Candles burning too dim

[Backlash01]

Hello all! I’m considering myself a newbie in the candle-making realm, even though I’ve been messing with them for a year and a half. I’m still a newbie because I don’t know the right terminology most of the time. Explaining the types of candles I’m making takes a long time, so I’ll just ask a simple question.

I’m making pillar candles, and due to limited budget, am getting most of my wax from garage sales or the like. This means I’m using other pillar candles to remelt into my own. Usually I only need to raise the melting temperature of the wax I get, which I do with stearic acid. Ok, so the question…

Why does some wax seem more flammable than others? I make all candles identical, but some burn normally while others burn with very low flames. I presently have six pounds of wax that burns with only a tiny flame. I’ve tried larger wicks, both square and flat, but this does not help. Is there a way to make the wax burn brighter, and if so, what is needed?

Thank you in advance for your time.

[OverSoyed]

If I am understanding your question correctly, you melt down old candles to make yours? If that's the case, there is no way to know that all the candles are the same. Yes, you may be using the same molds, but the actual wax that you are using (the remelted wax) may all be of different age/quality.

The only thing I would use old candles like that for is for testing molds, layering, so on, and MAYBE, to use chips to tint my candles.

Aside from that, pick yourself up a tester kit from any other the online retailers or your local craft store. They range in price, but you can typically get your feet wet and your head on straight for a reasonable amount out of pocket.

HTH

Tristan

[joanncat18]

Yeah you are going to get different size flames with different waxes because they are...well different with different melt points and different additives etc. Takes a lot of testing and trial and error to get a good burning candle.

[Stella1952]

Dealing with unknown wax, etc., you are not saving any money, particularly on labor! Try ordering a small quantity from a local supplier and you'll have much better success.

[Backlash01]

Thank you for your responses.

Please pardon if this comes out as a double post. I attempted to post this yesterday but it seems to have disappeared.

I should probably explain that I’m doing this for a non-profit historical re-enactment group. Everything we do is out of our own spare funds. The volume of candles needed for this project is far too much for me to afford to buy the wax. I’ve searched the net over and the cheapest wax I can find is about 1.50 per pound, and 2 to 3 dollars per pound additional for shipping. With 2.50 to 3.50 in each candle, times the number of candles needed throughout the year, the cost would break me.

Over the last year and a half I’ve worked with recycled wax and have been able to find a way to overcome every unknown involved except for this one. I did spring for 10lbs of wax from Lone Star, the closest supplier, to see what the difference would be. I bought their standard pillar mix. That was also burns dim. Most of the candles I have made have burned fine. The best burning ones came from large 3 or 4 wick pillars sold in the stores.

If recycled wax has too many variables to account for, what can I do to the purchased pillar wax to increase the flame size?

Thank you for your help.

[joanncat18]

Larger wick size?

[Stella1952]

The size wick depends upon the diameter of the pillar and the wax & additives (FO, etc.) used. I am assuming that you purchased paraffin wax. Which of the waxes on this page

http://www.lonestarcandlesupply.com/candlewax/paraffinwax.html

did you buy?

Forgive me for sounding a little curt, but producing good candles isn't as simple as sticking a wick in some wax!! When you say the candle is burning "too dim," that sounds like the candle is underwicked, but in recycled wax already containing FOs, etc., there could be any number of things causing the wick to burn poorly! For us to help, you need to tell us what type/size wick you are using, the diameter of the pillar, the type of wax & any additives or FO you are adding...

[Backlash01]

Thank you for your input, and don’t worry about being curt. Honesty is always the best policy! J You all have convinced me that I must throw out the recycled wax and start with purchased wax.

To give you an idea of what I’m doing requires a bit of explanation. I’m with a historical re-enactment group and we depict the 17th century lifestyle. For our shows, the entire encampment must be period to the 17th century. Candles at that time were not made for appearances, or fragrance. They were made for the sole purpose of producing as much light as possible. Because of this, the wicks were doubled. The two wicks were wrapped around each other and, at the top, separated into a V shape. This provides a wider flame and about five times as much light. A good candle will often burn with a 2” tall flame. Two of these can light up a room adequately. Of coarse this means the flames are hotter, so I increase the melting temperature with stearic acid. Also, to be period correct, all candles must be off-white or yellow to represent tallow and bees wax. Of coarse I am happy with using paraffin since it’s the cheapest and tallow has an unpleasant odor. I’ve made my own color blocks to take care of the appearances.

This means that I am recreating something that no one has instructions for, as far as I’ve found.

The wax I ordered is IGI 4625 Pillar blend, shown here

http://www.lonestarcandlesupply.com/products/candlewax_igi-4625-pillar-blend-wax.html

I’m using three inch round molds, and #5/0 square wick. If I need more flame, I use 15 ply or 24 ply flat braided wick.

I’m not stuck on this mix of wax or these particular wicks. I’ll gladly change with whatever works.

[Stella1952]

Well... I wouldn't have thrown the used stuff away... one can always make firestarters even if they are not for your reenacting purposes.

Have you considered using beeswax or bayberry wax? Or even stearin? Dunno if they are period correct, but just throwing it out there...

I don't know what to suggest... for period correctness, perhaps a square braid wick or hemp would be more appropriate for your purposes. If you plan to twist the wicks for lighting, the candle will burn down a lot faster. Sure is an interesting conundrum...

You can also use a sconce that has a highly polished tin surface or mirror to reflect the lighting... like the ones at this link: http://www.heritagelanterns.com/sconces.html HTH

[Scented]

A flame will be dim because the wax is probably melting faster than it can wick it up or something is clogging it or the fragrance is too heavy etc. A larger wick size will help, but doesn't necessarily mean that one size up will be the trick. Sometimes you might have to increase by more than one size.

