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Going to try my first container candle - any advice?


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Thanks, y'all - I think. :laugh2:

So far, not so much fun. When do I worry about tightening up the wicks? I poured the wax, and then tried to tighten the wicks using bow tie bars. The glue dots holding the wicks in place came unstuck, and I had to start over. :mad: So, do I let the wax firm up a little bit before I try that, or just not pull so hard, or what?

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How hot did you pour...or did you just pull so hard the wick came loose? I heat the containers up a little and then put in my wick with the sticker or glue dot using the wick setter, put the wick thru a plastic cross bar and tighten and bend it. I don't need clips with the plastic wick centering tools. I'm not crazy about those wick bars, I have like 100 of them and I can't get them to work as well as the plastic X type. Then I pour...so if I ever did cause the wick to come loose, I could reattach before the wax gets in.

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Just my opinion.. give up those dots and use hot glue. Not the low temp hot glue either.. HOT glue! Works like a charm. I have always ues clothespins to hold my wicks centered and straight! I know I know.. old fashioned I guess.. but I used to do all kinds of damage with those damn bars.. I tried them for a week or so and said to heck with it and back to the clothes pins I went. You should see my cooling tables.. I own enough clothes pins to build a house I do believe!!

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How hot did you pour...or did you just pull so hard the wick came loose? I heat the containers up a little and then put in my wick with the sticker or glue dot using the wick setter, put the wick thru a plastic cross bar and tighten and bend it. I don't need clips with the plastic wick centering tools. I'm not crazy about those wick bars, I have like 100 of them and I can't get them to work as well as the plastic X type. Then I pour...so if I ever did cause the wick to come loose, I could reattach before the wax gets in.

I think I just pulled so hard the wick came loose. Where did you find the plastic X type centering tools?

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Just my opinion.. give up those dots and use hot glue. Not the low temp hot glue either.. HOT glue! Works like a charm. I have always ues clothespins to hold my wicks centered and straight! I know I know.. old fashioned I guess.. but I used to do all kinds of damage with those damn bars.. I tried them for a week or so and said to heck with it and back to the clothes pins I went. You should see my cooling tables.. I own enough clothes pins to build a house I do believe!!

Annie, how'd you use clothespins to keep the wicks centered and straight? I'm open to trying just about anything if it works!

That being said, on the second batch I didn't pull quite so hard, and I think the wicks stayed in just fine. The candles are cooling, and so far, so good, I think. We'll see what the finished product looks like, and then how it burns!

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I think I just pulled so hard the wick came loose. Where did you find the plastic X type centering tools?

You muscle woman!! The wick stickers do work better than glue dots, but I really only had a prob with the glue dots in tins, they always came up. I don't remember where I got the plastic X's, but I'll check my invoices...I think they have them on several supplier sites...I'll let you know when I find the inv.

Found one invoice, but I know I bought them somewhere else as well. Here's one link

http://letitshineusa.com/products.asp?cat=11&pg=4

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Thanks for the suggestions about the plastic bars! I'll have to check them out.

Well, here's what they look like:

47b7ce08b3127ccebef63d8f577800000026109EaOWbFq1Y

I'll have to get a good picture of the top - there was just a tiny bit of bubbling. But so far, they look good - I didn't see any wet spots on the glass or anything that looked out of sorts. :yay: Maybe it's just beginner's luck. :laugh2: Now comes the test burn. We'll see how that goes!

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What a pretty yellow!!!!!!! You're doing great!

My only advice - stay off this board if you are in the spending mood!!!! I think they all get a commission or something!!! I just know it!!! :laugh2:

I've got no disposable income at the moment anyway - it's all going to pay my bills and keep Bright Blessings up and running!

Mike, I use soy, but if I ever use palm wax, I'll keep that in mind. I didn't let these cool in the oven, and they turned out all right. Of course, like I said, it may be beginners' luck - the next batch could turn out to be total junk. I hope not, but you never know!

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Nice color!

We tried the glue dots and gave up on them...they were always coming off...but we found the dots very useful for other things!!

We now use the wick stickums from Bitter Creek. They are wonderful, but we have to wash our jars or they sometimes "let go" also! I know some people don't wash their jars, but ours have a film from the manufacturing of them and it really causes problems if we don't.

Have fun!!!

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Nice color!

We tried the glue dots and gave up on them...they were always coming off...but we found the dots very useful for other things!!

We now use the wick stickums from Bitter Creek. They are wonderful, but we have to wash our jars or they sometimes "let go" also! I know some people don't wash their jars, but ours have a film from the manufacturing of them and it really causes problems if we don't.

Have fun!!!

Thanks! I may give the wick stickums a try, too - it never hurts to try different things and see what works best. It's good to have options!

And I think I'm hooked - I now want to go home and make more. :laugh2:

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Pics of the test burn:

47b7ce08b3127ccebee6649f17d800000025109EaOWbFq1Y

47b7ce08b3127ccebee678c5178c00000026109EaOWbFq1Y

47b7ce08b3127ccebee67944d6a500000026109EaOWbFq1Y

That was how it looked after about 45 minutes. It was melted all the way across by the time it had been burning for two hours.

