Freesia Fo From Peaks.

[RMSSHELTON]

Ok, we got our order Monday.

Well last night at about 8 oclock we finally got to get started.

We made 5 4oz tins, of freesia. ( plus about 1/4 tin without a wick, left over wax. )

First thing I noticed was how good it smelled when we where making it.

This is basically what we did.

Took 16oz of cb135

melted it to 185, then added

1/2 tbs of UA

1/2 tsp of CO

then stired till it was all melted.

lowered the heat

then added 1 drop blue dye and two drops red dye

at about 155

we added the

1oz of fressia FO

I stirred Fairly regularly till it got down to about 115

It smelled wonderful at that time.

Then we poured in to containers

1 had HTP73 1 htp83, one had CC 60, 1 LX14 and 1 LX16.

We let cool on the table.

This morning I noticed that there was a circluar crack in everyone of them.

It was a faint crack, but still a crack, as though the outside cooled to fast and then the middle dropped in.

I am not sure.

Ok, so aside from that.

This morning I tried to light one of them before I went to work. I lit the CC wick one.

Well it smelled fine around the candle but it only went out about 1 foot away.

Not very strong at all.

However it smells great in jar, Without being lit.

I brought the left over wax to work. In this tin there was no wick, and it was about 1/4-1/2 full.

I put it on a candle warmer and it smells much stronger.

Still not like it did when we where making it though.

Any Ideas??

Any comments??

[Vio]

Cure times are a factor with some waxes. Longer cure leads to better throw. Why did you add co to it? UA...is that one you bought for veggie wax? Really you should get to know how the wax behaves before trying things like co. I can see using universal additive if you see enough on the wax to make you think you might need it, but the coconut oil, well you don't really know yet. I don't use your wax, but I read here often enough to know some waxes need that cure time to get best scent, and yours might be one of them. Search cb135 up top in the search this forum, in this forum. You might find more mention on additives and cure times needed. Good luck.

Oh and the wicking varies with just about anything. Many variables with candles. Even the season makes candles behave differently. Room temps. Fun fun fun.

[RMSSHELTON]

Cure times are a factor with some waxes. Longer cure leads to better throw. Why did you add co to it? UA...is that one you bought for veggie wax? Really you should get to know how the wax behaves before trying things like co. I can see using universal additive if you see enough on the wax to make you think you might need it, but the coconut oil, well you don't really know yet. I don't use your wax, but I read here often enough to know some waxes need that cure time to get best scent, and yours might be one of them. Search cb135 up top in the search this forum, in this forum. You might find more mention on additives and cure times needed. Good luck.

Oh and the wicking varies with just about anything. Many variables with candles. Even the season makes candles behave differently. Room temps. Fun fun fun.

Thanks so much.

We still have 4 other candles wicks to try with what we poured.

I will let them sit for a week and see what that does.

Also, I was just playing around with stuff, this was our first pour of what we purchased and I have just read good things about this combo, so if it worked great if not, try again.

We can always give away the reject candles LOL

My family always pretends to like things like this.

I guess you are right though, it doesnt seem like good scientifc practice to not isolate each ingredient.

I should know better from chemistry class. LOL

Thanks again.

[Vio]

What people told me to do to test here, is to cut the tab off the wicks while testing. Pour your wax, then when it's somewhat set up, use something like a skewer to poke into it to bottom, then stick the wick in there and let it set. This way, you can swap out wicks if the one you're testing isn't working. It's a great system for testing and saves a lot of time and no wasted wax. Even if your prepared wax is not burning well enough and you want to change the formula, you can stick a wick in that works for now to burn it and not have to waste it. Good luck on wicking. LOL That's the fun part!

[Stella1952]

Your sense of smell is affected by candlemaking. When you have stood over a pour pot of intense fragrance, it will be harder to smell that fragrance for some hours (or days if it is in your environment). This is fondly referred to as "candle nose." Let the candles cure for a bit after making them and then test in an area where the fragrance ISN'T. It's often very helpful to have an independent "nose" you can trust to test scent throw in another location. MANY times, I cannot fully smell the FOs I have poured a day or so before.

Seems like there's a discussion of this somewhere... ahhh, here it is...

http://www.candletech.com/general-information/comparing-scent-throw/

It helps to understand a little something about scent and our alfactory senses so you can sort out when it's a "nose" problem or a throw problem. Check it out!

[R.S.]

I use CB135, I have some comments within your quote in bold.

Ok, we got our order Monday.

Well last night at about 8 oclock we finally got to get started.

We made 5 4oz tins, of freesia. ( plus about 1/4 tin without a wick, left over wax. )

First thing I noticed was how good it smelled when we where making it.

This is basically what we did.

Took 16oz of cb135

melted it to 185, then added

1/2 tbs of UA (is this for soy?) I would try without any additives first

1/2 tsp of CO (I've done it.. haven't noticed a big difference)

then stired till it was all melted.

lowered the heat (not sure what you mean here.... heat wax to 185 then remove heat source)

then added 1 drop blue dye and two drops red dye

at about 155 (I would add this at 185, this might be a tad too low, I've also found for me that it helps to heat the FO on a candle warmer before adding to the wax, otherwise wax drops like 30 degrees instantly)

we added the

1oz of fressia FO

I stirred Fairly regularly till it got down to about 115 (this is fine, I would actually go down to 107-108 --- found I got fewer wet spots)

It smelled wonderful at that time.

