Need a bit of advice

[Soylicious]

Hello~!

I made some candles to test and I'm having some great results and some "not so great" results..

The not so great results are:

My wick is mushrooming pretty badly. The candle flame is the perfect size, but the wick mushrooms bad enough to interfere with the flame. I get a FMP and it seems to burn perfectly except for the HUGE mushroom effect... lol..

I'm also getting different results depending on fragrances which I find interesting.. (I'm pretty new and still learning)

In a candle using Cinnamon Buns scent 1oz ppd, and 1 dye chip ppd, I get great candle burning except for the huge mushroom with the LX-26 wick.

Same mixture of ingredients using the "sex on the beach" scent and the same wick and candle container size and the candle eventually drowns out after about an hour with a small mushroom effect.. did not achieve a FMP with that one.

I'm finding the LX wicks are great for some scents, but would any of you suggest me trying for another brand of wick? Or should I be able to get it right only using LX wicks?

Oh, the wax I use is Ecosoya CB Advanced... All my scents and supplies I've purchased from Candle Science

I was also curious if it would make it a bit easier if I added a little bit of paraffin wax to my soy wax.. like 25 percent or so? Or am I just adding fuel to the fire... LOL Eeegads.. I had no idea it was so complicating to make a great candle...

Oh and the "trying to save money by making my own candle" comment I made at the beginning of this venture... :laugh2::laugh2:

Thanks in advance~!!!

Edited April 16, 2010 by Soylicious
wanted to add pictures

[nursenancy]

I don't use your wax, but what size jar is it?

[aviator girl]

You know I don't use your wax so some of my comments might not be as helpful as someone that uses 100% soy.

My wick is mushrooming pretty badly. The candle flame is the perfect size, but the wick mushrooms bad enough to interfere with the flame. I get a FMP and it seems to burn perfectly except for the HUGE mushroom effect... lol..

The mushroom is a frustration for many of us! Some wick types are prone to do this more and some fragrances do this more. I haven't used lx wicks other than to test one candle so I am not as familiar with them. Zinc wicks tend to mushroom a fair amount too.

As far as FMP goes...you don't necessarily have to achieve this on the first burn and in a lot of cases you don't want to achieve this in the first burn. Usually by the 2nd or 3rd burn it catches up. Sometimes if you get a fmp on the first burn the candle is going to be too hot at the bottom half of the container.

I use 6006 which is about 70-80% paraffin and 20-30% soy and then add additional soy.

I'm also getting different results depending on fragrances which I find interesting.. (I'm pretty new and still learning)

I find that heavier fragrances like vanillas and cinnamons tend to mushroom more on me and also tend to need a slightly bigger wick.

I have also found that sometimes when you overwick your candle you get a bigger mushroom. Too much FO can cause more mushrooming as well.

I agree with nursenancy. If we know what size container you are using we might be able to help more.

I'm finding the LX wicks are great for some scents, but would any of you suggest me trying for another brand of wick? Or should I be able to get it right only using LX wicks?

Like I said I don't use 100% soy so this may be incorrect advice I am giving you but I think a CD or CDN wick might be one you could try. I am testing CD wicks right now and actually like them quite a bit. They don't seem to mushroom on me as much however like all wicks they all have certain characteristics. If we could all find the "perfect wick" I think our job would be a lot easier. Unfortunately this is where a lot of testing comes in. I would highly recommend picking up sample packs of wicks you want to try. That way you don't waste a ton of money on wicks that might not work for you.

I think if you use different containers too you could possibly use different types of wicks for different containers.

I was also curious if it would make it a bit easier if I added a little bit of paraffin wax to my soy wax.. like 25 percent or so? Or am I just adding fuel to the fire... LOL Eeegads.. I had no idea it was so complicating to make a great candle...

You know every wax has its advantages and disadvantages.It's more a matter of what's important to you. What characteristics are you looking for out of your was. If you have a supplier that's not too far from you and you don't have to worry about shipping you can always pick up a slab of a couple of different things to play with. This might be the best way to find out what you like the best. It's a little more to buy it by the slab as opposed to the case but in the long run it saves you money by not having cases of wax you don't like sitting around.

There is a lot more to making the "perfect candle" than meets the eye but as long as you keep practicing you'll be fine. You are on the right track. It really just takes some time and trial and error.

Hope this helps some! Good luck!

Edited April 16, 2010 by aviator girl

[brudil18]

Welcome to the struggles of making the "perfect" candle.

I don't use your wax or wicks, but I have tried the LX wicks before. If you get your supplies from CS you may want to get a couple of the sampler packs for wicks. I use the CDN with my palm wax and have to test, test, test.

When I first started out I tried different wicks and finally settled on CDN from CS for what I do, but that was after many test candles with different kinds of wicks.

As for the different FO, they all are unique in how they may work in a candle. I don't use the same size wick for every scent I have as they each may produce different burn qualities for the candle. Again its down to testing again on which size wick works best for a paticular scent.

