2 questions

[Tasha]

Hey ladies I have a question:

1) How do you know which size wick to use for different size candles? I didn't know the size of the wick mattered until I watched a candle making video today and it was mentioned.

2) Could someone give me a list of the soy wax burning times for jar sizes

2-24 ozs?

I would really appreciate any help that I can get. I am getting ready to start my business and these are the last 2 things I have to get straight. I thought I had everything until the wick question came up today and I think the burning times would be beneficial to my customers.

Tasha

Exquisite Fragrances and Candles

[Vicky_CO]

What I am going to say you are not going to like.

Honestly if you can not answer those to question from your own experience you are not ready to sell.

Here is why

1. Well wick size will depend on your jar, it will depend on which wax you are using it will also change with your fragrances even the dyes and additives you add will influence what wick is used. That is why we say every single jar and wax/FO/wick combo needs to be tested. So to answer you question is we can only give you suggested sizes but we would need to know what waxes and fo you are using and what jar you are wanting to wick, but then you will need to test those sizes yourself.

2. Look to answer in the 1 I gave those same factor will effect burn time. Along with how the candle is burned.

I am sorry but candle making is about more than melting some wax pouring it in a jar with a wick, it takes a whole lot of testing to make a good product that is ready to sell.

[justrightcandles]

whoa....

you are ready to start a business and you don't know what wick size to use?

Before you think about the burning times you should worry about getting your combinations down. You will need to test every jar with every scent with a chosen wick until you get it down. You will have to do this with every scent, every jar, when you change something like the wax, you will need to test again.

once you get your wick, fo , wax, and container down you can record the butning times then.

do some more searching on here there is LOTS of good info on here.

good luck!

[justrightcandles]

you beat me vicki!

[Vicky_CO]

Not by much:laugh2:

[Tasha]

Well ladies thank you for your advice even though you were not very helpful. I came here to ask thinking I would get some positive, helpful advice. The candles I make now, burn fine with the wicks that I am using. I have been doing this for over a year after months of testing and I have had no complaints from none of the 25 to 30 repeat customers I already have for my candle line. I always give my contact info for feedback and problems so that I can correct them. I just so happen to come across these things like I said yesterday and thought I would come here to ask since I was told that this was a helpful forum and I could get any of my questions answered here. There is no nead for anyone else to reply as I will be taking my question to another forum. I am also glad that the 2 ladies who did respond find themselves very funny.

Thank you

Na-Tasha L. Styles

Exquisite Fragrances and Candles

A Natural You Bath, Body and Spa

The Women of Distinction

[kaydee]

If you don't want their advice then don't come to this forum. You have to realize that they are only trying to help and really a computer is not the same as talking face to face. You may have interpreted their posts differently than I did that is just the nature of typing on a computer. I wish you well as do the others I am sure.

[littlebrownbug]

Hmmmmm.....not very understanding.....Tasha could have been a bit more forthcmoming with the additional info. she passed on after the first two posts,that may have helped a bit more.But,I do agree with you two,to get specific answers your questions have to be specific also and not vague....like some of mine......hehehe....and darn it,I even know better.

Mike

[Vicky_CO]

Tasha what we where laughing at was posting so close together basically the same answer. No different than if you and a friend are sitting across from each other and say the same thing and the same time you giggle about it.

Honestly if you will read my answer to question one instead of getting mad you would have seen that I recommended you give us more information so we could help you.

[Pam W]

Hey ladies I have a question:

1) How do you know which size wick to use for different size candles? I didn't know the size of the wick mattered until I watched a candle making video today and it was mentioned.

...I am getting ready to start my business and these are the last 2 things I have to get straight. I thought I had everything until the wick question came up today .

Tasha

Exquisite Fragrances and Candles

Well, I'm totally confused. When I first read this post, question #1 lead me to believe that you had not done any testing. Yet in your subsequent post, you say that you've been testing for over a year. If so, how is it that you didn't know that wick size matters? What exactly have you been testing for?

[flcandles]

My thoughts exactly.What is your reason for testing? testing the wicks is something you surely dont surpass. I have been on this forum for along time...And not to long ago i joined this forum... i dont post too much i mainly read the forums while i have my morning coffee:cheesy2:

But anyway, these are very helpful ladies and gentlemen on here who are more then willing to help... i think you misunderstood them , they are trying to help you.

