Bought a candle... have some questions.

[FlameyJamie]

So I decided to do some research on other "homemade" candles to compare them to mine. There were a couple links under people's names here so I decided to visit some and ordered from one. Not mentioning who. That's not important. So I lit my candle this morning and began burning it. I feel like a fool because I sat there and watched it expecting it to burn 110% prefectly. But instead, I got a candle that.... for the most part has burned decently the four hours I had it lit. But there were some things it did, that I see a lot of people on here say they don't "pass" a candle if it does. Like flickering, and there was a small amount of mushrooming. not bad. And it smoked a little as it flickered.

My question is... I don't get it. LOL. So why are some people so picky, but it seems to me most candles do some of those side effects slightly. I have even bought really expensive candles that do the same. Am I just being too picky about my candles? Do most people accept mushrooming? and flickering?

[racolvin]

Mushrooming is just a part of life in the scented candle world. I've just come to accept it. You can control it a little bit by varying the wick in a specific recipe, but there is always the possibility that it'll happen.

I gave up trying to be so OCD about mushroom - it wasn't worth the grey hairs in my beard

Flickering is hard to control only because sometimes its caused by the airflow in someone else's burning environment. It might not flicker when I have it here, in a burn box that has no cross-currents but out in the open on a coffee table, there's no way to know. Another one of those things that I've just learned to accept and move on

Oddly enough, customers aren't nearly as picky as we are as candlemakers, as evidenced by some of the horrible candles that people keep buying from places like Wal-Mart that burn horribly, produce gawd-awful amounts of soot, etc - but they keep buying them.

[FlameyJamie]

Thanks. I was thinking that too. That sometimes these things are just a way of life of making candles! It is true, I have become more pickier about burning candles than I was before I started the classes and making them myself. I used to buy K-Mart candles all the time, loved them in fact, despite the soot and never burning to the edges no matter how long I burned it.

Thanks Ronnie for your input...Love your site too!

[hellen]

Hi,

I dont buy candles anymore....however I do burn them in my ny home for exactly the same reason that I used to buy them for...for the ambience they create. I adore the light....the flickers.....

The scent is, and always has been secondary to me.

I don't get myself all worried about the mushrooming or the flickering.

The scent I am quite casual about...I put 10% in everything!!! No worries...even the wax people say not to..I do...they burn well, smell well, flicker just enough...GREAT candles!!!

I even make my melts with container wax....people love them...I love them...why worry????

I think lots of people love candles for the same reason I do....the ambience...the soft light...the tiny flicker....

Love what you do.....try not to get too much wax sticking to the walls of your container (it effects the mood..heeeee)...relax and enjoy. Try not to compare to others...learn as much as you can so you make products YOU adore.

trust me....others will as well

Cheers,

Hells

[Eden Sass]

FlameyJamie,

Thanks for asking this question.. and thanks ronnie and hells for answering it. I have been working so hard at making what is to me the perfect candle, only to have some mushrooming here or burning too quickly there... I'm very glad to read that not everyone has quite as perfect a candle as it would appear!!!

[Candybee]

If you burned the candle for four hours straight I am not surprised it started flickering. The flickering indicated the wick needs to be trimmed back to 1/4". You'll get carbon buildup on the wick (mushroom) when you burn like that. Only way to avoid that is extinguishing the candle then trimming the wick.

[SatinDucky]

My candles have mushrooms

Ok, I try to get them as small as I can, but the wont go away. I get a good long burn, good throw, nice flame and I'm satisfied with my candles.

Some wicks WILL mushroom to some extent no matter what you do. Some type of wick don't. Those chandlers who refuse to accept mushrooms use a different wick. Neither is right or wrong, just personal preference.

I don't have any hang up here, mostly because I do pillars I'm working on square tins but they don't have much problem with that either. A very thin film on the sides? Maybe, but who knows since it's not clear glass

Personally I don't worry about flickering unless it's causing smoke. I have a drafty home and everything flickers here.

It's all a matter of personal preference and what you're satisfied with in a good safe product

[Candybee]

You're not alone ducky! I use zincs and they mushroom the worst. But just like you I love the steady flame, long burn, and scent throw I get. No matter how many wicks I test I always come back to zincs with my parasoy blend. They just work the best for me.

Now my pillars are different. I like LX's for those.

[VanillaSniffie]

I have noticed that too and had a similiar post somewhere. I am a lot harder on my candles than other people are.

[KCScentsations]

I must say, I don't think we as candlemakers are less harder on ourselves, it just come a point where you must ask yourself is there a such thing as a "perfect" candle. We all, I think strive to make the perfect candle but can we really make THE perfect candle, selling as many scents as some of us sell. :undecided I totally agree with everyone here. I too get a good long burn, good throw, nice flame and I'm satisfied with my candles mushrooms and all. I take great pride in all my candles and pour them with love........ but even my candles have mushrooms and some flickering at times depending. Like racolvin said, mushrooming is just a part of life in the scented candle world.

Keshia

[Pam W]

I can make a perfect candle - perfect for the way that I burn candles but I'm sure no one else will burn it exactly the way I do - thus no longer perfect.

[mizbizzyb]

I can make a perfect candle - perfect for the way that I burn candles but I'm sure no one else will burn it exactly the way I do - thus no longer perfect.

Great response. We can't hold our consumers hands while they are burning the candles...we can give them all info needed - but truthfully who reads instructions nowadays?

So to a consumer...it may not be perfect like it would be in your environment

[SatinDucky]

but truthfully who reads instructions nowadays?

Nowdays?? I'd been burning candles all my life, frequently no less... and I'd NEVER read the label... or if I did, nothing there registered except the fragrance when it was there

I'd never trimmed the wick before lighting the first time, whatever the length was. And unless I had to leave the house or go to bed, I burned them all day long. If the flame got too big, I'd blow it out (usually ) trim it off and light it right back. Or even light them when I knew I had to leave in a half hour or so. Full melt pool.... what's that? LOL.

