Tarts cracking?! Help!

[bunkie68]

I posted this on the temp forum while Candletech was down - I'm reposting here in hopes of getting more thoughts.

My first few batches of tarts turned out well, except that the first couple of batches bubbled on top a bit (I think I poured them too hot). I poured a second batch at a lower temp and there were no bubbles, just some frosting in the center (which actually looked kind of cool). I'm using Cargill NatureWax V-1 soy votive blend, and I'd been letting them cool on my kitchen island. Suddenly I had a batch that crazed and cracked around the edges, and one tart cracked in multiple places. I tried warming molds and not warming molds, pouring hot and pouring cold. Finally I poured two batches at once and had one cooling on the island and one on the kitchen cabinet. The ones on the island had problems with crazing and cracking, but the ones on the kitchen cabinet only had a couple of small craze marks around the edges of a couple of the tarts. Aha, I thought, problem solved! I thought, well, for whatever reason, the air conditioning must be blowing on the island in such a way as to make them crack like that.

So a few nights ago I poured another batch. Had them cooling on the kitchen cabinet. Came back later to find that most of them turned out well, but one had cracked in several different places, just like before. ?!$%^%&*#! GAH!!!!! I poured the wax at about 145 degrees, molds were room temperature.

The advice I got on the temp forum was to add just a bit of C-3 to the V-1 to soften it up without making it so soft that it wouldn't release from the molds. I tried that, 15 ounces V-1 to 1 ounce C-3, and the first batch came out darned near perfect. I was thrilled, and thought, yay, problem solved! Then I poured a second batch last night. Same wax, different FO, same ratio of C-3 to V-1, I might have poured just a hair hotter but not more than a couple of degrees hotter, cooled in the same place, and I'll be ding-donged if two of the second batch didn't crack.

Does anyone have any thoughts as to why this might be happening, and what I can do to prevent or minimize it? I've got orders to fill, and this is making me just want to pull my hair out in frustration. (And bless one of my customers, she's a good friend and she told me not to worry if her tarts weren't pristine, she was just going to melt them anyway. )

[kandlekrazy]

Be sure there is no draft on them when they are cooling. Sometimes if I try to work too early in the morning when the house is much cooler, mine crack; or if the fan is getting even the slightest breeze on them. You can put them in your oven to set up which eliminates drafts or put a big box over the top of them to eliminate drafts. I don't usually heat my molds, but I use mostly silicone molds for melts. That's the only thing I can think of...I use the same waxes.

[bunkie68]

Thanks for the thoughts! I'd wondered if it might be a draft, so I'd turned off the ceiling fans and changed the spot I was using to let them cool - I moved from the island to the kitchen cabinet. Maybe I'll try a different spot, or perhaps I'll try the box idea, or the oven. Would it mess them up, though, if I pour them and then move the pan they're on to the oven?

It's just so frustrating, because the first few batches were darn near perfect except for the bubbles. And then suddenly, kablooey, it's all gone haywire. I wondered, too, if the weather has anything to do with it. The earlier part of the summer was a lot cooler than normal for Texas, and now it's stinkin' hot like summer usually is. Maybe I'm just grasping at straws here. :undecided

[kandlekrazy]

I usually pour them on the oven door (mine is high) and then slide them in...but it really shouldn't mess them up to move them if you put the molds on a cookie sheet before you pour.

[bunkie68]

I'll give it a try - if they're cracking now, it can't hurt to try, right? :smiley2:

[kandlekrazy]

Yes, that's what we live for...testing...testing...and more testing!

[bunkie68]

Hope springs eternal.... I've got a batch cooling, straight V-1, in the most draft-free spot I could find, fans off, A/C off (now isn't that dedication, turning the A/C off in August, in Texas ), some in the star molds I've been using (and love), and some in heart molds that I also have. I don't see how the shape of the mold could suddenly make a difference, but maybe it does. *shrugs*

The problems started when I got a new box of wax. Previously, I didn't have these issues. Has anyone ever noticed a difference from one batch of wax to another (whatever kind you're using, doesn't have to be V-1), or am I just crazy thinking along those lines?