[Pam W]

When I joined, I didn't know that wick size mattered - heck, I didn't even know there were different types/sizes except for the ones at the craft store...but I hadn't sold any candles & was just in the playing stage. I was so uninformed that I didn't even know that I didn't know!!

I understand that a Newbie post may not give us the whole story but since the responders answered the questions "as written", the Newbie should not take offense at the responses... just rephrase the questions and move forward.

[sharig]

I too am a newbie and by no means did I take offense to anything that was said/written. I was one of those people about 18 months ago that just threw some wax and a wick in a container and there you go, presto! a candle. Yeah right! It's taken me 18 months, more $$ than I would care to admit to, and countless nights up till 2 am testing, then testing, and yes, testing some more. I'm not exactly sure what the original post was asking about wicks. I too, was a bit confused about what exactly was being tested. But anyway, don't worry ladies and gents, I have gotten great advice here and appreciate all of it!

Shari

[Tasha]

Well here we go again.

I had come back to the forum, to say that maybe I had over reacted and to apologize for the way I responsed to the reply. But, after reading everyone else's response,really don't feel bad. I felt that my questions were directly to the point for the information that I was asking for. I didn't feel it was necessary to go into all the details of testing and how long I have been doing this. Like I mentioned earlier the wicks I am using have been working fine. i didn't know that the size mattered until I came across a video yesterday. I was raised to believe that no question is a dumb question and I felt at the time of reading the responses that I had asked a dumb question. You never learn anything in life if you don't ask about what you don't know. I am not new to the candle business. I have sold for 2 different companies and felt it would be more beneficial to me if I learned to do it myself. I did not just get up one day and say "I want to make candles". I have put a lot of time, thought, effort and money into this. All while working a full time job, taking care of my family, making/selling my other products. Something that I always say is be mindful of what you say and how you say it. I admit that maybe I took some things out of context, but I took a few of the remarks as rude and unncessary, especially the one about starting my business. I strive for perfection in everything I do and feel that there is always room for improvement. That's why I asked my questions, because I want to improve my candles. And yet after all of this no one still has given me an answer to my question or made any suggestions as to where I can find what I am looking for.

Thank you,

Tasha

[Demenshia]

Tasha,

I'm sorry if you felt that they were being rude and that no one has answered your question...but the fact is they can't answer either of those questions without knowing what type of wax you are using, what fragrance oil you are using, and the type of jars you are using. All those things factor into which wick size you should use to optimize your burn quality as well as burn time. Some wicks are used for heavier fragrances, while they would burn too hot for lighter ones.

As for the business side, we do get a lot of people who come to the board who haven't even poured their first candle. They don't realize that it is dangerous to sell candles they haven't tested. A lot of them think that you just put a wick in come wax and viola you have a safe candle. That is why the others were pointing out how important testing is. Not that they were trying to be mean, or rude. They just want to help you have a sucessful business.

I hope you continue to want to better your candles, and no there are no stupid questions. If you don't ask you won't know. Hope that helps a little.

Deme

[ChrisR]

1) How do you know which size wick to use for different size candles? I didn't know the size of the wick mattered until I watched a candle making video today and it was mentioned.

The only way you are gonna know which wick to use for which candle is to test a bunch of various sizes. No one can answer your question because they don't know what wax, jar or wick you are using now!! Testing wicks is part of candlemaking 101 and surprises me that you didn't know there were a variety of wicks and sizes out there to try. There aren't any suppliers that I know of that only carry one wick for all size candles.

2) Could someone give me a list of the soy wax burning times for jar sizes 2-24 ozs?

There is no set standard for burning times for jars in any size. Each and every jar burns at a different rate depending on the wax, FO, wick you are using and how times you've burned it and how long a period you burn it each time. You should have already test burned each of your containers from start to finish and recorded the amount of time you burned each of them to get a total. I personally never give burn times for any of my candles because everyone burns a candle differently, some maraton burn and can eat up a candle in a couple days and some only burn for short periods of time, which make them last longer.