Most everyone I know was the same way. So...

Is a perfect candle perfect when burned "properly for best results" or perfect for the way it will most likely be burned? And when we're testing... it's the same thing. Personally I try for the best burn both ways, which means neither will be perfect...

[FlameyJamie]

You all have been great, thank you. And I am on vacation so I spent all day researching this board like most of you advised me to do. I took notes, read old threads over and over, I even quizzed myself after I was off the computer. Thanks for your help!

[KCScentsations]

I can make a perfect candle - perfect for the way that I burn candles but I'm sure no one else will burn it exactly the way I do - thus no longer perfect.

I couldn't have said it better. GREAT response.

[Pam W]

I'd never trimmed the wick before lighting the first time, whatever the length was. And unless I had to leave the house or go to bed, I burned them all day long. If the flame got too big, I'd blow it out (usually ) trim it off and light it right back. Or even light them when I knew I had to leave in a half hour or so. Full melt pool.... what's that? LOL....

OMG - we must have been separated at birth!!

Most of the pillars I make are for people I know so I tend to wick them according to how they burn them...short vs long burns. For my teenage grandchildren, I intentionally underwick a touch.

[Trish]

I can make a perfect candle - perfect for the way that I burn candles but I'm sure no one else will burn it exactly the way I do - thus no longer perfect.

I agree, great quote! I've found a big difference in the way my candles burn based on where in the country live who are burning them too. Especially the pillars.

[Pam W]

I agree, great quote! I've found a big difference in the way my candles burn based on where in the country live who are burning them too. Especially the pillars.

You're so right. This winter I kept my thermostate down lower than last winter and there was a huge difference in the burns. Several of my FOs had to be wicked up due to the ambient temps being aprox 10* cooler. (I decided it was cheaper to wear a sweater than pay the gas bill!!) The pillars that I send to the G'kids in Seattle always have a shell compared to no shell here in Ariz.

The wax I use will hold only 4% load - this winter I was able to go up to 6% with no weeping but now that our weather is in the 80s, I'll have to cut back again.

I've been making pillars about 3 yrs and this time last year I thought I knew everything about making pillars.......NOT:shocked2:

[ILikeWaxMelts]

You're so right. This winter I kept my thermostate down lower than last winter and there was a huge difference in the burns. Several of my FOs had to be wicked up due to the ambient temps being aprox 10* cooler. (I decided it was cheaper to wear a sweater than pay the gas bill!!) The pillars that I send to the G'kids in Seattle always have a shell compared to no shell here in Ariz.

The wax I use will hold only 4% load - this winter I was able to go up to 6% with no weeping but now that our weather is in the 80s, I'll have to cut back again.

I've been making pillars about 3 yrs and this time last year I thought I knew everything about making pillars.......NOT

I agree with all your people's comments.

The Candle is a very conditional thing.

Refer to my Signature...LOL...

[PurpleHippie]

In my testing I have learned that flickering is almost impossible to avoid to some degree once the wax burns down to the middle portion of the container. That's due to the air flow in the container.

I have never burned a candle that was 100% perfect. I recently received a very expensive candle as a gift. The person didn't know that I made candles. This candle had the most awesome cold throw, it burned very nice with a straight attractive flame, even meltpool, no mushrooming...but it had absolutly no hot throw. NONE! I didn't smell it and neither did anyone else. See, almost perfect -nice pretty burn but lacking in throw.

I can make a candle that is perfect for my needs but there is always a trade off. Example, recently I tested a new FO at % between 6-8 and several different wicks and two different containers. Some wicks flickered begining with the first burn, one produce smoke even at 6% FO load, one burned unevenly...the one that produced the best scent throw and gave a nice attractive flame did have a bit of mushrooming and left a very small amount of wax on the side of the container. Wicking up burned too hot and too quick. I finally settled on the smaller size because the wax did melt from the sides as the candle burned down and the wick produced the best scent throw out of all wicks tested.

Everyone is different, every maker has their own criteria for what they produce. I find that there is always one issue that keeps a candle from being perfect. Correct that issue and you might create a completly different problem. Personally I know my customers are looking for scent throw, secondly that there isn't a large amount of unmelted wax left over. Very few of them care about the mushrooming or any of the other issues that we tend to stress over. :smiley2: I won't use a wick that flickers from the very first burn. That's just a personal choice. My first objective is to to produce a safe candle.

[Donita]

I like my candles. They are pretty. They burn ok. They have mushrooms sometimes. I don't care. They flicker. If they didn't they would look fake. I don't have soot. I use to when I used the wrong additives. If there is a perfect candle out there in the world....great. My customers have pretty much been happy, except a man that complained that the square candle he bought for his wife didn't have a square melt pool...... Donita

[Going2Adopt]

My customers have pretty much been happy, except a man that complained that the square candle he bought for his wife didn't have a square melt pool...... Donita

Donita,

Just had to tell you that you got my hubby all tickled. He was reading over my shoulder and starting laughing the minute he read about the square melt pool.

[FlameyJamie]

I just wanted to thank everyone who has replied. Had I not come here and made this post I would never have guessed that one's enviroment affects the way a candle burns. It makes sense now. And just reading your replies and what you do for this and what you do for that has stopped me from posting certain questions.... all because the answers are here. Thanks. I will post a pic of my French Vanilla I made tonight. I plan on burning it on Monday.

[Karen B]

My customers have pretty much been happy, except a man that complained that the square candle he bought for his wife didn't have a square melt pool...... Donita

Hey Donita when you get this problem figured out could you share the answer with me. It would make my heart shaped pillars so much easier to wick and burn.

K