Melting and pouring question

[marcram]

Just wondering...when I melt my wax in my presto pot, is it okay to pour off my desired amount into a metal pitcher and then add dye and frag at that point? I am trying to pour a couple different scents & colors at the same time. Anyone else doing this?

Thanks a bunch.

[darlatoms]

Yes this what I do. But make sure you keep an eye on the temp.

[Starr]

How are you measuring/weighing the wax that you pour off?

If you're able to do that, then you won't have to worry about unevenly scenting or over scenting which could mess up your burn.

[marcram]

Thanks so much...

I am measuring the weight of the wax and then melting it. Afterwhich, I pour that weight into the metal pitcher and to the line that i have marked. I will add frag & color to that weight, I have 1 & 2 pound marks.

All the time keeping my temps in line.

Being a contractor helps... is this the norm??

Edited October 11, 2009 by marcram

[Starr]

Measuring by weight and measuring by volume aren't quite the same.

Going by a line mark you made isn't *overly* accurate IMO.

Personally, I wouldn't go with this method.

Now if you had 2 lbs of wax that were all scented the same and you just wanted it in 2 different colors, I wouldn't worry too much about that. It's really the FO that scares me about this more then the dyes. For example, when I make Pearberry, I do a dual color, berry bottom and pear top. All the wax gets scented then I pour out 2 pots and dye each one individually.

Edited October 11, 2009 by Starr
further explanation.

[marcram]

Starr,

So is the FO figured to dry or melted weight?

[grama]

I have a glass coffee pot/pitcher that I measure my melted wax in. First I melted 1 lb of wax and then poured in coffee pot to see where it came to, which was the 4 cup measure. The 8 cup measure is 2 lbs, and to the metal rim is 3 lbs. I pour the number of lbs I want in my coffee pot and then pour that in metal pitcher to add dye and fo. I keep my turkey fryer full of container wax and use a presto for my pillar wax. If I am doing a really large order I use the presto pot for the whole amount. It will hold 8 lbs of wax. hth

[JacquiO]

Starr,

So is the FO figured to dry or melted weight?

The weight is the same if it's solid or melted. She's talking about the difference in weight and volume. Unfortunately it can be confusing since ounce increments can be used when talking about volume or weight. For instance an 8oz jar doesn't necessarily hold 8oz of wax that you weighed on a scale because the jar sizes are in volume that is fluid ounces. 8 fl oz of grape jam may weigh a lot less then 8 fl oz of wax.

If your using the same type of wax or wax formula every time and if you weighed it out in your pour pot and marked out your pound or two then there's not going to be any discrepancies. It's when you change waxes such as from container to pillar, or soy, palm and paraffin where your weight and volume may differ. If you have a good scale with a tare function then you can forget marking your pour pot at all. Just tare out you empty pour pot to zero and weigh your wax as you add it to your pot.

I really recommend owning a good scale. I've seen the Escali one like I have on ebay for $24 with free shipping.

Preferably you want to weigh your fragrance oils and any other additives you may want to use.

You figure your FO usage based on the weight (not the volume) of your wax and what your wax's recommended fragrance load usage is. Your wax supplier should know what fragrance load is best suited to the wax you are using. Most waxes range between 5-12% fragrance load. If you use too much FO then your wax will not be able to absorb it all and you will have a greasy puddle at the bottom (or top) of your finished candle.

You figure your fragrance load like this. If your max fragrance load is 5% then multiply 16 by .05 which is .8. so use .8oz or 3/4 oz FO per pound of wax you pour.

Most people go by the general rule of thumb and use 1 oz FO per pound of wax which is about a 6-7% fragrance load which is safe for most waxes - some palm and soy waxes may need to be a little bit lower. Some paraffin pillar waxes can hold up to 12% which is almost 2 ounces per pound. But generally with a good FO that's fragrance over kill.

Vybar is an additive for paraffin waxes that can help increase your wax's fragrance load.

HTH,

Jacqui

Edited October 12, 2009 by JacquiO

[Starr]

Thank you Jacqui, that's exactly what I was trying to get at.

[Stella1952]

I am trying to pour a couple different scents & colors at the same time

I put my pour pot on the scale, tare, add desired quantity of FO & dye, tare, then ladle in the desired quantity of wax, remove and clip a thermometer on the side while I stir before pouring. Easy peasy.

If I plan to pour many different scents/colors, I can set up the pour pots in advance, so all I have to do is put them on the scale, tare and add the desired quantity of wax.

Edited October 12, 2009 by Stella1952

[Terrie]

I've been doing it that way for 5 years! Melt in my presto, put my pouring pot on my scale, tare, open the spout on my presto, and weigh out what I need. Then I add FO and/or color, and voila. :smiley2:

[Candybee]

Same here. Weigh out wax and put in melter. When the wax is melted, I tare my pouring pot. My scale stays tared long enough for me to pour my wax into the pot from my melter. Then I weigh the wax in the pouring pot again to make sure I have the amount I want, add fragrance, color, etc.

I use different pots for different scents. I keep the pots warmed on my griddle so the wax temp doesn't drop on me.