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Still burning the pillar and I have a few questions


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I have been burning it for a total of 50 hours. Today when I lit it today (burning time has been 4.5 hours now) I now have the upper rim (top), then an indentation, then another rim (where the last mp was from last night) and then the mp from today. Not sure what is going on. There is no bulging. I used 4625, FO Andes Thin Mint, 30 ply flat braid, 3" x 4" round. There is about 1 3/4" left of the pillar. I have not hugged it at all through the 50 hours of burning, should I start hugging it now? Second question, since I used a wick pin and inserted the wick after, it is starting to leak at the bottom. Should I have attached a sustainer base? I am very clueless right now. I have spent the last 3 hours reading on here everything, but, I couldn't find an answer. Please help:(

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Adding a sustainer base is convenient but not such a good idea. It could burn right down to the base and then keep on going. If it's not on a holder that could make a real mess and is a fire hazard.

It can be a bit tricky to find a good way to secure the wick when you use wick pins. No matter what it probably won't be super secure and can be pulled out. One thing you can do is insert the wick and then do the second pour.

Wicks pins were invented to make a large number of candles more cheaply. If you're only making a few candles for yourself you'll get a better result just wicking the mold.

As far as the burn is concerned...if the rim of wax has been getting larger as the candle burns down, it could be slowing down the burn and making the melt pools smaller. If you're concerned about consuming more of the wax before you get to the bottom, hugging it might do that but will probably slow down the burn even more. Burning it for longer periods of time will decrease the amount of wax that accumulates on the rim. A larger wick could also help, as long as it doesn't make the flame too big.

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Thanks Top I appreciate it. As this was for a test burn I did not wick the mold first. It corrected itself and has a full mp with no shelf or ridge to speak of. How long should I let it burn before calling it done, or will it just burn itself out.

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Thanks Top I appreciate it. As this was for a test burn I did not wick the mold first. It corrected itself and has a full mp with no shelf or ridge to speak of. How long should I let it burn before calling it done, or will it just burn itself out.

The answer to that depends on what happens when it gets to the bottom. As long as there's no sustainer base, the wick should fall over and extinguish itself without any danger. In your final design you might want the wick to stop just a little short of the bottom to ensure that happens. However from what I've observed they seem to extinguish themselves safely even if the wick goes all the way down.

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Oh that leaky wick! Here's just what I do to stop that. I pour in the seamless aluminum concave molds. The theory is that the concave "bottom" is really the top. Yes, it looks kinda cool when you see it unlit. But I leave the concave bottom AS the bottom, insert the wick in the hole and repour into that shallow depression. That way it cant leak. I had enormous problems trying to pour with the wick in the mold so went to wick pins.

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Good work on the pillar testing. Hope you're having fun. :)

Thanks Top. I am having fun, but, I am very determined to have the best candle that I could possibly have. I know there is much more learning and testing ahead of me, but, I will do it, especially with the good experts here giving great advise.

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