[kandlekrazy]

Oh heck yes!! You will find lots of info in the archives about this...but Soy differs from batch to batch! You almost always have to do some retesting with every box (unless it's the same lot as before.) Sometimes it helps to mix up the flakes in the plastic bag before you start using it.

[bunkie68]

All righty, let the mixing up commence - the batch I made this afternoon cracked like mad, and some didn't crack too badly but sort of sank in in the middle. I'll have to try another batch tomorrow, I just don't have the heart to mess with it tonight.

[kandlekrazy]

Lisa,

Another suggesting would be to wait about a week before pouring any more. I was going crazy at one point, thought it was a bad batch of wax (which also happens) and then miraculously the following week the candles were fine. It had to be the weather and barometic pressure that week playing havoc on the wax. I found in containers with straight C3 the coconut oil helped with the circular cracks on top. I don't know if it will help in tarts, but I'm all about trying new things, especially if I have the stuff and it doesn't cost me anything to try!

[bunkie68]

Thanks for the suggestion! The weather has been all over the place lately - some hot days, some cloudy/rainy - so I'm not sure if that's it, and if it is, well, I'm toast, because the weather in Texas changes from minute to minute. But maybe I'll wait a day or two before pouring any more. I hate to wait too long, though. I've got orders waiting, and I'm just starting out selling, and I don't want to delay those too long, you know? Bother. It had to go and freak out on me *now*.

With the coconut oil, when did you use it? After the containers had completely set up? I'll try anything once, especially if there's a chance it might help!

Wax issues aside, making tarts is fun. Selling them and making money on it (or at least heading in that direction) is even more fun. So, I'm determined!

[kandlekrazy]

I mix it into the hot wax just after or with the fo...depending on how organized I am. I melt the co first in the micro (you have to keep it in the fridge and it's hard!) I add 1/2 tablespoon pp of wax. I'm not sure it will help with tarts, I've never tried it...so, if you try it and it helps out...please post the results. Thanks!

[bunkie68]

Hmm. I've got some coconut oil at home (and yeah, you're right - it's hard as a rock!). I'll melt up a bit and try it tonight. It can't make me any more frustrated than I have been, right? I guess with containers you're not worried about how easily it releases. I'll be the guinea pig on that, and post the results here. That's one thing I love about the V-1, it releases from molds and from tart burners like a dream, and I don't want to lose that - it's been a pretty big selling point for me thus far. (Yeah, me with my six orders. Gotta start somewhere, right?)

ETA: is the 1/2 tablespoon measured in solid or liquid form?

[kandlekrazy]

Liquid form is how I measure...and 6 orders is great!

[bunkie68]

I've gotta start somewhere, right? I'm still stunned that people pay me money for this. I'm hoping to have my site up and running soon, and maybe that will help bring in a few more orders. Now, to just get the $%^&*!#*&^! wax fixed....

[bunkie68]

Just stirring up the wax has helped immensely. Yay!!!! The V-1 is almost back to its original deliciousness, and I'm much happier with it. Tried palm wax, liked it, might add it to the repertoire at some point. Tried a 50/50 V-1/palm blend - the surface of the tarts looked kind of funny, but they had a good throw. I probably won't keep that in the works, though, just because the finished product isn't that pretty. But yay, the V-1 is working again!!! I'm a happy girl, and a tart-makin' fool.

[bunkie68]

And now it's not working again. I'm back to getting cracks around the edges, and a lot more of the tarts are sinking in the middle and developing a circular crack around the sunken area. GAH. I've also noticed that I'm not getting the nice release I used to, from either molds or the tart burner after I melt one and it hardens back up. With the V-1, they used to pop right out, with almost no effort. The last few I've burned, once they've cooled, I've had to get a butter knife or spoon or something and pry them out. Not as difficult as some tarts I've burned where they'll only harden up enough to come out solid if you put them in the freezer, but still - not that nice fall-right-out quality that my customers seem to be crazy about. I've just gotten an order for votives, but the way the V-1 is acting, I'm hesitant to make them right now for fear they'll be a disaster. I've e-mailed Lone Star just to see what they say - didn't ask for anything back, I just told them what was happening and asked for suggestions and said I wanted to let them know in case anyone else had mentioned a similar problem.

