CS Palm pillar test burn

[snow]

I made a 3x4 palm pillar, scented cranberry marmalaid and used the cs14 wick. The first night it burned for 4 hours and did very nicely. Th HT was good, its melt pool was almost perfect. The next night (at work) I lit it again and it was doing so well, good HT and looking good. But after about 3 hrs it leaked out of one side, just a tiny little stream and it seemed to melt the pillar down the side like a tiny gulley, know what I mean? I guess the 12 wick is better, that pillar is still going, but the sides are not melting at all. What do you all think? I dont like that much hang up on the pillar, with the 12, but the 14's are going to cause problems, I'm thinking. Anyone have any test results? Please share. Oh...how are you doing with the containers?

[SonShine]

I'm just starting to test my second palm container. The first test I did in the same container (8oz tumbler), the wax tunneled really bad, so I'm going to make some more with bigger wicks. I used 6% FO, with the Violet Lime scent from Candle Science. The scent was pretty good...wish the tunneling wasn't there tho. It sure was pretty! lol

Is there a way to melt these down and redo the wick?? (or is that a really stupid question????)

Anyone else care to share?

Thanks!

Suzy

[Cindys]

Hi I just ordered my palm wax from CS. From what Diane told me ( Wonderful girl that works there) This wax will tunnel. You are suppose to break the pieces away. I know you cant do that in a container. Thats what she suggested for the pillars. Also she said to add fragrance color at 200 then try and pour at 190 or 200. Cool on a rack so air can cirruclate. Is this how everyone else is doing this or should I try something else? Thanks

[SonShine]

Hmmm....so there's no way to get stop the tunneling?

I melted my wax to 200, added fo right away into the presto, and poured into a heated pyrex after stirring only a short time. I did cool mine on a rack, that I covered with a styrofoam cooler, to slow the cooling time down.

I'm wondering now about the tunneling. Grrr....wish there was a way around this?

I supposed I'll just keep testing, cuz they're just so pretty!

Suzy

[snow]

my containers tunneled at first and then caught up. After burning a while, I can't remember off hand how long, they were going great. Burned all the wax off the sides of the jar and looked much better, might have been like the second burn. I have a peach pillar burning now, its a 6" tall and its about 2" burned down, it has some left on the sides, so maybe breaking that off will help it. Don't really know yet but its burning good.

[flightoffancy]

I just finished my 1st test burn double wicking my 16oz apothecary jar with 2 LX 16s and it burned beautifully! I have a paper thin ledge at the top right around the edges but directly beneath that the melt pool reached all the way out.

I'll do my 2nd burn in the morning and see if it melts that ledge, if it does then I'm going to start the power burn testing.

[Crowded House]

I'm testing a CS Starburst blend in a 3"x4.5" pillar now. Unscented, purple liquid dye, CSN 14 wick.

First burn was 3 hours, it tunnelled about 1/2", melt pool was about the size of a silver dollar, slightly off-center due to the curling nature of the CSN.

Second burn was 4 hours, tunnelling went down a little further, melt pool about another 1/8" out. There's still a good 1/2" shell all around, 1 hour into the third burn. The outside of the candle was just slightly warmer than room temperature after the 4 hour burn.

I'm ambivalent about the wicks. They seem to curl like the htp and cd series, providing a somewhat lopsided melt pool. I might break out some lx-20-somethings and see if that's any better.

[Crowded House]

Update: third burn - 5 hours. Melt pool is still somewhat lopsided, but in a consistent manner; 3/4" on the thick side and 1/2" on the thin, all the way down. Tunnel is about 1.25" deep. Some flickering, but not too much.

Will start a fragranced palm pillar tonight after the kids go to bed, and maybe try this unscented one for another 4-5 hour burn just to see what happens before I melt it back down into something else.

[Crowded House]

Fourth burn (5 hours); some improvement. Thick wall is now at 5/8", thin wall at 3/8". Tunnel is just a hair under 2" deep. No increase in flickering or outside wall temperature (around body temp by the end of 5 hours). The candle still looks sort of like one of those little floor spot lamps that you put behind the couch to illuminate wall art, though.

Next up: 3x4.5" palm pillar, honey colored, scented with Vanilla Bean Supreme and Cranberry Spice, CSN 14 wick.

[SonShine]

I have these CSN wicks but don't understand how to determine which way the curl will go. Is there an easy way to figure this out? I always end up putting it in the container the wrong direction and then have a lopsided burn. I know I should have called for more information, but didn't get to it yet.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Suzy

[Crowded House]

I have these CSN wicks but don't understand how to determine which way the curl will go. Is there an easy way to figure this out? I always end up putting it in the container the wrong direction and then have a lopsided burn. I know I should have called for more information, but didn't get to it yet.

Any suggestions?

Good answer here.

To the lopsided burn, I remembered this evening reading something here about "twisting" wicks, and now that CS has the CSN series raw on spools, this should be an interesting experiment.

[SonShine]

Thanks so much for such a quick answer, CH! Everyone has been so helpful on this Palm stuff, as well as everything else.

I'm going to check that link right now!

Hugs~~

Suzy

P.S. As far as cleaning these puppies, yep this wax is a pain to clean up. I did the usual for my jars...put them in a skillet with two inches of water. Waited forever for them to melt down, then wiped out. Added lots of Murphy's Oil Soap and hot water and let them soak a bit. Wasn't too bad after that. (I find Murphy's works for soooo many things! )

[Crowded House]

Thanks so much for such a quick answer, CH! Everyone has been so helpful on this Palm stuff, as well as everything else.

I agree. Whenever a "new" product comes out there are always very helpful and forthcoming testers here. I've enjoyed being able to join in on this one, even just a little bit. This is a great crowd.

Of course six months from now (closer to Christmas) this site will have 6 posts a day saying, "Help! CS Palm wax! How to wick?!?" "CS Palm Wax - what am I doing wrong?" "CS Palm wax newbie - did a search, couldn't find anything!!!"

The tester I lit last night (3 hour initial test) with the FO did a lot better than the previous unscented one. Beautiful "lantern" effect within 90 minutes, 5/8" shell by 3 hours (no pronounced thick side/thin side like the unscented one). Great scent throw. Slight mushroom, but nothing huge. I think the CSN 14 might actually be a little big for this one.

Either FO helps these candles burn (or that particular FO helps them burn), or my purple dye inhibits it. I'm going to make an unscented dye-free one next and see how that burns.

[Crowded House]

Second burn; 2.75 hours. A bit of unpleasantness with the sidewall (which became more lopsided this burn). Not a break, but close. CSN 14 is definitely too big.

I'm going to give a couple of LX's a go, see what that does.

Good luck with all your testing, everyone!

[SonShine]

Thanks for the heads up on the wicking with CSN14. Guess I'll start over with the LX as well.

And your right, maybe by Christmas we'll be able to help some of those needing help with the Palm Wax. At least I'm hoping I'll be able to contribute, like you!

Thanks again,

Suzy, Chicago Burbs