CSN spooled vs. tabbed

[Mama Turtle]

I hope this does not sound like an absurd question, but I have noticed that the spooled CSN wick does not seem to have a coating on it like the tabbed CSN wicks. Why is this so? I have just begun to experiment with tortoise shell palm pillars using the spooled wick and have not had the same results as others.

Top--Are you using spooled CSN for your 4.5 pillar testers? If the pillars are taller, I understand it is a must, but could get by with tabbed wicks for shorter pillars if there is a different treatment. I don't know why this would be, but definitely feels different to me.

[Debbie73]

I coat my spooled csn wicks with the palm wax that I am using. I cut the length that I need and when the wax is melted, I soak the wick, lay it straight to dry, which takes just a few seconds, then wick my mold. This is what works for me, others may chime in here with more ideas!

[topofmurrayhill]

I hope this does not sound like an absurd question, but I have noticed that the spooled CSN wick does not seem to have a coating on it like the tabbed CSN wicks. Why is this so?

What you're getting on the spools is the actual wicking. What you've been buying in the past is wick assemblies. They cut wicks off a big spool, coat them with wax and tab them for you. They make a wicked profit selling those (pardon the pun).

The wax coating has nothing to do with the wick itself. It's an added thing that can be convenient for making certain kinds of candles, but very often it's not really necessary. Some wick manufacturers might offer a choice of wax coatings, but I think more often a distributor will buy the raw wicking and offer coatings and assemblies to their customers. Candlewic, for instance, offers a choice of wax coatings when you buy custom assemblies from them.

If you wick the mold, the only consideration is that some wax should soak into the tip of the wick during the candlemaking process so that it lights easily. That often happens with no special effort or priming step.

I use raw wicking for most candles and don't normally prime it in advance. In the testing that I did with CSN, I began with the sample wick assemblies that I already had on hand, but soon ordered all the sizes spooled and switched to that. When I used the wick assemblies, I melted the wax coating off them with a heat gun before wicking the mold.

Edited May 27, 2010 by topofmurrayhill

[Mama Turtle]

Thanks for the insight!! Just wanted to make sure I am not making my results invalid for something I may be missing/doing or not doing.

Got a little frustrated with the TS pillar, so switched to GG in Jack Frost and soy in Bayberry for tonight in my usual containers (status, flared square, and votive). GG is also new to me, but I am hoping the bayberry will perform well in soy. My neighbors always comment on how they can see my candles burning in the window....always testing.