Wicks - I know, I know!

[Chantelle]

Another wick question, I have an issue wondering if anyone else has this problem. I use the Chandle Science eco wicks, they claim to have less smoke & mushrooming. I have what I thought was the proper sizes for my jars however I am having mushrooming & some smoke, even after trimming.I am getting a great burn & throw aside from these 2 issues. Any ideas? Is this just the brand of wick? Here is my recipe;

C-3 wax with 10% Palm Wax

Premium FO's from Wellington

Footed Jars 18oz & 10oz

Square 12oz jar

6oz votives

I dislike the smoke factor, it also leaves a slight wax browning around my wick after burning. I am not apposed to another type of wick. I am not consummed by the "all natural" aspect of things I just want the best product I can provide. Any ideas that would be great!

Thanks, Chantelle :tiptoe:

Aroma du jour'

[Stella1952]

Off the cuff, Chantelle, it sounds like your candles may be overwicked.

To comment much further, I'd need a little more info such as the diameter & height of your containers, the duration of the test burn period and whether or not you are trimming the wick and to what length.

Why are you adding 10% palm wax to the C3? Did you have issues that you are trying to correct or what?

[elfcat]

I agree with stella, I used the C3 with eco wicks and it sounds like you need to wick down.

[Chantelle]

Thanks Stella - I am useing the following:

In my 18oz jar its a 4" opening I am useing the Eco 16

I also use this in my 12oz square jar its a little over 3.5"

In my 10oz jar its a 3.5" jar I use the Eco 12

I was planning on the eco 12 in my new frosted votives they are right at 3".

The jar that seems to mushroom & smoke the most is my 12oz square with the Eco 16

I use 1oz of FO per pound of wax, along with the 10% palm.

I have tested all the jars at different burn times, I like to burn test a few hours to let it get a good melt pool. I noticed my daughter had a 12oz square burning and the flame was to high it seemed, it was mushrooming & smoking....nice huh

I always cut my wicks down to 1/4 inch, I asked my daughter and she said she did as well. I think you have a point with the wicking down, my brain looks for a good melt pool & throw, did not dawn on me to wick down. I will do a test pour tomorrow with the smaller wick in the 12oz that is my problem jar. Thanks so much for the help.

Chantelle

Aroma du jour'

[Chantelle]

For got to mention the reason for the palm wax, I was told that you get a much better throw if you add 10% palm so I have always used it. To be honest I am going to try a test batch with out it, I am not so sure I like it. I was pouring on a much samller scale in the past, but am now pouring more. I am unsure as to why I never tried a pour with out the palm, maybe I was fearfull of not getting a good throw.

Thanks again for the help its very much appriciated.

Chantelle

Aroma du jour'

[Stella1952]

Chantelle, for testing, I have found it works best to follow the standard of 1 hour of burn per inch of container diameter. Most C3 wax candles do not achieve a full melt pool on the first burn unless they are overwicked. This is normal. As the candle burns down, then out, and the container heats up more on successive burns, the candle will catch up and melt any hangup which has remained from the first test burn or two. It is also common for a wick to need trimming during the first hour of a burn, then they settle down and only need trimming before each succeeding burn.

I am not familiar with ECO wicks, so I have no idea how the sizes you've used translate to CDNs with which I am more familiar. From what you have described, I think wicking down would help considerably.

Regulating your test burn durations to the individual container dimensions will also help you "dial in" the wicking. You should be wicking for the bottom half of the container as that is when the heat buildup is the greatest. Once you've gotten the containers to perform well all the way to the bitter end, pour one more of each and power burn to ensure that the wicking will not allow the container to become too hot even if an idiot burns it with no regard toward safe candle burning instructions (ie. wick trimming, extinguishing at regular intervals, etc.). HTH

[Chantelle]

Thanks Stella, I am pouring today. No plam wax just C3. Thanks for the input. Its nice to get feedback on what others are doing to resolve problems. The past few days I have been test burning all the sizes and watching everything, looks like all is well except the 12oz square Libby, I picked up a bunch of them at the dollar store, to be honest if you keep the wick trimmed they seem to be fine. Everything else is going great, my footed jars are great. I am test pouring the votives and hope all will be fine with the echo 12.

Have a great day, I need to get to work :smiley2:

Chantelle

Aroma du jour'