Liquid Paraffin Lamp oil as a MP lowering additive

[radellaf]

I suspect attempting this would make a royal mess, but just wanted to check if anyone has tried it. (I did a search, came up blank).

I have a lot of 1343 and would love to make ersatz container wax by lowering the MP. If they are immiscible, though, then there's no point trying.

FWIW, though, (CS) liquid candle dye works perfectly for coloring liquid paraffin lamp oil.

[topofmurrayhill]

Lamp oil is sometimes kerosene or comparable low-flashpoint fuel. I know it's obvious you can't use that, but I just want to be clear about it because I remember reading that such a fuel can be called liquid paraffin in the UK. I also wouldn't use anything just labeled lamp oil without knowing for certain what's in it.

I assume you're actually talking about mineral oil (aka white oil). Pure mineral oil can be used in candlemaking applications, but mixing straight paraffin with mineral oil will just give you oil-soaked paraffin. Mixing paraffin with petrolatum could produce a simple container wax.

It has to be the right paraffin though. Unfortunately, beyond small votives 1343 won't work as container wax no matter what you do to it.

Edited January 11, 2010 by topofmurrayhill

[radellaf]

I'm not sure what this stuff is. It's Lamplight farms "ultra pure". It isn't kerosene, but it's similar -- odorless, though. It's for "oil candles", which will smoke like the devil if fueled with kerosene lamp fuel (and even worse with K-1). Whether it really is paraffin with a room temperature MP, I don't know. Maybe it is just a light viscosity mineral oil. I'll try 2oz wax with a little of it and see what I get. FP can't be lower than the 150-190 on my FOs.

I've been happy with my 1343 votives even with no additives. Just had to wick up two sizes from the LX-10 I was using with the IGI votive blend.

If I didn't like the translucency of 1343 I'd probably never bother with it.

[radellaf]

Probably unwise to use it anyway, but I found out what the substance actually is:

http://www.nafaa.org/ultra-pure.pdf

LINPAR 1416-V NORMAL PARAFFIN, Mixture of Tetradecane, Pentadecane, and Hexadecane. EINECS # 265-233-4

C14-C16 Paraffins 90622-46-1

FLASH POINT / METHOD: 250°F (121° C) / PM

AUTOIGNITION TEMPERATURE: 420°F (216° C)

Which, does establish that the FP of it is higher than the typical FO.

[topofmurrayhill]

So it's a kind of light mineral oil composed of normal alkanes. Think of it as a very low melt point paraffin or a much higher boiling point version of fuels like natural gas, propane, or the stuff in disposable cigarette lighters. It's in between the two.

[deb426]

This post reminded me that like 20 years ago I remember mixing mineral oil with straight paraffin to get a mottled look in pillars, before mottled was common. Does anybody else remember doing this? We didn't have all the waxes available back then nor did we have the internet, at least I didn't. We just did stuff.

[radellaf]

Well, here's a poured votive with 10% ultra pure to 90% IGI 1274. It mottled, but isn't bleeding, which 10% FO certainly would have.

It is adhering to the container and burning fine with an LX-12. The oil does have a very slight odor, probably because it's only "99.x%" pure.

I am burning it carefully, outside, in a holder that would be OK if I had a wax fire.

I'm not sure what the fact that it's not bleeding out means. Is it like an FO or mineral oil, with a maximum the wax can "hold", or is it essentially another wax that I could blend in 50/50, if I wanted very runny wax?

The MSDS did say the freezing point (same as MP, I think) is 47F. Averaging, that'd make the mix ~130mp. Which, is more or less what it is acting like, but I know it's not that simple.

Safety aside, though, while I might consider 2% or so in an attempt to make an unscented candle mottle, the aroma, at the very least, makes it a failure at converting 1274 to an ersatz "container blend". I think it's a little _too_ light of an oil.

For mottling, though, from what I've read here the drugstore mineral oil clouds up the wax. This "oil" has made it opaque, too. I can see how Penreco manages to sell overpriced mineral oil as Parol Oil, since I assume they have the weight of it just right. Haven't found any particularly cheap sources of "pure" mineral oil on the web. $12/lb for "Drakeol 34", which is more than genwax charges for parol.

Edited February 25, 2010 by radellaf

[soy327]

Radellaf, This is so bizzare that I read your thread tonight after I made this with ultra pure lamp oil. I was taking a break from FROST and have been doing research on these oil candles all week, so I ordered the wick assembly and thought I could do it with olive oil. The olive oil isn't working quit right so I need some time to figure that out. But this is what I ended up with it turned out great. I put potpouri in the jar with the oil.

Edited February 25, 2010 by soy327

[topofmurrayhill]

There are lots of good quality white oils on the market besides Penreco, and the prices are all pretty comparable. It's the supply places who buy 70 weight Parol and resell it to you in little bottles who overprice it. If you bought 400 lb drums it would be pretty cheap, but even 35 lb pails can be pretty reasonable.

Basically, what you're using is ideally compatible with paraffin compared to the average fragrance oil. That's why it doesn't bleed much. You just have to be wary of the low flashpoint with this ultra-light stuff.

[radellaf]

Soy- cool about the timing. Yeah, never seen a homemade oil lamp like that, but it would give you a lot of creative leeway. The wicks "just work", unlike in the regular candle world.

I've bought quite a few commercial oil candles over they years. Most recently these from Northwest Glass. Think the last one before that was one of those "flaming rocks" from a tourist shop in the NC mountains.

Top - I did see that BCN is carrying a gallon of unnamed, unspecified weight oil for $12. That's pretty reasonable. Little less than chemistrystore.com. Most non-wholesale sources don't say anything about the weight of the oil. Noticed that problem with micro wax, too. The more "crafty" the store, typically the less info as to what it is you're actually buying. IGI site? 6 or more types of micro wax, lots of info, can't buy directly. Other sites, one or two types, sometimes with a useful designation, sometimes not.

Gotcha on the bleeding. Tried a little at 50/50 and it didn't bleed, but was still solid at room temp. Won't be using it in wax after today, though. It's fine on an oil candle wick, but I really haven't enjoyed the "hot throw" of a melt pool of the stuff Either C14 stinks, or there's enough of some smaller molecules in there. Fun experiment, tho.

Oh, and as for flashpoint, to end the night:

Note, that effect has happened to me when not expected or intended. Ordinary tealights in enclosed holders can end up doing the same thing. Hence, I guess, the "never burn unattended" advice.

Edited February 25, 2010 by radellaf

[soy327]

Those are cool thanks for the links, Don't know how I got side tracked this week maybe it was a break. I think I'm finding a new line here. Now how do we fragrance them?:laugh2:

Linda