FMP on the first burn

[pixie]

My container is 3 inches across. I got a full melt pool at the 3rd hour mark. I know Ive read that a good rule of thumb is 1inch for every hour, so based on that I think I'm okay. However I remember also reading somewhere that if you get a fmp on the first burn, then you are burning too hot or fast.

Should I try wicking down? Other than that, everything else is okay, ht is good, no real shrooming etc.

[topofmurrayhill]

I think you have to wick pretty aggressively to get that, but it would still be useful to burn it down. The results can vary a lot depending on your wax and additives. It's just good to see it with your own eyes and reach your own conclusions.

The inch-per-hour guideline is one of the most overstated things on the board. Just about the only thing it was ever reasonable for was single-wicked paraffin containers. It doesn't help much with soy because (1) three hours is the minimum normal test time for anything besides a birthday candle and (2) any soy candle much over three inches doesn't work well with one wick.

So the normal test for just about anything is 3 to 4 hour burns. In 3 hour session you want it to burn down acceptably without tunneling or drowning or leaving loads of hangup. In 4 hour burns (or preferably more) you don't want it sooting and turning the glass black.

From that you can guess that getting a full melt pool in only 3 hours on your first burn probably means it's wicked pretty high. It doesn't bode well for what would happen further down in the container or in longer burn sessions.

[Stella1952]

if you get a fmp on the first burn, then you are burning too hot or fast

Wellllll, not necessarily. Different systems can achieve FMP at the end of the first burn and still be wicked okay, although generally I find FMP happens most on the second burn with my system. People shouldn't get too worried about FMP on the first burn except when it happens too soon because that's often a guarantee that the candle may be overwicked toward the end. The main thing is to ensure that the container doesn't become too hot toward the last half of the candle and that any hangup remaining does melt off during that last half. That nice balance between the two is what I shoot for.