StvNicksFan Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Hi!Stayed home sick today, so I thought I might try my very first candles. But, they all cracked! I poured 5 votives for testing. Please pardon me as I still don't know all of the lingo :embarasse I used 11oz. of EcoSoya VB. I melted this to 165 in a 2lb pour pitcher over a saucepan of water. I then stirred in one drop of Peaks Green Liquid Dye. Pulled off of the heat and cooled to 140 where I added about .75 an ounce of Peaks Vanilla Mint FO. Keep in mine these temps came from the EcoSoya website. I then poured two more at 130 and one at 120. About a half an hour after pouring, I noticed they all had cracked :embarasse The 130 pair had cracks coming from the center of the wick pin. The rest cracked around the pin. Shall I send a picture? They all cooled at room temp. I used standard votive molds with those picks. Any ideas where I could have gone wrong?Thanks for your help everyone,JamesPS - Can I melt these back down and try again and get results that will not have altered by the FO and dye? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbroom2005 Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 You can melt them back down. I am not a votive wizard but did they cool too quickly maybe?? I would throw them back in the pot and remelt then maybe see if you can heat up your votive molds a little before you pour. One of the genuises will holler at you I am sure and tell you more but that is something I would do if I didn't have any help.Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StvNicksFan Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 Here is the 140 pour, these will NOT budge out of the mold, they are solid already and it has only been about an hour at the most.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StvNicksFan Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 And the 130, these popped right out of the molds! They smell so good I could eat them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StvNicksFan Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 And the 120..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbroom2005 Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Did you just do a single pour?? Try filling it about 75% then doing a second pour after about 30 minutes?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberia Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 EcoSoya VB is a bugger to work with, being rather extremely temperature sensitive in the pouring/cooling process, but once you tame the beast it is a lovely wax. If you don't mind I have a few questions to ask that will help me to figure out what is going on with your votives. It appears from your pictures that your mold(s) are sitting on a cooling rack atop a tile counter top? What do you think is the ambient temperature in your work area? How many votives did you pour and what was the spacing between molds? High or low humidity? I noticed your location is listed as Loveland (you lucky dog) which would lead me to assume it is rather cold and dry. But in order to really drill down as to what is going on I want to be sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StvNicksFan Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 OK, I am going to go remelt them right now. This EcoSoya VB is supoosed to be a single pour blend. I will try a double pour though. I will warm up those molds as well. I am going to pour even cooler than the 120. I will also re-test my thermometer to calibrate it. Doing some research on the forums, it seems cooler pours are what's needed on this blend.....Thanks for the advice MBroom.....James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberia Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 It is a single pour wax...with the occasional help of a heat gun when pouring in less than optimal conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StvNicksFan Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 Hey Kimberly,I am going to move them off the rack, may have had to much air circulation on the bases. They had about 3" between them. 5 molds in all, 2 @ 140, 2 @ 130 and 1 @ 120. It is VERY cold outside right now and dry all over. Winters are always dry here! It isn't a tile top, just laminate. My work area in the kitchen was probably around 73-75, I had water going for pasta. I've read some bad stuff on this blend, but I will NEVER give up:wink2: I want to know what to do with it to help others in the future! You're right, it must be tamed!Thanks Kim,TTYSJamesPS - Lucky dog in Loveland?!?!?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StvNicksFan Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 OK, don't laugh, What are these heat guns every one keeps mentioning? :rolleyes2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbroom2005 Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Yeah sorry about that double pour thing... I didnt catch what you were using until after I posted! :-)Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbroom2005 Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Its like a hair dryer that gets really hot..... hardware stores sell them and most craft stores do too. Look in the paint section if you go to hardware store or just ask someone. They are an invaluable tool when working with soy especially containers.$20-$30 normally... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberia Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Hey mbroom, sometimes when something is touted as "single pour" it really isn't...and actually the more I think about it, what might be single pour for you might not work out that way for me. That is part of the fun (right?, hahaha). Heat guns are a chandlers best friend. They are like high powered hair dryers. You can find them in most hardware stores or general stores like Walmart. They are typically used to peel/melt old paint off of walls. It sounds like you may need to slow the cooling process. Maybe lower your pouring temperature a bit (not much). Perhaps you can scrounge up a shoe box or something similar in size? I would not go so far as an insulated cooler...too much heat retention. You want these guys to cool down but in a slow and controlled manner.And YES, you are very lucky to live in Loveland...specifically Colorado. I fell in love with the state way back when I made my first visit around the age of 5 and have been trying to get back there ever since. I visit at least twice a year and wish it were more often. I'm in the process of scouting property there and have a "move to Colorado goal" for the year 2010. Such a magical place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scentlady Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 A while back I emailed Ecosoya a question about their wax and I remember them mentioning that they were thinking of discontinuing the votive blend wax. I don't do votives yet so I didn't give it much attention but you might want to check with them and see if this is still a posssibility before you spend a lot of time and money testing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Don't know much about Ecosoya but other votive waxes I have used are recommended to pour hot, around 160. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StvNicksFan Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 OK, Here are the remelts. I poured @ 115 which was hard as the wax was hardening as it poured out! But anyway, these went warmed molds fresh from the warm oven setting. I then place them by the warm oven and all but one cracked, though they all still caved in a bit. But the cracks were very faint as compared to the earlier results. I will start some new wax and try pouring hot. I lit one and let it burn for fours, which was probably too long. The flame dwindled to a mere 1/4" in height. It burned down about 1" in the candle. So what was the problem, the wick? I am also going to contact Eco about this product being discontinued. So, what do you all suggest for good soy votive waxes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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