Because your questions are some that are asked from total newbie candle makers, your answers were NOT out of line. We see people on here constantly asking the same kind of questions that feel they are ready to sell, when they haven't even tested properly, have no insurance in place and actually have no idea what the hell they are doing. It doesn't matter how long you have been selling for other companies, that doesn't make you an expert on how they are made.......and made safely I might add!! You don't have to like any of us on here and you're free to go elsewhere.....that's your choice, BUT the people on this board have years experience on you, know what they are talking about and can answer any questions thrown at them.

Your questions are answered........now have a nice day!!

[Tasha]

Here's the info:

millennium soy/veg container wax

14oz studio jar or 4oz travel tin

sweet orange and chilipeper f/o from millcreek

uv inhibitor

vybar 260

all of these ingrediants have worked fine for me and the candles come out perfect. It's the wicks that I want to change.

Tasha

[Vicky_CO]

I can not help you with the tin as I don't do the tin but I can help you with the studio jar.

I have the best luck in the 14 oz studio jar with HTP1312, Peak's 85c and the RRD 55 depending on my FO which of those three I use. Certain FO like frankincense and myrrh I can not get a good burn single wicking that jar and since I do not like to double wick that diameter jar I have dropped it from my 14 oz jar.

[ChrisR]

I don't know about studio jars or even what wicks you are using now, but in the 4 oz. tins I have successfully used LX 14 or 16; RRD 34 or 37, depending on the FO's. I use a soy/paraffin blend wax, so with your soy/veg you may need to go up even further on the wicks.

[Stella1952]

Tasha, the reason you drew the reaction that you did is because these are not simple questions - they vary from wax to wax, wick to wick and FO to FO. There are MANY variables that affect the answers to your questions. In other words, there IS no simple answer - you simply have to test. If you have been pouring candles for only 1 year and already have 25-30 customers, and are asking two very basic questions that you should have found the answers to in your testing, the concern is that you are selling products that have not been THOROUGHLY tested.

Sure, everyone starts somewhere, but many folks come here to ask people with YEARS of hard-earned experience to spoon-feed them information that they need to discover and learn for themselves! If you had asked, for example, what wick would y'all recommend for ABC brand soy wax in an 8 oz Metro jar, you would have gotten more specific answers. People have taken their time to explain WHY we can't just spit an answer out of the answer machine for you. If you choose to have your feelings hurt and go elsewhere, well...okay. But you MIGHT consider things from the other perspective - of people thinking that after they buy some wax and stick a wick in it that they can go into business. That is an insult to the folks who work hard and long to understand the process and how to make the best candles they can BEFORE they attempt to sell them to the public.

There is a HUGE amount of information in these forums which you can search for using the "search tool." People should ALWAYS read and search for their answers before posting a question - do you have ANY idea of how many times people post the same question (sometimes in the same week) over and over and over? Many answers are right here - just LOOK for them! Had you read the forums first, you MIGHT have gotten the idea that this stuff is NOT as simple as it would seem...

In addition, there are calculators, etc. here that tell you how you can figure your burn/wax consumption rate. Actually, if you test your candles as thoroughly as you allege, you would have burned them all the way down and would already know the answer to one of your questions. The fact that you asked told us that you have NOT tested your products methodically.

A good candle is NOT simply one that burns and smells good - it's a LOT more than that. We are HERE to help each other, but you have to first be willing to help yourself and to give us SOMETHING to go on, other than general questions that imply that you don't understand much at all about pouring candles, even after a whole year of pouring, testing and selling.

A little respect, please, for the folks who give their time freely to help folks here! Your lack of understanding and respect for the expertise you desire indicates how little you understand about how long and hard folks work to learn to make good products to sell to the public. Please reconsider and feel free to come back with your questions and some consideration for those who answer yours and those posed by other novices on a daily basis.

I am not new to the candle business. I have sold for 2 different companies and felt it would be more beneficial to me if I learned to do it myself.

Selling and making are two VERY different things!

all of these ingrediants have worked fine for me and the candles come out perfect. It's the wicks that I want to change.

If all the ingredients are working for you and the candles come out perfect, WHY do you want to change the wicks?

[Tasha]

ChrisR, now it seems that you are making this a little personal.

In my last reply I gave information that it seemed would be beneficial to getting an answer to my question. I also gave some personal information to give an outlook that no this is not something that I am totally new to. At not one time did I claim to be an expert. I don't know any of you to dislike you. Maybe my questions are those of someone who started yesterday, but at least I admitted that in my research I failed when it came to the size of the wicks. I think this is being made bigger than it has to be.

