Tortoise Shell Palm Testing 4

[topofmurrayhill]

Continued from Tortoise Shell Palm Testing 3

[topofmurrayhill]

I have been testing wicks from the German manufacturers in Tortoise Shell Palm pillars. Thus far, LX NST2 wick has been the most robust and consistent performer in this wax. CSN was the next best, while CDN worked poorly. The Wedo wicks (LX NST2 & CSN) seem to be the best bet.

I would still like to see more consistent and reliable performance, especially in the first 2 or 3 burns, and especially with CSN. I decided to test whether starting the candles with a flat top instead of concave would help the wicks get off to a better start. The testers below are LX 18 NST2 and LX 20 NST2. The second burn picture is at 3 hours, but I decided to let them burn for an extra hour after that. The LX 18 mushroomed a little in that final hour.

Later I will test CSN with flat top candles as well.

Edited March 20, 2010 by topofmurrayhill

[topofmurrayhill]

The original LX 20 NST2 tester, burned for 3 hours at a time.

A photo of the inside and shell after burn 13.

Photo of burn 14 after 4 hours. Since we're getting close to the bottom of the candle, I'm doing 4 hour burns to use up a little more of the shell.

Edited March 20, 2010 by topofmurrayhill

[topofmurrayhill]

So much for flat top molds helping with the initial burns.

[topofmurrayhill]

Here's a tortoise shell palm votive.

[lrbd]

so pretty. Let me ask you. How large should the flame be in your pillar ? One more ... what wick did you use in your votive?

Edited March 20, 2010 by lrbd

[topofmurrayhill]

It turned out CSN 7 was the ideal size for the votive. It trimmed perfectly in a continuous burn and dealt fine with the air pockets near the top. The total burn time was 15 hours, which is good for a one-pour candle. A regular two-pour votive at this burn rate would have gone for about 18 hours.

[topofmurrayhill]

The venerable LX 20 NST2 tester at the end of 4 hours, burn 15. The next burn may be its last.

[topofmurrayhill]

Still going. Burn 16, four hours.

[lrbd]

wow .... It is sure lasting a long time

[topofmurrayhill]

Burn 17 for LX 20 NST2 and, at last, c'est finis.

The wick was cut short so that it would extinguish before blowing out the bottom of the candle. 40 minutes into the burn, it toppled over and went out.

[Judy, USMC]

I may have missed it ... but I think the longest you burned was 4 hours. Do you think if you did a 5 hour burn (or longer) you would have had a blow out?

[topofmurrayhill]

I may have missed it ... but I think the longest you burned was 4 hours. Do you think if you did a 5 hour burn (or longer) you would have had a blow out?

This candle would not have had a blowout in a million years. A potential advantage of Tortoise Shell is that it burns a lot more like an ordinary pillar. In contrast to the sideways tendency of the other palms, the flame is taller, the burn rate is higher, and the melt pool moves downwards fast enough that it can't melt through.

This was not the only wick that could have worked. Unfortunately I never got into testing wick sizes properly. Instead, I got hung up on how they tended to fry at some point in the first 2 or 3 burns, which I really don't like. I don't have a solution for it yet either. I think it may have something to do with the high burn rate.