I'm having a major melt down.

[jnewport]

I am so upset, I can't get these votives figured out. I am using ecosoya pb and I have tried pouring hot which doesn't produce bubbles but when cooled they have holes near the wick, I have tried pouring cooler 140 and then I get bubbles while pouring. It seems when you pour cool it produces bubbles. I tried heating to 185 and adding dye and fragrance and I tried heating to 165 and didn't make a difference. I'm so tired and upset. I know this is probably part of the business but I am exhausted. I'm trying to get as much done to get this business off the ground before my husband has surgery on Tuesday and I feel like I'm going backward instead of gaining ground. I know I just jumped into this group with alot of questions and I appreciate all the help you've all given me. I just started this new venture a few months ago and I'm in panic mode not knowing what the outcome of my husbands surgery is going to be so I'm probably overwhelmed. He had cancer last year and all was going good until last week when a small tumor was found. They said 85% of the time they are not malignant but after last years shock it's hard to stay positive. I'm sorry for going on and on, guess I need to unload. Sorry about that. Thanks, Jeanne

[soy327]

Jeanne,

I hope everything goes good with your husband sorry to hear about that. There is a post about the c3 having bubbles in it. I read the whole thread, when they poured it, it had bubbles and I think that what they ended up doing was heating with the heat gun before they poured to get the bubbles to rise out, and tapped lightly on the side of the jars after pouring. This might be tricky with the votives but just a thought. Man oh jeez what they went through with that wax.

Maybe somebody else is having the same problem and will post another idea for you, but you never know it might work. I believe the post is still going, about the soap in the wax.

Good luck with your husband,:smiley2:

Linda

[naomiheck]

I use that wax but pour into clamshells and have no problem. Have you tried cooling your votives in a pre-warmed oven (turned off)?

Naomi

[nursenancy]

Have you tried cooling your votives in a pre-warmed oven (turned off)?

That sounds like the next thing I would try. Maybe if you warm the molds and wick pins a little, then pour, then cool them slowly.

I hope you get this figured out and I wish you luck. :awww:

[jnewport]

I am now in the process of cooling them in the oven to see if that helps. You are all so wonderful. Thanks again. I'll let you know how they turn out. Jeanne

[WillowBoo]

I get bubbles with some FOs. TUrned out the candles that were the worst were actually made with a bad FO that Peak immediately replaced. Heated up the frosting that appeared on the sides of the jar to discover it was cluster of bubbles.

[jnewport]

Okay, so I cooled them in the oven overnight. They looked great but when I took them out of the molds the top rims broke. Maybe because after the melting and spilling they weren't full enough. I melted them down and repoured this morning. They are now in the oven. How long does it usually take before you can remove them from the oven? Thank you all for your help. Jeanne

[Stella1952]

The bubbles near the wick can be resolved by doing some "relief" work and a repour. Having said that, I HATE doing repours, so that's never the approach that I personally take.

When I talk about "pouring cooler," I am speaking about the 125°F range. I seem to have the most problems with Ecosoya PB & NatureWax C3 in the 135°-155°F range. The only thing I have against pourng cooler is, because the wax is thickening and so close to the "setting up" point, it's harder for me to control the consistency when pouring more than just one or two candles. When I pour hot, I get the best overall results, but I have to pay attention to slowing down the cooling of the candles. A styrofoam box or prewarmed oven (turned off when the candles go in) help to slow down the cooling. If you use a styrofoam cooler or heavy cardboard box, be sure to put the candles on a cookie rack to cool so that the air can circulate all around the candles as they cool. They cool more evenly that way.

As to the chippng - because both soy & palm waxes are rather brittle when cooled, they chip easily. Nothing p*sses me off more than to demold an otherwise perfect little votive and cause a chip out of the top edge. You can sometimes repair this with a heatgun, but when making a slew of those litle buggers, ya can't handpat every single one!! I tend to slightly underpour the molds to reduce the fragile edges (rather than pour to the meniscus point like one does with paraffin votives). I think votives look better when poured to the meniscus, but as you are discovering, those brittle edges can ruin one's day real quickly!

Hang in there! You will develop your own little techniques - fine points of demolding & handling - that will speed things up and make your candles come out more predictably perfect. I know that when I'm "working through a worry," every little thing gets on my last nerve and I am most likely to screw things up then anyway, but it beats wringing one's hands. I hope everything comes out well for your husband - will keep y'all in my thoughts. {{{HUGS}}}

[jnewport]

Stella, Thanks for your help "again". Jeanne