LX Series wick recommendation

[Jimbo2]

I purchased some LX-24 wick for my pillar candles. Most of the suppliers indicate the wick can be used for a 3.5 - 4 inch pillar. I make 3" and 4" rustic pillars using IGI 1343 wax. I add 3% FO, color and Universal Additive to the wax. The wick works great in the the 3" pillars but does not burn out far enough in the 4" pillars. I believe they make the LX wick up to a -30 size. Anyone else out there making 4" pillars using IGI 1343 wax that has used any of the larger LX wicks and has had good results? If so I would appreciate any suggestions you have. Thanks.

[SatinDucky]

I can't help with the 4" in pillar since the only ones I tried I double wicked, which was a pita and didn't go well

I'm just wondering about the 3". I can't imagine a LX 24 working well, especially with 1343. Mind you, I'm not saying it's wrong since I haven't seen or tried it, it just seems like an awfully large wick. 1343 has a lower melt point though you do use additives so maybe that's the thing. I use 4625 and in 3" pillars it takes a LX 18, occasionally a 16 or 20 for certain FO's.

How much of a wall does the LX 24 leave?

[Jimbo2]

Well, I was surprised as well. The Candlescience Wick Guide for IGI 4625 for candles 4" in diameter suggests the LX-24. I tried it in a 4" pillar using the IGI 1343 and Candle Science FO and color and it made not even a 3" pool after 4 hours. Like you, I am surprised the LX-24 works so well. On my 3" pillars it makes a really nice wax pool, and leaves about a 1/4 inch wall. What I like about the wick is the lovely flame. It has a nice white color. As long as I keep the wick trimmed to 1/4 inch, I get no flickering or soot. So, I guess the main reason it works that way is the way that the Candlescience wicks and dyes work with the wax and Universal Additive. I will probably try the LX-28 in the 4" pillars. If this doesn't work, guess I will just stick to a square braided wick which works well. Thanks for your comments.

[Gdawg]

I dont use your wax I use ecosoya and the LX24 work pretty well for me with the 3" of course it depends on the FO but the LX26 I have blow outs

[MissMary]

I gave up on my testing and this was part of the reason I dropped trying pillars altogether. Inconsistency sucked for me (works great for others though, this is only MY experience), but when I'd try to wick up for the 4" pillars, going to LX-24's, after about 90 minutes the flame started to get pretty high for what I was doing, which made it too hot and it sorta tunneled a bit.

I was usually left over with around 1/2" no matter what I did to the darned thing.

[topofmurrayhill]

Now it all depends on what you mean by keeping the wick trimmed to 1/4". We test by trimming the wick before lighting, then let the candle burn without further intervention for a period of time - 3 or 4 hours in the case of a 3 inch pillar. I know that if I made one of those with 1343 and wicked it with LX-24, it would grow one big honker of a flame in 3 hours. Maybe you should take a second look at that.

Can't help you with the 4 inch pillar because I don't make them. It would just cost so much in materials to design and test them properly. I think generally you need to be satisfied with more of a shell on those, or design them with a different wax than the 3" jobbies. You can also use extra stearic acid to make it burn out wider.