Then we poured in to containers

1 had HTP73 1 htp83, one had CC 60, 1 LX14 and 1 LX16.

We let cool on the table. (my personal favorite is the CD wick for CB135. Found it gave a better throw.. I have tried the HTPs and LXs)

This morning I noticed that there was a circluar crack in everyone of them.

It was a faint crack, but still a crack, as though the outside cooled to fast and then the middle dropped in.

I am not sure. (Possibly from cooling. Get a heat gun and smooth it out- I didn't get this when I pour cooler)

Ok, so aside from that.

This morning I tried to light one of them before I went to work. I lit the CC wick one.

Well it smelled fine around the candle but it only went out about 1 foot away.

Not very strong at all.

However it smells great in jar, Without being lit. (I give my candles two weeks cure time before lighting)

I brought the left over wax to work. In this tin there was no wick, and it was about 1/4-1/2 full.

I put it on a candle warmer and it smells much stronger.

Still not like it did when we where making it though. (It can depend on air currents and lots of other factors)

Any Ideas??

Any comments??

[tootie04]

What people told me to do to test here, is to cut the tab off the wicks while testing. Pour your wax, then when it's somewhat set up, use something like a skewer to poke into it to bottom, then stick the wick in there and let it set. This way, you can swap out wicks if the one you're testing isn't working. It's a great system for testing and saves a lot of time and no wasted wax. Even if your prepared wax is not burning well enough and you want to change the formula, you can stick a wick in that works for now to burn it and not have to waste it. Good luck on wicking. LOL That's the fun part!

But how do you test burn all the way down?? The wicks fall over when you get near the bottom...

tootie

[Stella1952]

But how do you test burn all the way down?? The wicks fall over when you get near the bottom...

That is a conundrum, although generally the wicks fall over at about the same point as the wick tabs are supposed to self-extinguish - when the entire candle becomes liquid.

I have not found that the "pulling the wick and replacing with another" concept works as well in practice as it does in theory, especially with containers. When a burn is going wrong and one needs to wick up or down, the level of wax has already changed and a melt pool has already been established. This muddies the water for me. Now with pillars, one can trim off the previous part and start with a fresh, flat surface, no worries, but that's not the case with containers. I quit "pulling" and now use tabbed wicks in all my testers (though I use a less secure wick tab adhesive for testers).

I usually have a reasonable idea of where to start with my wicking. I generally bracket that choice (like in photography) by selecting the one I think will work, then making identical testers with wicks one size up and one size down from the one I think will work. That way not only are my bases covered, but I get to see "what if" at the same time. It helps to have comparison and not just go with one size for testing. If folks don't try other sizes, they will never really know what happens with a larger or smaller wick. This is the problem with people asking "what wick and size should I use." I can tell someone what has worked for me, but their FO or some other ingredient or condition may be different, so the safe bet is to try a range of sizes around the one you think is gonna work (or is recommended to you by tables or candlemakers). Some FOs will need more wick, some less. HTH

[tootie04]

I agree with ya Stella. I anchor mine too. I tried to test the other way...but did not get consistant resuls.

I totally agree with the candle nose thing...I never read that, thanks for posting it.

I usually test wicks first THEN pour another and give it to a tester of mine for throw. But I still find myself judging my candles anyway....even though I know good and well I shouldnt.

tootie

[RMSSHELTON]

I use CB135, I have some comments within your quote in bold.

That was some great indepth help.

I really really appreciate the time.

I really like eveeryones help on this site.

It is strange, we are all competitors in a way, but we still help each other out.

If any of you need help with Financing or Auto Purchases let me know. This field I am very versed in.

Thanks again.

[Carriegsxr6]

Another suggestion is to add your fragrance oil sooner. i find it blends better and smells stronger when added at a higher temp. dont let the wax cool down so much, add it with the color.

[Vio]

But how do you test burn all the way down?? The wicks fall over when you get near the bottom...

tootie

Well I do this with new fo's so for me, it's much more easy than to melt down a candle and pour into a new jar when you're not sure about what wick might work. When I get a general sense of what wick is doing somewhat well, then I do a new tester with an anchored wick. They flop over about 1/2 inch or less from bottom if you get them all the way in there. Gives me an idea up top though really, of where I need to possibly be with size if I don't know the fo or am testing new wicks or mix.

[SatinDucky]

Ok, so aside from that.

This morning I tried to light one of them before I went to work. I lit the CC wick one.

Well it smelled fine around the candle but it only went out about 1 foot away.

Not very strong at all.

However it smells great in jar, Without being lit.

I don't have much experience in soy, but this question pertains to testing any candle for scent throw...

If you lit it before work in the morning, how long did you let it burn? The hot throw comes from the melt pool. If there's only 1 inch of melted wax around the wick, the scent wont carry as far as it does once it gets to the full melt pool. Just a thought...

[RMSSHELTON]

Thanks.