I see that the wick is mushrooming a good bit. What does that mean? Too much wick for the wax? Not enough? Just needs to be trimmed?

The throw isn't all that, but I just made them yesterday. Perhaps they need time to cure.

Thoughts?

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What a pretty yellow!!!!!!! You're doing great!

My only advice - stay off this board if you are in the spending mood!!!! I think they all get a commission or something!!! I just know it!!! :laugh2:

I wish I could make a commission off this board...hey I live quite nicely for the rest of my life and support my fo addiction.

....They look great Bunkie!! Sometimes they just shroom on the first burn. Trim it before you burn again and see if it burns ok.

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I wish I could make a commission off this board...hey I live quite nicely for the rest of my life and support my fo addiction.

Oh Lord!! YOU ARE ONE OF THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NO, I don't want to hear about any more fragrances!!!!!

Okay, just this one time! Tell me! I have to know!!!

:laugh2:

Her candle is the most gorgeous yellow! I love it!

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Her candle is the most gorgeous yellow! I love it!

Thank you! (Liquid candle dye from Lone Star. :cheesy2: )

kandlekrazy, I'll try trimming it and see what happens on a subsequent burn.

The throw might be better than I thought. I keep getting very faint whiffs of it in the study where I am now, and it's burning all the way in my kitchen.

Seriously, now I want to make more, and more, and more!

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You are using my favorite wick bars.:) I really love them, BUT you are not using them properly. There is a learning curve when you use this style of wick bar. I noticed that you do not have them centered properly. The key is for them to sit on the jar centered. They must be centered before you lock the wick in place to hold it taunt.The "stairsteps" on the ends of the wickbar helps with this on SOME jars. These are not great on all jars (as they may not actually fit properly) and can prove to be more of a problem than they are helpful.

The key is to hold your hand in a manner that holds the bar in place while you "lock" the wick. It should be taunt enough that there is no slack in the wick. Once you do it several times it gets easy.

Have fun! Looks like you are off to a good start!

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You are using my favorite wick bars.:) I really love them, BUT you are not using them properly. There is a learning curve when you use this style of wick bar. I noticed that you do not have them centered properly. The key is for them to sit on the jar centered. They must be centered before you lock the wick in place to hold it taunt.The "stairsteps" on the ends of the wickbar helps with this on SOME jars. These are not great on all jars (as they may not actually fit properly) and can prove to be more of a problem than they are helpful.

The key is to hold your hand in a manner that holds the bar in place while you "lock" the wick. It should be taunt enough that there is no slack in the wick. Once you do it several times it gets easy.

Have fun! Looks like you are off to a good start!

Thanks for the tip! I noticed that the bar fit well on one jar but not the other - I guess that will just be a matter of trial and error, figuring out what jars they work well with.

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TDTD gave some great tips about bow ties! :)

I have also noticed when using bow tie wick bars that having the bar hanging down as in your photo can cause the wax underneath to cool funny because the metal reflects the heat back onto the top in those areas. Sometimes to get a snug fit, one has to slightly bend the bars - works like a charm. Once centered, THEN "lock" the wick into place - holds them nice and taut. I like these a lot and use them for all my containers. :)

That was how it looked after about 45 minutes. It was melted all the way across by the time it had been burning for two hours.

Your candle looks overwicked to me. I dunno the diameter of your glass, but a melt pool of that size after 45 minutes looks like it's burning too fast to me... which might account for the mushrooming also. I did not see if you mentioned your wick and size, but whatever it is, please wick down! It is not unusual for a soy candle to NOT achieve a full melt pool on the first burn! If the candle is overwicked now, imagine how hot it will be burning when it gets to the bottom third of that container (I have those same glasses, 'cept we drink from them. Are they rated for candle use?)!

Your melt pool is burning off center. This may be because your wick is a curling, self-trimming type or because it was not inserted quite on-center. You can center the wick by pushing slightly at the base of the wick in the direction it needs to burn more.

Glue dots are a total joke. High temp hot glue does not hold reliably well. I recommend high-temp RTV silicone rubber sealant. I get mine at Autozone - used for making gaskets in engines. Called "Permatex High Temp RTV Silicone Gasket Maker #26B". Red tube. Needs 24 hours to cure and reach maximum strength.

If your sustainer base (wick tab) has a hole from crimping, plug that hole! Liquid wax will continue to be drawn into the wick there. If the seal on the bottom fails, liquid wax will continue to be drawn into the wick from there. BOTH will allow the liquid wax to be drawn into the wick from sources lower than the top of the wick tab which will allow the candle to burn all the way to the bottom - and I do mean ALL THE WAY! This is a safety problem and effort should be made to ensure that the safety aspects of the sustainer base are not compromised.

When test burning, you should follow a few strict procedures such as the length of time the candle is burned EACH time; trimming the wick to 1/4" before each burn; weighing the candle before the test begins - then before each succeeding burn (so that you can have data to determine how much wax the wick is burning per hour); measure and record flame and wick height before extinguishing at the end of each testing period. Allow the candle to COMPLETELY cool between successive burns.

Good luck! It's a LOTTA work, but also a LOTTA fun, isn't it?!!

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