Beeswax votives--what wick to start with?

[7 Pawz]

Hello all : I hope someone can help with this:grin2: I was given around 40 pounds of beeswax from local beekeepers, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to make votives, just to get used to working with the wax. I thought I would test different wicks besides a square braid wick. WELL, I have tested the largest of the zinc,LX, they drown in the wax. Tried cotton, didn't work, SO, I thought I'd try the square braid wick, I thought that would work much better---so far, no go. Tried the 1/0, #2, #5, all except the 5 drown in the wax, the no. 5 leaves some wax on the side of the votive holder.

How large of a square braid wick should I start testing with? They are the only ones that look like they will work, this isn't a blend I am using, it is all beeswax. I have made some candles with a beeswax/para blend, but the wick for that candle definitely won't work with this one.

All suggestions are appreciated and thanks in advance:grin2:

[Henryk]

In my regular BW I usually use an LX16 for votives.

I'm testing a couple different bees waxes I don't' normally use at the moment that are not refined. There is one that is so hard to burn that I'm relinquishing it to tapers only since the braid needed is just too large for anything else, practically speaking.

Not an answer to your question, but just an idea if nothing will work for you.

[Cetacea]

You might have too much honey in the wax for it to burn properly, try filtering the wax a couple of times. You can go buy some mesh at the hardware store (the tighter the mesh the better) or you can use pantyhose.

Simply melt the wax and then pour it through either your mesh or pantyhose a couple of times. Its a mess and kind of a pain to keep it liquid but it works.

If you use pantyhose place the beeswax inside the hose then melt. Pantyhose filters require more pass throughs...but they are bendable.

Just a suggestion.

[7 Pawz]

In my regular BW I usually use an LX16 for votives.

I'm testing a couple different bees waxes I don't' normally use at the moment that are not refined. There is one that is so hard to burn that I'm relinquishing it to tapers only since the braid needed is just too large for anything else, practically speaking.

Not an answer to your question, but just an idea if nothing will work for you.

Thank you for your help:) this may be what i'll end up doing. The majority of the wax is clean, I have melted and strained it, so I'll see what happens.

[7 Pawz]

You might have too much honey in the wax for it to burn properly, try filtering the wax a couple of times. You can go buy some mesh at the hardware store (the tighter the mesh the better) or you can use pantyhose.

Simply melt the wax and then pour it through either your mesh or pantyhose a couple of times. Its a mess and kind of a pain to keep it liquid but it works.

If you use pantyhose place the beeswax inside the hose then melt. Pantyhose filters require more pass throughs...but they are bendable.

Just a suggestion.

Thank you for your suggestion, I'll try that:D

[candlefolks]

I've tried many wicks and ended up using the HTP-126.

[Circle]

In my regular BW I usually use an LX16 for votives.

I'm testing a couple different bees waxes I don't' normally use at the moment that are not refined. There is one that is so hard to burn that I'm relinquishing it to tapers only since the braid needed is just too large for anything else, practically speaking.

Not an answer to your question, but just an idea if nothing will work for you.

My goodness, how did you get that to work? I find LX 16 barely works in my palm, let alone the beeswax!! Mine is fully refined and I find wicking really difficult. The wax also burns very fast if I get the wick size right not to get any hangup. Work in progress for me, so I am afraid I am unable to give any advise.

[ChrisR]

Circle I use LX 16 in my beeswax votives also with no problems. It all depends on your beeswax, as they are not all the same viscosity. I only use one supplier for my wax and each batch of wax has to be retested for wicking.