Newbie Questions

[crafter]

Newbie here, I have been reading and reading this forum. So many good tips. I have a couple of questions though. Will cotton core and HTP always mushroom. And what causes that? I have bought my soy from Millcreek and also the wicks. I have been testing the 8 oz. tins and also the 8 oz. square mason jars, I think I have the 4 and 8 oz jellie jars down pretty good. Do I need to switch to a different wick? Just courious. I live in Wyoming and doesn't the different regions take different wicks? Lots of goofy questions and I am sorry about that. I love making candles and my house smells so good. Also how long do you need to let a candle cure? Thanks for any help. Christi

[Ree]

Christi

I use MC wax and wicks too. Cotton wicks tend to mushroom. HTP's tend to curl. I use the cottons and the mushrooming is caused from carbon and you are seeing carbon balls on the end of the wick that have not burnt off. I don't know what causes the htps to curl. I let my candles cure for about 5 days or so before I test them but the longer they cure the stronger they will be.

HTH

Ree

[topofmurrayhill]

HTP wicks curl because they're flat braids. The basic construction is just like the old-fashioned flat ply. The curl helps to make them self trimming and contributes to the lack of mushrooming. They also have a high flame temperature (HTP stands for high temperature paper), which helps ensure that everything going into the wick gets completely burned, hence no carbon buildup.

[Meridith]

HI Christ,

Welcome to the forum. Soy tends to cause mushrooms more than other waxes so it is sometimes one of those things you have to live with. Cottons usually will mushroom in soy no matter what you do. Self trimming wicks such as HTPs will hangup on the side of your jar. If properly wicked, though, that hangup should catch up. You just have to decide which of the two evils you are willing to live with.

Cure time depends on the FO.

Where in Wyoming do you live?

[siberia]

As I moved my candle line over to veggie waxes, I must have tested over a billion wicks (seemed like it anyway ). The mushrooming was driving me crazy! I finally found a wick type (ECO) that works great for me in soy with no/minimal mushrooming. I use ECO's in containers and votives of various sizes. That square votive was a bugger to get wicked just right.

Kimberly

[geekrunner]

Hi and welcome! I use MC soy also, we have a good sized group of MC soy users here. I like the HTPs the best, and the Cotton cores are a close second. If I double wick, I prefer the cotton cores but the smaller HTPs do well for me also. If you look at the HTPs, you will see a V-shape on either side of the wick. It will curl to the side where the V is pointing up, so you can slightly offset the wick when positioning it after pouring.

Ggood luck and have fun here!

[dixylight]

I use HTP's too! I never noticed the "v" thing. Great advice! Thanks!

[crafter]

Thanks for all the little tips. I think I am having more luck with the cotton core wicks then I am the HTP's. I did a test on Nutty Spiced Vanilla yesterday and that just smells so awesome. Christi