Hope this helps, but I usually do several testers before I find the wick I want to use. Many times there are just scents that don't "perform" up to my standards for HT and CT and I move on from it. Sometimes certain scents weren't meant to be.

[Soylicious]

Thank you everyone!

I gotta run out the door, but I wanted to let you all know the interior diameter of the container I am using is 3.75" I trimmed all the wicks this morning and re-lit just a couple of minutes ago and will see how the 2nd burn goes...

Having a blast!~ Just wanna get it right so I can give some out as gifts

[JacquiO]

I had problems with the LX wicks in the CB-Adv. Eco wicks behaved the best in this wax with no mushrooming but CD wicks are also a good alternative. For 3.75" diameter I'd recommend an eco-12 or 14 depending on the FO. It's good to carry a mix of sizes because the fragrance can effect if you need to wick up or down even when using the same size container. The classified section is a great place to get a hold of a sampling of wicks types and sizes and I know that www.candlewic will send free samples if you request them.

Edited April 16, 2010 by JacquiO

[Candybee]

I find LX wicks work better for pillars.

[mzpickles]

I had problems with the LX wicks in the CB-Adv. Eco wicks behaved the best in this wax with no mushrooming but CD wicks are also a good alternative. For 3.75" diameter I'd recommend an eco-12 or 14 depending on the FO. It's good to carry a mix of sizes because the fragrance can effect if you need to wick up or down even when using the same size container. The classified section is a great place to get a hold of a sampling of wicks types and sizes and I know that www.candlewic will send free samples if you request them.

Ditto what JacquiO & Candybee said. You might want to try ECO or CD wicks.

[nursenancy]

I also prefer cd wicks for containers. I use lx for votives and pillars and sometimes tealights and baby food jars if I don't have cd's. I use c3 wax though.

[ChrisR]

Adding some paraffin will help the throw on some of the FO's that don't throw well in soy.

As for wicks, I've used LX for many years now in my containers and don't get the big mushrooming if it's wicked properly. I've tried every wick out there and always stay with the LX for one reason or another after testing. If your container is 3.75" wide you would be better off double wicking.......try (2) LX10's first, if you don't get a full melt pool by the 3rd burn, bump up to (2) LX12's.

Also where are you buying you wicks from, as I've found a big difference in LX from different suppliers. I always get my wicks from Candlewic. Candle Science is real close to the Candlewic wicking, but BC is WAY different.

[topofmurrayhill]

I always get my wicks from Candlewic. Candle Science is real close to the Candlewic wicking, but BC is WAY different.

Can you describe the difference in LX from BC and the sizes you see it with?

Edited April 18, 2010 by topofmurrayhill

[ChrisR]

Top I use LX8 for my tea lights and (2) LX10's for my containers. The wicks from Candlewic work perfectly with a good steady burn from start to finish. The same wicks from BC, in the same containers, FO, etc. extinguished within 1/2 hour of lighting them. It's like LX8 from CW compares to LX10 or LX12 from BC.

[topofmurrayhill]

Top I use LX8 for my tea lights and (2) LX10's for my containers. The wicks from Candlewic work perfectly with a good steady burn from start to finish. The same wicks from BC, in the same containers, FO, etc. extinguished within 1/2 hour of lighting them. It's like LX8 from CW compares to LX10 or LX12 from BC.

Thanks for responding. I was wondering if it involved the large sizes, since they sometimes seem to be sold with varying chemical treatments, but that's apparently not relevant in this case.

Someone once posted here that these differences are due to the wick being stretched in the equipment that's used for priming and making the assemblies. It's disconcerting that the performance of the product can be distorted that much before it's sold to the candlemaker.

[/hijack]

[deb426]

Also where are you buying you wicks from, as I've found a big difference in LX from different suppliers. I always get my wicks from Candlewic. Candle Science is real close to the Candlewic wicking, but BC is WAY different.

I just discovered this myself. Candle Science no longer carries LX 8 so I ordered some from Candles and Supplies. Big difference. They are more like an LX 10 from CS. In fact, I retested all my scents and found that every single one I used LX 10 for from Candle Science worked with LX 8 from Candles and Supplies. I am talking about 20 or more scents, too many for just a fluke.

[ChrisR]

They were ordered in a pinch from BC cause I let my supply run way too low before reordering from CW and I needed them quick. Needless to say I couldn't use them anyway!! I've never ordered any sizes but the LX8 and 10 from BC, so I can't comment on any other sizes. I was surprised that the difference was that drastic.

[jutro75]

I have tested many different wicks in soy candles and unfortunately they all mushroom more or less. But the HTP wicks mushroom less than others. the HTP 83 and 105 are almost self trimming. I use 2 HTP 105 wicks for my bigger candles and they are great!

Smiles!

Izabela

www.soy-breeze.com

[hsteveberry]

I have/do pour CB Advanced and use LX wicks.

What I found is that LX wicks bigger than LX 22 all have the NST2 treatment. For me, these LX 24 and up wicks all tend to Mushroom much worse than the CD wicks.

Some FOs and color combos were worse than others but the tendency to mushroom seems to be related to these wicks and their treatments.