Wicking Issue and Experiment

[Tracey]

Hey everyone-

I feel foolish even posting this as I have been making candles for 4 years and have never had such issues with wicking as I have had in the past months.

I use KY125 and have had many frustrating evenings with my test burns as of late-even some tried and true aren't that great. I have CD, CDN and cotton wicks. So...

I haven't been able to figure out where the problem is coming from so I decided to do some experimenting-probably what I should have done a long time ago. I just don't remember ever having so much trouble with wicking before.

I poured up some candles with no color and no scent, some with just color and some with just scent. I also poured one with no color and scent, but with some Crisco added (someone had suggested this a while ago to help with some hard to burn combos).

Anyway, I plan to burn them tonight and document all the usual stuff-burn rate, timing on melt pool, depth of melt pool, etc. I am looking for some guidelines as to how to apply what I get to wicking “regular” candles. I am so used to making them with the color and scent and making adjustments from there. Say, if one of the no color, no scent candles develops it’s melt pool etc within the 1”/hour rule and maintains it, should I go up a size when adding fragrance and color????? Or should I use the same wick on light color and lighter oil??? My brain is on overload and it’s not thinking logically right now-after going through too many test candles and having nothing seem to work right. That’s why I thought I’d start from the beginning so to speak. I am trying to determine where the “problem” is coming from.

I have actually contemplated not coloring my candles at all, but I love the colors.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Tracey

[MandM]

Not sure if this helps or hurts, but when we started doing candles, we tried pouring in jars and stuff for testers, but that got very expensive. We were then given a tip which I think helped a whole lot.

Instead of pouring a bunch of test containers, we were told to get some cheap frying pans (as big as we could find- graage sales are really cheap) and wick up the pan with as many different wicks as we could fit in there reasonably. For example, put a CD18 in one area and maybe 2 CD14s in another etc. So, instead of having to pour multiple containers for every scent and color and then finding out a wicks keeps drowning (worthless candle) we made one pan full and went from there. When we were reasonably sure of what the wick combination was, then a test container was made. (sure saved on glass) The nice part with the pan was that you could heat it over low heat, and pour the wax out into a container.

To be honest, I really don't see the point of pouring a candle with no additives because you will never sell one that way. The best way IMO is to make one with what you think is the appropriate wicking, scent, and color and adjust from there.

[Tracey]

the fry pan idea that is.

I knew I wouldn't sell any with no scent and color-I just wanted a starting point for which wick worked with nothing added or if one was too hot, too weak for that container. That would eliminate choices.

I'll think about the frying pan idea and maybe give that a whirl.

Tracey

[Henryk]

Basically, that is called a "slab test" - I think its good in a way, but unfortunately doensn't take into account the chimney effect from the jars that you are going to get with container candles - which assist in the burn also. Like MandM said, you still have to do the container test.

Tracey - have you had any luck with your question over on the KY board? Usually they try to be very helpful - including the owner.

[Tracey]

Thanks! I had thought about the "chimney effect" on ym way home-not in that term, but how you take the jar into effect that way.

I have posted on the KY board and got some words of encouragement. I also posted a very lengthy piece on my initial results along with the added frustrations. I will wait and see if I get any additional encouragement or guidance so to speak.

Thanks again Henryk

Tracey

[Twoscentsworth]

Tracey, this is the wax I use and I will tell you what works for me. I use RRD wicks and I wick up one size from what the wick chart suggests...if the FO is very light then you can usually use the recommended size...if it is a very heavy oil with a lot of color you may have to go up two sizes from the recommended.

If you want to stick with the CD's then I suggest you wick up one to two sizes with them also....possibly more with heavy fo and color...but the best advice I can give is to find one wick type and stick with it. The RRD's will mushroom but they also give a good throw and I have them trained now

[Tracey]

This has been a long and frustrating month testing new scents for a show and discovering the wicking issues and having to test everything over. I am contemplating adding some crisco with this batch of wax to see if it's any easier to burn.

I only have a few samples of RRD's at home and am in a financial situation right now where I can't order much of anything more for a while yet. I have a good supply of CD's and CDN's and cotton's at home. I did try one of my more difficult scents with a 62C in the 9oz hex and while it worked wonderfully, the glass got awefully hot, more so than usual and that "scares" me a bit. Granted I did let it burn for 8 hours, but I know there are a lot of customers out there that will do the same-light them in the morning and let them burn all day-that's why I test burn for that long.

Have you ever tried adding Crisco????

Thanks bunches

Tracey

[Jeannie]

I'm sorry you are having so much trouble Tracey but I do know what you are going through with these wicking issues. Right now I am hesitant to even order more of the ky125 because I fear it's going to be different then my last batch. I'm starting to test some new waxes and have been in a slump on what direction to go. Do I order more or do I move on....SIGH! I don't like the fact that the soy waxes keep changing and everything has to be repeatedly tested. Now is not the time for me to do this but I'm not happy with the wicking issues either. Also, I did notice the wax is harder then it use to be? Overall, it never seems like it is the same to me and it has been very discouraging to feel this way.

Anyhoo, I have tried crisco before but mainly in paraffin applications years ago. I did try it in soy one time and it will help a bit with the burn but I find it causes a lot more mushrooming. I normally test with 2 tablespoons per lb. I would try a 60C of you decide to do so.

Keep us posted Tracey

[Tracey]

It's just terrible how much variance there is in batches these days. it's hard for to decide whether I want to continue on with the struggle of the 125 or try something else. I may end up ordering samples of a few different ones to test. I know that won't tell me if there will be variations from batch to batch, but at least I'll know if it's "any better" so to speak.

I re wicked a few of my testers last night-ones that I had burned only a couple of times. I wicked up and had luck in getting good melt pools and throw-very good throw. In these I didn't notice the jars getting as hot as they did when I tried the 62C in the 9oz hex. I wicked these with CD's. Now I am deciding if I want to retest with the Crisco added or just wick up. The thought of going through all those pounds of wax again to test with Crisco-I just am not sure. Especially when the next batch may be fine.

Yes, I noticed too that the wax was much harder than normal-this by far is the toughest batch I have had.

The battle goes on. I have about 20 testers to pour yet this weekend. Hopefully they will test well.

Thanks Jeannie - keep the faith!

Tracey