melting beeswax

[AirmedWindsong]

I just got some old beeswax candles from a second hand store and because of their unknown age I was wondering if I could melt them down and make votives and tealites out of them. This is as much for the safety factor and the fact that I don't usually burn the taller candles.

Thank you for your help.

[Henryk]

If its 100% beeswax (is there a bloom on it? - whitish film/powder?) - then yes you can and should be regardless of age, but why bother? By the time you melt it, pour it, find the right wicks (testing and money) - there isn't much safety factor saving in doing all that since at the end you are going to light them anyway. Beeswax burns HOT - so you will have to be careful in wick selection to make it work - plus not melt your tea light cups or get the votive glass too hot so it shatters. You can certainly search the forum here for wick suggestions but since BW is a natural product those suggestions are just that - suggestions.

Just mentioning all this since it sounds like you aren't in this for the long haul - and its much more complicated to get a properly burning candle due to the testing involved then just melting and pouring

Since this is your first and only post I'm just assuming you don't want to do this as a hobby or business - and in that case, I would just enjoy them as they are.

JMO

[Roxanne]

I wouldn't think age would make the candles unsafe, assuming they were properly made in the first place. If you prefer smaller candles, however, or if you just want to play, you can certainly melt the wax down to make your own. I recommend tea lights in metal cups (because of the hot burn factor Henryk mentioned) and square braid wicks. The wick size needed will vary depending on how light or dark the wax is; darker beeswax generally contains more "stuff" (propolis or whatever) and needs a bigger wick. I have some nice, golden beeswax that does well in a tea light with a 1/0 square braid wick, and some darker stuff that barely makes it with a #2 square braid. Even lighter wax might work with 2/0.

Square braid wick numbers are rather confusing. If it's a single number with a # in front of it, larger numbers mean larger wicks, as you would expect. But if it's a number followed by /0, it's the opposite: larger numbers mean smaller wicks. So from smallest to largest, the sizes are 6/0, 5/0, 4/0, 3/0, 2/0, 1/0, #1, #2, #3, etc.

For tea lights, without knowing anything about the wax you have, I would suggest buying square braid wicking in sizes 2/0, 1/0, #1, and #2. Sources for small quantities of square braid in the U.S. include peakcandle.com, swanscandles.com, and onestopcandle.com. (Sorry, I'm not familiar with Canadian suppliers.) Buy some wick tabs, too, so the wicks will stand up when the wax melts.

Or you could decide this is all way too complicated, and just burn the candles as they are. Either way, I hope you enjoy them. I really like beeswax candles myself.

BTW, the best way to melt beeswax is in a double boiler. A well-washed empty tin can in a pan of water works well, and you can bend one side of the can a bit to make a pouring spout.