There are several types of wicks out there so it could also be that you don't have the best wick for the job. I think several of the suppliers who sell wick explain about the different types and give rough guidelines of a starting point.

[Christy Doc Holley]

i have a question if it has to be period exact how are you being allowed to use parrafin pillar wax . if in thoughs times it was tallow or beeswax .

[deb426]

I think it's great what you guys do...teaching current generations about the beginnings of our country. I also think there is a way to use the recycled wax for your purpose in order to cut your costs, since you are not selling or giving gifts. What I would do is collect as many old candles as possible and melt them all down together. Try to get a large batch of 50 pounds or so. From this batch of wax, you can pour a couple of tester candles. If you find a wick size you like, you can pour the rest of the batch into candles. Just because you don't know exactly what the wax is doesn't mean you can't learn to work with it. It will only be cost and time effective, though, if you make large enough batches to make it worth testing.

Also, if you do decide to buy wax, try to find a supplier near one of your members so that you can save on shipping. I know a lot of the re-enactment groups travel to each other's states so maybe you can even get another group to pick it up for you.

Just a thought.

Deb

[Backlash01]

We do all enjoy teaching the current generations about the past. It’s very entertaining and rewarding. It also helps people to understand that the things happening today have always been happening and thus are not the end of the world!

As far as being period correct, don’t worry about that too much. I use color blocks to make the paraffin look like tallow. Also, they used both hemp and cotton wicks, so either is fine. No one is going to analyze my candles; it’s just the outward appearance that is important. As we tell people as they enter our encampment, ‘Everything you see can be dated to the 17th century.’ They can’t see the plastic lining inside our tents, or the Velcro inside my outfit, hehe.

Yes, recreating a candle that no one is currently making is a conundrum, but I love the experimenting, so the trial and error process makes the hobby all the more fun for me!

I like the idea of melting a lot of it together so as to only have to make one candle work, and then make the rest of the batch.

Thicker wicks do seem to help. I believe I’ll order a variety of larger wicks for testing. The hemp wick suggestion is a good one. They only problem I have is that none of the companies I’ve found selling hemp wicks, or hemp core wicks have a variety of sizes.

For some reason, my candles are lasting a long time, even though they consume more wax. This is giving the wicks too long a time to burn up. I’ve got one candle (3” wide) in my living room now that’s been burning for 12 hours and it’s only lost about 1” of height. The wicks are mainly just carbon now. I think the wax is denser than store-bought. One of my one pound 3” candles will burn nearly 30 hours.

Another good suggestion: I’ll post your list of suppliers by region in our forums and see if any of our members are near one of them. Removing shipping will take half to two-thirds of the cost away.

Thank you all for your many suggestions so far. I love the brain storming process.

[Sharon in KY]

We do all enjoy teaching the current generations about the past. It’s very entertaining and rewarding. It also helps people to understand that the things happening today have always been happening and thus are not the end of the world!

As far as being period correct, don’t worry about that too much. I use color blocks to make the paraffin look like tallow. Also, they used both hemp and cotton wicks, so either is fine. No one is going to analyze my candles; it’s just the outward appearance that is important. As we tell people as they enter our encampment, ‘Everything you see can be dated to the 17th century.’ They can’t see the plastic lining inside our tents, or the Velcro inside my outfit, hehe.

Yes, recreating a candle that no one is currently making is a conundrum, but I love the experimenting, so the trial and error process makes the hobby all the more fun for me!

I like the idea of melting a lot of it together so as to only have to make one candle work, and then make the rest of the batch.

Thicker wicks do seem to help. I believe I’ll order a variety of larger wicks for testing. The hemp wick suggestion is a good one. They only problem I have is that none of the companies I’ve found selling hemp wicks, or hemp core wicks have a variety of sizes.

For some reason, my candles are lasting a long time, even though they consume more wax. This is giving the wicks too long a time to burn up. I’ve got one candle (3” wide) in my living room now that’s been burning for 12 hours and it’s only lost about 1” of height. The wicks are mainly just carbon now. I think the wax is denser than store-bought. One of my one pound 3” candles will burn nearly 30 hours.

Another good suggestion: I’ll post your list of suppliers by region in our forums and see if any of our members are near one of them. Removing shipping will take half to two-thirds of the cost away.

Thank you all for your many suggestions so far. I love the brain storming process.

I have wicks and wax you can have but your a little far from KY. How about posting in Free Cycle and explain what your doing. Maybe a local candle maker will give you her extra's. I have scents, color and gobs of wax, 100 lbs or more. Samples from wax manufactures I didn't like, wish you lived by me. I don't think people are reading your post. You don't have to use the same thing as they did in the old days, just the illusion of the same is what your teaching.

Anyway I could send some wicks, they don't weigh much. Let me know and I'll look through to find larger ones. Also you might call some wick and wax manufactures to see if they will donate to your group. Can't ever tell what they have laying around they might want to get rid of. CandleWic has wicks on EBay that are over runs that you can get real cheap. Good luck.

[Backlash01]

Good news! I found the solution. Hemp twine used as wicking absorbs much melted wax and burns very brightly. They do require trimming, but traditional candles always did, so that's normal.

Strangly hemp wicks or hemp core wicks do not work as well as twine.

With a variety of thicknesses of wicking and modifying melting temp, I can modify any wax I get to burn satisfactorily.

I am using the suggestion of melting large amounts together so I can get a consistant burn from the whole vat.

Thank you all again for your wonderful suggestions!

[3lephant1]

I work at a museum. I make dipped, rolled, balloon candles. and I have just started making container candles. I use a pigment color for overdip. It works great in all my candles except the container candles. The pigment clogs the wick,and the flame is very small and sometimes goes out . I now add no color and my container candles are by far the brightest.

by candle light