Candlelovr Posted September 22, 2005 Share Posted September 22, 2005 Hi all!I was testing a 4 x 4.5" pillar over the weekend, using 1 lb of 6228, 1/4 tsp vybar 103, a tiny bit of fo and tiny bit of color. I started off with a CD16, and after 4 hours, only had a 2" mp. So I yanked out the wick and stuck in a CD22. The mp didnt ever get any bigger. The candle is tunneling down and there is a big shell, about 2" wide all around. Why didnt I get a bigger mp with the bigger wick? Thanks for any info you can provide!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted September 22, 2005 Share Posted September 22, 2005 It was probably a teensy bit bigger if you measure carefully. CDs aren't the melt pool champions of the world so you might want to try LX or something. You'll also need to do longer tests for a 4 inch pillar. Remember the 1 hour per inch rule. An appropriate memory burn for this size candle is 4 or 5 hours.You shouldn't be adding Vybar to 6228 as it may cause unpredictable results. This is a preformulated wax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candlelovr Posted September 22, 2005 Author Share Posted September 22, 2005 I test burned for 4 hrs and only had a 2" melt pool. With the larger wick, I did the same, 4 hrs. I will try a different wick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted September 22, 2005 Share Posted September 22, 2005 Not sure how much a teensy bit of FO is, but if you're testing to find the right wick size, you need to use the full amount of FO. The amount of FO will change the way it burns. By using a lesser amount you may completely void your wick testing. (Unless the "teensy" amount is how much of that FO you're plannig to continue using in that formual....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieDweller Posted September 22, 2005 Share Posted September 22, 2005 Don't forget the fact that you had already test burned it once, setting it's burn "memory". A true test for a pillar candle is to start with a completely even top. Containers, we can just yank out the wick, heatgun til even again and reinsert wick choice #2. Can't very well do that with pillars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee Posted September 22, 2005 Share Posted September 22, 2005 Yep, that's the pain about pillars. You need to start off with a new top. One of the things i've done is to use our circular saw (not sure of its real name) and cut the top off just below the circle created by the first burn, pull out the wick and start again. Don't try this if you haven't used power tools before. I think you could also take out the wick and melt the top of the candle down until you get past the melt pool previously formed, let the candle cool and rewick it. You'd have to have a way to punch a hole for the wick though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted September 22, 2005 Share Posted September 22, 2005 Yep, that's the pain about pillars. You need to start off with a new top. One of the things i've done is to use our circular saw (not sure of its real name) and cut the top off just below the circle created by the first burn, pull out the wick and start again. Don't try this if you haven't used power tools before. I think you could also take out the wick and melt the top of the candle down until you get past the melt pool previously formed, let the candle cool and rewick it. You'd have to have a way to punch a hole for the wick though.It's an interesting question whether that's good enough for testing. I suppose it may be, but the inside of the candle is liable to be different from the top for a multitude of reasons. It cools more slowly, FO migrates, some addtives like stearic don't distribute evenly, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted September 22, 2005 Share Posted September 22, 2005 turn it upsidedown and start burning from the bottom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieDweller Posted September 22, 2005 Share Posted September 22, 2005 why not?? lolActually the way I used to do it (in my pillar days) was to pour several pillar "discs" of around 3" high. I'd wick them all with various wicks and test burn. When done, melt the whole mess down and make a full size pillar using the wick that gave the best results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee Posted September 22, 2005 Share Posted September 22, 2005 Have done it all the ways suggested. Sometimes I've also cut the candle up in pieces before wicking. I've tried the melt down, but found that sometimes, no matter how low a heat I've used, the FO has burned off making the candle different than the original. Usuall when I've found a wick I like I make a new one and burn it several times, almost to the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 turn it upsidedown and start burning from the bottom? Satin, ya gotta stop burning the candle at both ends! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candlelovr Posted September 23, 2005 Author Share Posted September 23, 2005 turn it upsidedown and start burning from the bottom? I thought about doing that actually. I had mentioned before making only a 3" disc and testing that way and someone told me I needed to test burn the entire candle because things can happen halfway thru the burn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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