[Kay]

Tasha, the reason you drew the reaction that you did is because these are not simple questions - they vary from wax to wax, wick to wick and FO to FO. There are MANY variables that affect the answers to your questions. In other words, there IS no simple answer - you simply have to test. If you have been pouring candles for only 1 year and already have 25-30 customers, and are asking two very basic questions that you should have found the answers to in your testing, the concern is that you are selling products that have not been THOROUGHLY tested.

Sure, everyone starts somewhere, but many folks come here to ask people with YEARS of hard-earned experience to spoon-feed them information that they need to discover and learn for themselves! If you had asked, for example, what wick would y'all recommend for ABC brand soy wax in an 8 oz Metro jar, you would have gotten more specific answers. People have taken their time to explain WHY we can't just spit an answer out of the answer machine for you. If you choose to have your feelings hurt and go elsewhere, well...okay. But you MIGHT consider things from the other perspective - of people thinking that after they buy some wax and stick a wick in it that they can go into business. That is an insult to the folks who work hard and long to understand the process and how to make the best candles they can BEFORE they attempt to sell them to the public.

There is a HUGE amount of information in these forums which you can search for using the "search tool." People should ALWAYS read and search for their answers before posting a question - do you have ANY idea of how many times people post the same question (sometimes in the same week) over and over and over? Many answers are right here - just LOOK for them! Had you read the forums first, you MIGHT have gotten the idea that this stuff is NOT as simple as it would seem...

In addition, there are calculators, etc. here that tell you how you can figure your burn/wax consumption rate. Actually, if you test your candles as thoroughly as you allege, you would have burned them all the way down and would already know the answer to one of your questions. The fact that you asked told us that you have NOT tested your products methodically.

A good candle is NOT simply one that burns and smells good - it's a LOT more than that. We are HERE to help each other, but you have to first be willing to help yourself and to give us SOMETHING to go on, other than general questions that imply that you don't understand much at all about pouring candles, even after a whole year of pouring, testing and selling.

A little respect, please, for the folks who give their time freely to help folks here! Your lack of understanding and respect for the expertise you desire indicates how little you understand about how long and hard folks work to learn to make good products to sell to the public. Please reconsider and feel free to come back with your questions and some consideration for those who answer yours and those posed by other novices on a daily basis.

Selling and making are two VERY different things!

If all the ingredients are working for you and the candles come out perfect, WHY do you want to change the wicks?

I was just about to ask the same question

Your candles are perfect then why change the wicks unless they are not burning perfect..if thats the case you better be prepared to be sued. A Candle might look AWESOME...i've made some of those.....YAY! but once i burned them...oh watch out...one blew up on me !!! Thank God I was the one lighting it...

[Tasha]

The reason I want to change my wicks is because if the size of the wick will present me with a better product to sell then that's what I will do. Vicky thank you for the info.

[ChrisR]

ChrisR, now it seems that you are making this a little personal.

In my last reply I gave information that it seemed would be beneficial to getting an answer to my question. I also gave some personal information to give an outlook that no this is not something that I am totally new to. At not one time did I claim to be an expert. I don't know any of you to dislike you. Maybe my questions are those of someone who started yesterday, but at least I admitted that in my research I failed when it came to the size of the wicks. I think this is being made bigger than it has to be.

In MY last reply I gave you information for the 4 oz. tins based on what I have used, once you listed some specifics!!! Whatever.......good luck!!

[bren31]

and for the most part a starting point is all anyone can give you. What works for me wont work for you at exact lvls even. I use RRD wicks but there are several wicks to be had between cotton wicks zinc middle wicks and others. Each has its own unique burn to it and pool, and for me i like them. Yet at the beginning i tried every type of wick and it drives me crazy all of the combos =(.

For me I start with the guideline for my wick and then burn it for 4 hrs if after 4 hrs for me i really havnt been able to see a good idea of what my candle will do with less burn times. I have exact image of what each of my candles will look like as a smellable product that is safe and looks good from the 1st light to the last.

True each candle has its own characteristics but remember Quality Control. And thats what testing each candle is about in the end making sure your QC is the best it possibly can be.