electric candle melting help!

[PSPjen]

Hi Everyone -

I have been making the grubby electric candles without problems. Suddenly we had one that got too soft and tipped over One of my partners lit both scents we are doing at her house and it looks as if the problem may be with just the one scent. (c & s harvest spice) We had ordered the harvest spice form millcreek initially and are also doing a pumkin from nature's garden. Both candles that got too soft were the new batch of harvest spice.

We are using paraffin votive blend wax, cords and bulbs all from c & s and I called and talked to them and they were baffled. They suggested perhaps adding stearic acid.

So, anyone else experienced this before? Could it be the FO? I am hoping it may be the fo, as that would be the cheapest fix! Would stearic acid make a difference, backing down on the amt of fo? Suggestions are greatly appreciated!

I think I will start tomorrow by pouring a new one with less fo and then lighting a current and new one up to see what happens. I don't actually have any stearic, so I would have to order some in.

I think we have 9 or 10 of these new harvest spice ones out, so I'd like to figure out the problem and remake them before the customers get upset!!!

[primitive_crafter]

I could be wrong but I don't think it's the fo that is causing your problem.

There are several things that could cause this:

what watt is the bulb?

How long was it on?

Was the bulb touching the candle?

I make electric candles also. I have 1 mold that is just too thin to have a 5watt bulb in. After a few hrs of "burning" it softens the was until I could punch my finger through the side. I haven't let it on long enough to fall over but I guess it could happen.

I use stright paraffin votive wax also. It's called 1284 wax.

In my experiance when I add steric it's hard to get a good finish. It comes out all chalky like. Maybe I'm using too much, I don't know.

I scent my wax just a little but add small bottle of refreshener oil and tell them to apply the oil to the inner rim of the candle.

[Nanasnecessities]

I use high temp wax, I think you are supposed to use hurricane, but I am not sure, all of mine melted down when I use the larger flicker bulb with regular wax.

[Breanna]

I use high temp wax, I think you are supposed to use hurricane, but I am not sure, all of mine melted down when I use the larger flicker bulb with regular wax.

That is what I was told also. Hurricane wax. HTH

[PSPjen]

Thanks for the review of the stearic, I haven't worked with it before and would rather not change the look of the candle.

I have 7 watt bulbs as that is what c&s told me to use! I was wondering if that might be the problem but when I called c & s they said that should not be the issue. c & s has 3 watt bulbs would that be too low? I am using a thin mold, so I am wondering if 5 watt would still be too much.

Where do you buy your bulbs? Maybe I can get them cheaper elsewhere. I am using the c & s cords since I bought their mold and I just ordered 50 of them, so I would have to make sure the bulb would work with those cords.....

I appreciate all the advice!!!

[PSPjen]

missed some of the questions:

the wax is supposed to be for tarts/votives and is recc. by c & s for electric candles- it has a melt point of 133

the bulb is 7 watt and does not touch the sides

it was on for 2 hours the first night and did ok, but last night was on for around 3 and was not ok.

C & S did say that I could try a pillar blend with the higher melt point, but I have like 35 lbs left and I really don't want it to go to waste. I haven't started making votives yet and don't feel ready to tackle those! lol I am still working bugs out of my containers!

[barncat]

I suggest using something with a 140 Mp or higher. I would alo recommend using a 5 or 6 W bulb. My expeirence has been certain scents and colors will melt using a 7W bulb

[chrisinpa]

You definitely need a higher melt point wax!

Go here for the sockets....

http://www.nationalartcraft.com/subcategory.asp?gid=1&cid=1&scid=22

I hope its not that fo....I just made two....one is an order...with Harvest from C&S. I lit the other one. I will get back to you if it starts to melt. I use a 141 mp wax and 5 watt bulb so I don't think it will happen, but you can never be too careful.:DI have never had one melt with a 5 watt bulb.

[PSPjen]

You definitely need a higher melt point wax!

Go here for the sockets....

http://www.nationalartcraft.com/subcategory.asp?gid=1&cid=1&scid=22

I hope its not that fo....I just made two....one is an order...with Harvest from C&S. I lit the other one. I will get back to you if it starts to melt. I use a 141 mp wax and 5 watt bulb so I don't think it will happen, but you can never be too careful.:DI have never had one melt with a 5 watt bulb.

Thanks for the link. Do you know if those sockets work with the mold from c & s? Looks like 'A" might work, and definitely cheaper when they are ordered in larger quantities! Are you using the pillar blend from C & S (that is a 141 melt point and I thought about giving it a try...)

Definitely let me know how your harvest does!

[barncat]

pm'd ya

[chrisinpa]

Thanks for the link. Do you know if those sockets work with the mold from c & s? Are you using the pillar blend from C & S (that is a 141 melt point and I thought about giving it a try...)

Definitely let me know how your harvest does!

I realized I gave you the link to the wrong socket.....check this one, it is B.

http://www.nationalartcraft.com/subcategory.asp?gid=1&cid=1&scid=23

I don't use C&S's mold...I don't like the shape of it...but I think their molds have the plugs...and you use the socket that has the clear ring that locks into the bottom?

I don't use their wax either....but the 141 would be much better than what you are using now! I don't know why they would sell you a votive wax for electric candles.??

