Venting holes

[roma92]

What purpose exactly does poking holes in the wax while its cooling in the mold container serve?

[Asher]

They're supposed to relieve pressure build-up as the wax sets and they prevent air pockets from forming in the middle of your candles.

Of course, I poked relief holes in a pillar once and it still collapsed as it was burning. So, I don't know the proper time to poke the relief holes and I'm not sure how often to do them.

[DaisyFairy]

In a pillar candle the wax on the outer edges.. (top, bottom and sides) cools faster.. so it will pull the wax away from the center. If you don't poke releif holes around the wick you will wind up with a very beautiful.. HOLLOW candle.

The holes allow access to the hollow center so it can be filled on the second pour.

Daisy Fairy

[DaisyFairy]

lol! in case you want to know... I know this because when we were first starting.. my husband made one. haha... was a wizard candle and was beautiful but hollow.

DaisyFairy

[katinka]

Hi

I only do pillars at this stage and one thing I can tell you is that these holes are very, very important. I have done some candles and took an axe to cut them down the middle and believe me, you get huge caves in the middle if you don't poke these holes. I do mine when the wax starts cooling and becomes semi solid. I check after poking the holes to make sure they stay open because sometimes they seal a bit before you get to repour stage.

Hope the helps!

[Scented]

You can also get dents on the surface of the candle from not poking relief holes.

[SnowCow]

it seems i poke them about the same time katinka does. the top should be fairly firm. after you poke and the wax cools more, you should see some of the wax below the holes. if you don't, poke again. i usually end up poking two times. just depends on how impatient i am feeling that day.

[Breanna]

I do the same,,,but I make sure they stay open like Snow Cow says,,I keep going back and poking until it is cool,,,,,makes for a great pillar,,,

[jillgunter]

How deep do you all make your relief holes? I dont make many pillars but it doesnt ever really tell you how deep to go.

[Breanna]

I have a stick that I measured leaving 1 inch from the bottom so you do not go through,,HTH

[topofmurrayhill]

How deep do you all make your relief holes? I dont make many pillars but it doesnt ever really tell you how deep to go.

They usually say to go 2/3 of the way through. I never pay attention to the depth because it takes care of itself. At first there's no point going deep because the inside of the candle is liquid. All you have to do is open the holes on top. Later when the interior of the candle starts to firm up, I just go as far as my poker naturally goes. You hit harder wax and that's far enough.

For best results you need real holes, not teeny little pits. As long as you don't use something really thin and sharp, there's no real danger of poking too far.

[MommaD]

I learned this the hard way the first time I made a pillar. It had a HUGE hole inside it.

[Candle Kitty]

I have a 5/8" wood dowel that I got at Hobby Lobby that I use to do my relief holes. I don't have to go back and keep them open that often, but I do anyway and I usually wait until the wax is somewhat collapsing around the wick.