tealight candle question

[erinmfritz]

I would like to make my own soy tealights. I want to do unscented/uncolored tealights to sell for people who use them in their tart burners. Are these easy to wick? Which cups do you recommend, plastic or metal? FYI, I use GB444 w/st.

[Nodtveidt]

For tealights, I use plastic cups and either "tealight" wicks or regular old 36-24-24C wicking, depending on the application. Platic cups just look so much better, metal ones tend to look cheap.

[erinmfritz]

Do you need to worry about the plastic melting? I know I've seen them and probably used them but I don't want to have one more thing to worry about the safety of.

[SpaceGirl]

As long as the wax doesn't catch on fire the plastic tealight cups are fine. I use them all the time and only had a problem once..... and it was my own fault. :embarasse

I use zincs -- Nature's Garden sells a huge quantity (1000 pack?) for not that much and they always work.

[gerrie]

If these are used for heating the tart, in other words, inside the warmer, then you need to use metal cups. I'm sure there are people who use the plastic cups, but it's HIGHLY recommended that you use the metal ones because it's enclosed, so to speak, and can get quite hot inside. I just buy the bag full from Michaels or Walmart for use in any warmers or houses.

If you are selling these to burn like a votive, that will be seen, then I agree, the plastic ones look much nicer, JMHO.

And yes, the plastic can catch on fire, happened to me twice, but I had the tealight over wicked, learned a lesson, test only on heat resistant surface. It's on my caution label, I need to practice what I preach

[erinmfritz]

Thanks for the input. Gerri, I think I will get some metal ones, just don't trust how people use them. I am not scenting them, just want to be able to offer them a soy alternative for the tart burners.

[Kay]

For tealights, I use plastic cups and either "tealight" wicks or regular old 36-24-24C wicking, depending on the application. Platic cups just look so much better, metal ones tend to look cheap.

Shouldn't you use wicks for "Soy wax"...like the HTP's, ECO's or LX's? I was under the impression regular old 36-24-24C wicking wouldn't work. Am I misunderstanding?...i'm just now making my own tea lights from soy to use in my Forever Palms. Was wondering about the wicking so i ordered tea light wicks, but in Eco's series, but if i can use just regular wicking i have that here at home. I used some HTP's I had here & cut them down to make the ones i posted yesterday.

Kay

[SpaceGirl]

You don't ever "have" to use any one type of wick... it's all about what performs the best for your combo. Don't ever exclude a wick because it should or shouldn't work in your wax. Sometimes wicks that are meant for your wax will be horrible -- for example I can't use the tealight wicks from Lonestar that are the paper type formulated specifically for veggie wax -- they always fall over and extinguish themselves in the melt pool. Maybe someone else knows how to get them to work... :rolleyes2

[Kay]

You don't ever "have" to use any one type of wick... it's all about what performs the best for your combo. Don't ever exclude a wick because it should or shouldn't work in your wax. Sometimes wicks that are meant for your wax will be horrible -- for example I can't use the tealight wicks from Lonestar that are the paper type formulated specifically for veggie wax -- they always fall over and extinguish themselves in the melt pool. Maybe someone else knows how to get them to work... :rolleyes2

Ok great..i understand now. I thought you had to use a soy based wick..or like the ones i mentioned. I understand now..the ones i used seemed to be ok..but i'm going to try some others...Thanks

[scentlady]

Now that someone has recommended metal tealights for tart warmers I'm wondering what kind of tealight I should be using in my hurricane shells. Any recommendations?

[Billie]

I have read on here that people used plastic because they didn't get as hot as metal. They also used something to set it on, like cork or tile so the heat wouldn't melt the wax cane.

[tamsoycandles]

I would like to make my own soy tealights. I want to do unscented/uncolored tealights to sell for people who use them in their tart burners. Are these easy to wick? Which cups do you recommend, plastic or metal? FYI, I use GB444 w/st.

Get the cups and wicks from CandleScience.com. They've got the best prices on plastic cups. I've never had a problem using the plastic cups, with the proper wick. They have sample packs of their wicks so you can size them right for your application.

Tony