[PSPjen]

I realized I gave you the link to the wrong socket.....check this one, it is B.

http://www.nationalartcraft.com/subcategory.asp?gid=1&cid=1&scid=23

I don't use C&S's mold...I don't like the shape of it...but I think their molds have the plugs...and you use the socket that has the clear ring that locks into the bottom?

I don't use their wax either....but the 141 would be much better than what you are using now! I don't know why they would sell you a votive wax for electric candles.??

Yes, their mold has the plug and we used their sockets with the clear ring. It seemed like the easiest way to go for starting out. If you don't mind me asking which mold do you use? Do you have to cut your own channel for the cord?

I am wondering the same thing on the wax! When I called to tell them about the problem they said that the votive blend works just fine for them........

I do have some ecosoya pillar blend here that has a 145 (?) melt point so I could try that. I just have sooooo much of the vb left (like 35lbs) that I hate to waste it. I haven't tried votives yet and that is a LOT of tarts lol. They said I could ship it back, but I think that the shipping costs wouldn't be worth the credit.

I am feeling like such a dummy right now!

[primitive_crafter]

Hello,

You can get the lights and cords from ebay. It's the cheapest place I've found. Here's a link to her stuff. She's fast on shipping and combines shipping too.

http://cgi.ebay.com/10-WHITE-DARICE-CLIP-LIGHTS-ON-OFF-SWITCH-6-CORD_W0QQitemZ170152041196QQihZ007QQcategoryZ56141QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The bulbs she has is 5w and work great!

You may want to recall those electric candles that you've sold. Offer a refund or exchange. You DON"T want this to happen in someones home.

Good luck!

[chrisinpa]

She's not using a mold that will work with those sockets.

I don't like the Darice sockets, they are not reliable.

[PSPjen]

Thanks again for the advice everyone!

I am testing out 2 candles I had here ready to go. THey are both in the scent that I am having problems with. They've been on for 2 hours, no problems yet...

If these do start to melt (the customer who returned said she had hers on for 4 hours) then fo sure I will recall the 9 that are out there is this scent. I figured I would swap them for a new one and offer a discount on their next purchase.

I appreciate all the help!!

[primitive_crafter]

She's not using a mold that will work with those sockets.

I don't like the Darice sockets, they are not reliable.

Can I ask why they are not reliable.

I've bought and used around 250 and have never had an issue with quality or not working correctly.

[Groovy Chic]

You could still use your 133 melt point wax. You can add micro wax to up your melt point. I buy mine from BCN now, Peaks used to sell it but I don't see it anymore on their website. Micro is a great additive for wax. In containers, it helps the fragrance throw and the finished appearance. With pillar wax it will up the melt point, help with the scent throw and offers a beautiful finish to the candle. Depending on the amount you use, your pillar wax will become "hurricane" wax. It works exceptionally well with the electric candles and I have used it for years in many of my candles. Start with 5% per lb of paraffin and tweak it from there. I usually use 8% per lb for the electric candles.

[PSPjen]

You could still use your 133 melt point wax. You can add micro wax to up your melt point. I buy mine from BCN now, Peaks used to sell it but I don't see it anymore on their website. Micro is a great additive for wax. In containers, it helps the fragrance throw and the finished appearance. With pillar wax it will up the melt point, help with the scent throw and offers a beautiful finish to the candle. Depending on the amount you use, your pillar wax will become "hurricane" wax. It works exceptionally well with the electric candles and I have used it for years in many of my candles. Start with 5% per lb of paraffin and tweak it from there. I usually use 8% per lb for the electric candles.

Thanks for the suggestion!! I will have to test that out.

[jagerboy]

I think your biggest problem is using a 7 watt bulb. I have made and sold thousands of flameless over the years and have never had any problems, with the exception of one candle that was returned after 5 months because the cord did stop working. I have some flameless in my house that are 4+ years old now and I keep them on non stop and still no issues.

I use a 141 mp wax but have actually used a votive wax in experimental ones and had no issues with them.

[PSPjen]

After testing and messing (lol) with a couple here at the house I found that one of them had a 'loose' cord. The socket wasn't nice and tight. So I added some wax in that area to 'glue' the clear ring in tight - if that makes sense!

Hopefully that will help as the bulb was dipping towards one side and I think that may have made it too soft.

I am also switching to the 5 watt bulbs!

Thanks everyone for all the help

[chrisinpa]

Can I ask why they are not reliable.

I've bought and used around 250 and have never had an issue with quality or not working correctly.

I also used 100's of them....when I first started doing the electric candles.

Many times the on/off switch gets jammed. They were of better quality 2 years ago. They just seem a bit junky to me.

If you compare them to other sockets you can see the difference.

I can get these from Darice for 1.15, I choose to use a different socket, that costs .50 more.

Just a personal preference.

PSPjen-I have had my C&S Harvest Spice electric lit for 30+ hours and no melting.

[PSPjen]

PSPjen-I have had my C&S Harvest Spice electric lit for 30+ hours and no melting.

That's good news! I am thinking it's a combo of my wax and wattage. For whatever fluky reason the hs from c&s are the only ones affected, but that may not mean anything. One of my partners had 2 different ones going last night and had a problem with only the hs. The socket got a little wobbly and the bulb tipped forward to close to one side, that side got too hot and started to melt.

Hopefully anchoring the sockets in better with a 2nd wax pour will make the difference, at least until I can switch my wax and order new bulbs in....