Testing Candles

[pgray1229]

I am very new to candle making... I am asking you, how do you test candles? All info would be great so I can get started!!

Thanks

Patience

[lindanelson]

Hi and welcome.

After I make a candle with a new scent and container, I let it sit overnight. Then the next morning, I light it. Let it burn for 1 hour per diameter. Example if the diameter of your container is 3", then burn it for 3 hours at least. This sets the melt pool.

If the first burn is successful for me, then I put it out and let it set up again, and relite. Burn for another 3 hours. I burn the whole candle in a test burn. Sometimes, I will let it go for about 6 hours. Depending on what else I am doing.

Gotta think like a customer when doing this. And...at the same time, making sure that everything is safe.

You are looking for how it burns, and the scent throw.

The search feature seems to not be working right now. Later on, do a search for testing candles. I'm sure there is lots of information on it.

This is the main forum board that I use. There's a lot of information on here. People are real helpful also.

[Suds_n_flamezz]

pgray1229 - I am new too! Hope that we can learn together.

[candlebean]

Here is a way to save yourself some time and money when testing. Instead of making one candle after another of the same scent with different wick sizes, here is what I do:

1. Make your candle without a wick and let it set overnight

2. Choose which wick you want to test first and cut a piece of about 2''

3. With a heat gun melt the top of your candle for a few seconds

4. Take a screwdriver and make a hole about 1.5''

5. Bend over the bottom of your wick to give it a little base so it doesn't slip all the way down the hole.

6. Put your wick into the hole you made and then use the heating tool to zap the top of the candle again to make it even.

7. Light and test as you normally would.

If the wick you chose doesn't work, you can easily pull it out with pliers or scissors, and repeat steps 2-7.

I hope this makes sense - if not let me know if you have any questions. I've found that this really saved me a lot of time and supplies.

Happy Testing!

[SatinDucky]

The best suggestion I can give is to start reading through the posts here.. then keep reading. Somethings are about the same for all candles, other things are very different depending on what type of candle. Scented candles, you want a good strong "throw". Cold throw being when it's solid, hot throw when it's melted. You want a good burn, flame not too big or too small. Some examples are - for containers - you want the melt pool to reach the sides in a decent amount of time, but not black soot all over the container or the glass/tin to get too hot. Pillars, you want a thin wall that will consume itself as it burn, but not blow out the side and spill wax or leave a thick wasted shell. Now a palm wax shell/wall will be different still. This is just a small sampling of things to test and watch for. Knowing what type of candle, size, type of wax and other variables will guide you in how to test.

There's a lot of helpful info in the FAQ's/Newbie sections too http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=698