I could just scream. Perhaps I'll switch to palm wax and be done with it. But dang it, then I'd have to shell out more money for palm wax when I haven't come close to using up what I've got already.

[bunkie68]

Tried the coconut oil tonight - I added 1/2 tablespoon per pound. It didn't help the cracking that I could tell, and it might have been worse with this batch, although that could be my imagination. So, what the heck?! I'm very interested to see what Lone Star tells me. I almost hope it's a bad batch and that I've not suddenly lost my touch somehow or jinxed myself by getting actual paying customers.

[Sharon in KY]

All righty, let the mixing up commence - the batch I made this afternoon cracked like mad, and some didn't crack too badly but sort of sank in in the middle. I'll have to try another batch tomorrow, I just don't have the heart to mess with it tonight.

This happens if I pour too cool. I like pouring tarts hot and candles cool. I use GF435 soy with cotton seed, heat to about 175 to 200 add scent and color then pour tarts. Sometimes they are perfect and in the same pour, some look like crap. Here's my new saying "SOY wax... you better love it cause you sure won't like it."

[kandlekrazy]

I don't know if it will make you feel any better, but I poured candles on Fri and Sat and they all either cracked or the tops were really funky. Our weather has been really off because of the hurricanes. Unusually high humidity and hot for over 2 weeks. This is the first time in a long, long time that I decided not to warm the containers (figuring room temp was warm enough...I don't have a/c) and I got all those dang wet spots back! I hate summer for candle making.

[bunkie68]

This happens if I pour too cool. I like pouring tarts hot and candles cool. I use GF435 soy with cotton seed, heat to about 175 to 200 add scent and color then pour tarts. Sometimes they are perfect and in the same pour, some look like crap. Here's my new saying "SOY wax... you better love it cause you sure won't like it."

I think the hottest I've poured mine is about 160, and I got bubbles on the tops. Maybe I'll try pouring hotter and see what happens (although I think 160 is the recommended high temp for pouring the V-1). Do you warm the molds, or just go with them room temperature? I've stopped warming mine, because it didn't seem to make a difference and because my house is plenty warm (my coconut oil is liquid just sitting out on my counter, so it's over 76 degrees for sure).

kandlekrazy, in some strange way, it does make me feel better - like I'm not just a complete boob if it's happening to others, you know? I'm sorry you're sharing my frustration, though. Nothin' but fun, huh?

[luvmyfam77]

I use NG 100% soy right now and I melt to 175, add color, then frag. Stir for a good 2 mins then pretty much let it cool down to 120 (with a few stirs here and there) then I pour. I made one batch last week that had the sink holes in it for some reason then the next day my friend and I made 7 more batches and they were perfect, go figure lol. I don't like to pour cooler than 120 because then it gets too thick and I get yucky looking tops.

[bunkie68]

I use NG 100% soy right now and I melt to 175, add color, then frag. Stir for a good 2 mins then pretty much let it cool down to 120 (with a few stirs here and there) then I pour. I made one batch last week that had the sink holes in it for some reason then the next day my friend and I made 7 more batches and they were perfect, go figure lol. I don't like to pour cooler than 120 because then it gets too thick and I get yucky looking tops.

Mine has started to thicken up when I've poured at 140, so I won't go any cooler than that. If I do, my last couple of tarts will be unintentionally grubby, because all I'll be able to do is scoop the rapidly congealing wax into the mold. I just wish I could figure out some rhyme or reason as to why my wax is going bonkers. Weather, bad batch, user error, whatever.