cleanglow Posted February 5, 2007 Share Posted February 5, 2007 After several months of testing and retesting this beast of a wax, I have finally come to a decision on how I am going to wick it. As you'll see in the pics, most were disastrous. That was after marathon burning them though. Others that I tested did fine burning for 3-5 hours at a time but after a mishap on New Years Eve at my brothers house (opps!), I decided to test them for longer durations. FTR, I have not begun selling these yet, just gave some to my SIL to test for scent throw. Anyway, I've decided that I'm going to wick these so that they will have the lantern effect as they burn down. I've tried every wick on the block and for my testing I was not satisfied with anything else. So some might say someday that "She obviously didn't test these...blah, blah, blah". It's quite the opposite though and I will make it clear as to the way my pillars should burn.Just thought I'd share Oh, and please excuse the look of that 1st one, I was impatient during the repour.:embarasse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladysj Posted February 5, 2007 Share Posted February 5, 2007 Thank you for sharing these pics. I'm still testing on these also. I haven't tested in a while though it seems like I had pretty good luck with the Eco 10's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mssheddy Posted February 5, 2007 Share Posted February 5, 2007 I've had decent luck with the RRD's, I think I use 34 in a 3 inch pillar. As long as I dont marathon burn the seem to do really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candle Man Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 I have found, as you have, that this hard & brittle wax has to be under wicked to leave a shell or they will have blow out.I have yet to try but, you could try the palm as a hurrican shell then fill with soft low melt point container wax, and see how it burns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin'Hot Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 I couldn't agree more with Candleman! After months of testing and loss of my hair, these palms absolutely have to be wicked down to get the "lantern" effect AND not have a blow out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corence Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Thnx for posting. I tried to make a hurricane in a silicone mold that I have, but the wax was too brittle and broke in many many pieces every time I tried to take it out, so I gave up on it. I wont even attempt to try and make a pillar as I have read all the horror stories. However I do love the effect the wax gives, so I am sure I will attempt something in the future.Thnx again for posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Great effects that come from the wax. I had success using RRD40, but I just decided not to mess with the wax any more. I could power burn and not get blow outs most of the time, but then others could power burn and get the blow outs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patience Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 I also use RRD 40 for a 3x6 pillar. I've noticed that these wicks have a bend to them. It wants to curl over to one side, even if it's trimmed. Any one have any thoughts on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Try CDN wicks. We use them for almost all of our soy and palm wax candles. They seem to work pretty well for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacien Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Does anyone think its more logical to underwick about one wick size? How can there be any guarantees you won't have blow outs no matter how muh you test? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleanglow Posted February 7, 2007 Author Share Posted February 7, 2007 Try CDN wicks. We use them for almost all of our soy and palm wax candles. They seem to work pretty well for us.Used them too. The yellow blowout was actually a CDN 10, maybe I'll try an 8 and see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted February 7, 2007 Share Posted February 7, 2007 Does anyone think its more logical to underwick about one wick size? How can there be any guarantees you won't have blow outs no matter how muh you test?Well, that would assume that you knew the wick size to underwick from! There are no guarantees against blowouts! If people burn candles without the wick properly trimmed, in drafty conditions, fail to turn a candle while it is burning to ensure an even burn, leave the candle unattended, etc., stuff WILL happen! One does the best one can to wick candles carefully, but the rest is up to the customer. If they choose to burn the candle and ignore instructions, common sense and safety warnings, whose fault is that? I have no sympathy for people who do stupid things then expect others to listen to their complaints and feel responsible! I was taught years and years ago that when a candle develops a FULL melt pool, it's time to blow it out and allow it to cool before relighting. That REALLY ISN'T a hard rule to follow! As added insurance when burning candles (I get brain fade as often as the next person...), I pay attention to the flame height, where the candle is placed, the grouping of the candles if I am burning more than one, etc. The last time I "forgot" a candle burning was one placed above my eye level on a speaker. I looked at it when I blew out the others around it, but I did not look INTO it (the flame was low and the candle wall was opaque). I now remember to LOOK all the way into each candle in case there is no outward glow! Overnight, it burned slowly - cheerfully dripped out of the saucer, all over the speaker, down the side, onto the desk, down the leg of the desk and onto the floor! WHADDA MESS! The good part was having hardwood floors so at least I didn't have to get any wax out of a carpet! The BEST part was NOT having my house burn down because I screwed up!After that one, to guard against blowouts I burn palm pillars in pretty flat bottomed glass bowls. The pillars seldomly blowout, but when they do, it saves me from a messy cleanup. Bottom line is that anyone can make a mistake and one should always guard against those Mr. Murphy moments in life... it ain't nobody else's fault if ya don't! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted February 7, 2007 Share Posted February 7, 2007 Cleanglow, I am surprised. If those are 3" pillars, a 10 should have worked fine! In fact, it should have been underwicked... Typically, we use 14s for our 3" pillars and usually, they leave a shell if we turn them carefully while burning.Interesting... How long was that candle burning before it blew out? How high was the flame and was the wick trimmed? Did you turn the candles during the testing time? Were they burning in a completely still environment? Are those 100% palm wax? Did you use any palm stearic? Now my interest is piqued! