in my votives. otherwise they tunnel. i make my own wicks with soy wax. does that make a difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 I'm doing one long burn, and they are currently @ 16 hours, HTP93 about 1/3 left, HTP105, less than 1/4. These seem reasonably long to me, would it benefit me to go up one more size? The next size available to me in Canada is I think HTP1212, and they look huge. The HTP93 is burning in a tightly fitting holder, the HTP105 is burning in a holder with about 1/4-1/8" around the candle. Would this make a difference? I'm finding it difficult to find a well fitting votive holder around here, and am assuming that most people would just stuff them into anything.You would find that if you burned the votive with the HTP-105 in a tight fitting holder (no space around it) it would be too large because the glass would get hotter which contributes to the burn.I use HTP-73 and 83 in my votives. I use EcoSoya PB and no additives, thinking about adding a touch of 100% soy to them though... but that's another thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doris Posted April 21, 2007 Author Share Posted April 21, 2007 You would find that if you burned the votive with the HTP-105 in a tight fitting holder (no space around it) it would be too large because the glass would get hotter which contributes to the burn.I've burnt some HTP 93's since in a tight holder, and they've tunnelled. It's so weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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