Wicks for 7-Day Vigil Candles

[UrbanFool]

My usual cotton wicks aren't working for this. Although they don't smoke in general, once they're in the tall glass container, the glass turns black as pitch. It's also impossible to trim the wick (which is a portion of the blackening problem.) I haven't seen a wick specifically for this purpose.

Also, aside from beeswax, are there additives I can add to make the candles longer burning? I tried using a normal 2x6.5" in an empty container, and it's not really doing the trick. Or, is it just that the wax has to be poured directly into the container as opposed to an insert?

Anyone know?

Thanks,

Kelly

[topofmurrayhill]

Vigil candles are generally made with ~127 MP straight unscented paraffin (preferably with some residual oil content) and optionally a smidge of high-MP microcrystalline if you want to avoid a mottled look. You could also experiment with a little Vybar or something in place of micro. Wicks are typically small zincs, like around 34-40.

Those are just the general guidelines for a traditional design. It can take a lot of work to make right. The wick should self-trim and maintain a proper size flame so you can leave the candle lit for long periods or even perpetually until it burns out. If you want to design one that burns well it may take a lot of testers to figure out the wax, additives and exact wick size.

A lot of black on the sides isn't acceptable. Watch out for the container temperature too.

Good luck.

[UrbanFool]

Thank you very much for this! I got busy and didn't have a chance to respond back... didn't want you to think I'm an ingrate.

Thanks again!

Kelly