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybersix Posted February 7, 2007 Share Posted February 7, 2007 I tested my palm wax pillars with 36 flat braid, LX 26 and LX 24.They all burn too fast, but I never had a blow out in any case.Curious though is that LX 24 burns faster than the other two wicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleanglow Posted February 7, 2007 Author Share Posted February 7, 2007 Cleanglow, I am surprised. If those are 3" pillars, a 10 should have worked fine! In fact, it should have been underwicked... Typically, we use 14s for our 3" pillars and usually, they leave a shell if we turn them carefully while burning.Interesting... How long was that candle burning before it blew out? How high was the flame and was the wick trimmed? Did you turn the candles during the testing time? Were they burning in a completely still environment? Are those 100% palm wax? Did you use any palm stearic? Now my interest is piqued!Wow ok, lol, let me see if I can answer all of your questions. First of all, I want to say that I'm beginning to think that it's the wax I'm using. I say that because even the one that I had wicked with an RRD 34 blew out this morning after only burining for less than 2 hours.All of the candles blew out at different times during the bruning process. I did do some marathon burning just to be in my comfort zone for future sales. So teh blowouts happened between 4-6 hours of burn time. Except for the one that I thought wasn't going to give me problems (RRD 34). Like I said, that blew out in less than 2 hours on the 5th burn .No palm stearic used and it's the feathering pillar blend from C&S. And yes, they were burining in a completely still environment and I turned them throughout the process.Frustrating to say the least. I am now in the process of burning the RRD 29 that I was SURE would be way underwicked and why I decided not to burn it for testing. Now I don't know what to think. I'll see what happens. If this one blows out too, then its just got to be the wax, right? I'm going to try the palm from candlewic next. I still have so much of this left though, so I'd love to make it work. If I can't, I'll use this strictly for everlatings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted February 7, 2007 Share Posted February 7, 2007 I did do some marathon burning just to be in my comfort zone for future sales.So, are you keeping track of how long each burn lasts, etc.? I was a little confused on the "blew out in less than 2 hours on the 5th burn" part... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OFCILynn Posted February 7, 2007 Share Posted February 7, 2007 Ill tell ya that I love Palm wax and making candles with them but wicking sure is tricky!! My problem is that I know not many actually burn candles the way that they are supposed to be burned so I always wick on the side of safety and those marathan burners rather than us Chandlers that know how to burn a candle properly. I would rather have a thick enough shell that wont blow out and look like a nice hurricane than to have a blowout and hot wax spilling out all over! Of course, I would much rather make a Palm pillar that would consume almost all of the wax but have yet to find wicking that will do that and accomidate those that wont trim and burn all day long! Any variances of a slight draft, wick that burns lopside, anything can cause a blowout and I hate to take that risk!!Personally, I love the look of the flame glowing through the beautiful feather patterns on the candle while leaving approximately a 1/4" wall.Thanks so much for sharing!! Maybe we all can come up with a scent that will hypotize the customer to use proper care while burning candles!! Now that would be a huge seller! LOLGod Bless,Lynn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacien Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Ill tell ya that I love Palm wax and making candles with them but wicking sure is tricky!! My problem is that I know not many actually burn candles the way that they are supposed to be burned so I always wick on the side of safety and those marathan burners rather than us Chandlers that know how to burn a candle properly. I would rather have a thick enough shell that wont blow out and look like a nice hurricane than to have a blowout and hot wax spilling out all over! Of course, I would much rather make a Palm pillar that would consume almost all of the wax but have yet to find wicking that will do that and accomidate those that wont trim and burn all day long! Any variances of a slight draft, wick that burns lopside, anything can cause a blowout and I hate to take that risk!!Personally, I love the look of the flame glowing through the beautiful feather patterns on the candle while leaving approximately a 1/4" wall.Thanks so much for sharing!! Maybe we all can come up with a scent that will hypotize the customer to use proper care while burning candles!! Now that would be a huge seller! LOLGod Bless,LynnLynn I think I agree with you. I haven't experienced a blowout but I have pushed how thin I could go. There is no guarantee that people are going to follow directions you give them. I would feel more piece of mind with 1/4 of a shell. I like the hurricane effect. I have seen so many posts for people that try to use HTP and RRD's that tend to burn off to one side and creat blow outs. There is no way to prevent that other than wicking down one size. I think we are just to critical on ourselves as to how perfect it looks when it burns. As long as it burns safely, and gives a decent throw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 I think both of you have hit on my biggest insecurity: what customers will do to a candle after it leaves here! One can give excellent instructions, but there is no guarantee that someone will even read them, let alone follow them! I am continually appalled at how little common sense some folks possess and how entitled they feel to blame someone else for their difficulties! I honestly laugh at warnings like "product will be hot after heating" but HEY!! Apparently there are folks who NEED to be told this, ignore it and STILL get mad when they burn their fingers! Go figger...:rolleyes2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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