katinka Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 HiCan anyone help? I know most use blended waxes, but if only paraffin wax is available, any ideas on a good formula of additives for pillars to improve burning times? Any help would be appreciated, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 I don't see much discussion about this so maybe there's some common wisdom I don't know about, but my own observation is that there is no such additive for pillars over 2 inches.For a wider pillar candle, one of your priorities is to achieve a melt pool of a sufficient diameter. That requires a certain consumption rate of wax. If you use an additive that decreases the burn rate, you'll just need a bigger wick to compensate. Probably the only thing you can do is avoid additives that significantly increase the melting point of the wax.Clever use of additives could possibly increase the burn times of narrow pillars and tapers. With those candle types the melt pool diameter isn't an issue and you are more concerned about keeping the melt pool as empty as possible by avoiding too small a wick. Clever use of additives can let you use a smaller one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katinka Posted December 1, 2005 Author Share Posted December 1, 2005 Thanks TOP!!! This wick business is really getting to me... but I'll keep smiling and keep trying. I am doing 3 inch pillars, and it is as if the burnpool stops about one inch short of the rim all sides. Using an LX20. Thanks for all your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisR Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 I use LX wicks for my soy/paraffin pillars and use an LX24 or LX26 for my 3". Since you are using all paraffin, you may want to try the LX22 or may even need the LX24. I get just enough shell that I can hug it and no blow outs!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fern Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Katinka: I use LX wicks in straight paraffin with 2-3 tablespoons of stearic per lb of wax (when making rustics, 1 TB stearic when making mottles) and 1-1.5 oz of FO in my 3" pillars and have to use an LX-28 or 30 to get a shell a little less than 1/4". You really have to up the size of these LX wicks. Since your using a soy/paraffin blend of wax, there's even more reason to wick up since soy requires a larger sized wick in general. The LX wicks burn beautifully, but the suppliers don't seem to have very accurate info in their sizing charts, but then again that info given is usually a "suggested" size to begin with, but I am still surprised by how much one must go up in order to get what I am looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margaritamama Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 .........the suppliers don't seem to have very accurate info in their sizing charts, but then again that info given is usually a "suggested" size to begin with, but I am still surprised by how much one must go up in order to get what I am looking for.I absolutely agree with you!!! I tried LX 20's and LX 22 in my 3" pillars, and was not very happy with the way they burned! I found that they tunneled too much. Someone else on the board mentioned that they had success with the 30 ply flat, so I tried both the 30 and 36 ply flat. The 36 ply flat caused my candles to bulge too much, so I've wicked down to the 30 ply, and have so far been happy...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fern Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Margaritamamma: Yeah...an LX 20-22 will do nothing for you in a paraffin pillar. I can't even use that size in 9 oz hex jar using J223. I have to use a 26 or a 28 for that little ole jar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Yep depending on the FO, go way up in the LX series. We've had success using LX26 - LX30. Anything lower is just too small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katinka Posted December 1, 2005 Author Share Posted December 1, 2005 Thanks for the help everyone - you're great! I just spoke to my wick guy and he'll be dropping by with some bigger samples tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Thanks for the help everyone - you're great! I just spoke to my wick guy and he'll be dropping by with some bigger samples tomorrow. Don't forget to experiment with the additive too. 8% F-T wax did sound like a lot. You always want to try to figure out how much is optimal. If you can use less you could possibly find the candle burns better plus save some money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katinka Posted December 2, 2005 Author Share Posted December 2, 2005 Hi TOP, thanks for the advice. I did some last night with 1% and 3%. I will let you know what the results are and if the white finish is diminished at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 Hi TOP, thanks for the advice. I did some last night with 1% and 3%. I will let you know what the results are and if the white finish is diminished at all.I'll be interested in hearing your results. If it turns out that a smaller addition rate works for all purposes except opacity and improves your burn, it might be worth considering a different additive. There are substances with very similar effects that impart opacity at much lower addition rates. For instance, the additive that opacified these votives was used at only 1%. http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9092 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katinka Posted December 3, 2005 Author Share Posted December 3, 2005 HiI'll definitely keep you posted! I am doing virtually any combination of paraffin with stearic and/C80 and then burning the whole lot!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 Try some without stearic - I doubt you really need it with the C80. Most other additives are intended to replace stearic rather than work with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 This is something I'm curious about too. I make mostly pillars and have never used any additives. My flames are always a little high, and can get a bit unruly if i don't trim the wick before each light. Think the wicks are too thick, or I should change something with the wax? The funny thing is, it isn't burning all the way out on some(especially the 4 inch pillars), so you'd think I'd need a bigger wick right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 This is something I'm curious about too. I make mostly pillars and have never used any additives. My flames are always a little high, and can get a bit unruly if i don't trim the wick before each light. Think the wicks are too thick, or I should change something with the wax? The funny thing is, it isn't burning all the way out on some(especially the 4 inch pillars), so you'd think I'd need a bigger wick right?I recommend you experiment with different types and sizes of wick and you will figure it out.Also put additives in your wax unless you're using a pre-blend. Good candles aren't made with plain paraffin, never were. Plain paraffin is for the emergency candles at the supermarket. What kind of additive depends on what you like to make. For candles with a smooth opaque or semi-opaque finish, Universal Additive is nice stuff for instance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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