Changing wicks

[Ravens]

I've been experimenting with wax, FO, jars and wicks for months. Wicking is my nightmare, of course.

I read somewhere here that I could test various wicks in the same jar by pulling one out and inserting another one; question is: how can I do that? I mean, the wick tab is glued to the bottom of the jar, so how can I release it?

Wouldn't I end up ripping apart all the wax when/if the tab pulls out? And how do I insert a different wick if/when the candle is set and ready for testing?

Any suggestion greatly appreciated. :confused:

[felixncharlie]

If your wick tab is secured correctly, all that will come out is the wick itself and you are left with a perfect hole to insert the new wick. I have just used needle nose pliers to give the old wick a tug but the wick tab always stay adhered to the bottom of the jar. This is a good method for narrowing down a wick choice but please retest it with the wick you think is best with a full new candle. At first I thought I would be "wasting" too much product but it was totally worth it to test it again from top to bottom, a few times if need be.

[Ravens]

Thank you. So after I pull one wick out and insert a new one, do I just use a heat gun to make the wax "stick" to the new wick?

[Stella1952]

Please don't do this. The best way to test a candle is to test exactly the same product you plan to sell from top to bottom, not a half-poured candle nor a previously burned one. This is especially important with container candles because the burn characteristics of the candle change from the initial lighting to the middle to the bottom of the container. With pillars, pulling the wick makes a little more sense because you can then level the top of the candle as if new, and continue burning (so long as you haven't lost too much in depth).

If one is planning to pull wicks, one would not use a wicktab to secure the wick as there is no way to "reinsert" the next wick into the wicktab once the previous one is pulled out. At best, the new wick will sit on top of the wicktab. Pour the candle with no wick and make a hole with an ice pick to insert one. There is no need to melt the top to seal the wick into the candle when using this kind of sloppy testing procedure.

At some point, you will have to test your candle from top to bottom at least twice with a chosen wick. There is no real saving in pulling wicks. All you end up with is inconclusive results which have to be re-verified by testing correctly. There are no real shortcuts to wick testing.

Edited November 26, 2010 by Stella1952

[Wessex]

I've pulled a wick once or twice to help dial in, but it does add an extra step. I still have to test the candle at least twice more (with newly poured candles) to make sure, plus the ever fun power burn. Pulling wicks can be helpful to a certain extent, but it should not be counted as a test burn. Of course you cannot burn it too far down as the wick is not attached to the tab, so you have to be vigiliant.

Cheers,

Steve

[Ravens]

Thank you all. Stella, what you say makes perfect sense; not much point trying to save one way and then messing up another way - which will then cost me more than just a bit of extra wax, FO and wick.

I'm beginning to see some of my other mistakes. For example, I need to zero in on a container or two and stick with it until I figure it out with a certain FO and wick. Instead what I have here is a bunch of containers and I jump from one to another.... it's the wick, not the container! no wonder my head's spinning:rolleyes2

Back to the drawing board I go...:tiptoe:

[deb426]

Well I disagree. I have used this method for new oils many times and it is not sloppy. To each his own. I like this method for dialing in a size to start my testing with. Used properly this method can be quite helpful. Why test a wick to the bottom in a 16 ounce jar if its a flame to begin with? Or if it drowns on the first lighting, what's the point? Once I get an idea of the size wick I want to start with, I test full containers and go from there. Why is that sloppy?

[nursenancy]

I pull wicks for testing purposes regularly. If a wick I'm trying is really failing, I pull it and heat up a metal skewer with my heat gun, stick it into the wax, insert my new wick and continue testing. If I like what I see, I then test the candle again all the way through.

[Stella1952]

Why test a wick to the bottom in a 16 ounce jar if its a flame to begin with? Or if it drowns on the first lighting, what's the point?

I agree. In those extreme situations, I would abandon the test, remelt the wax and pour a new tester with a different size wick.

Once I get an idea of the size wick I want to start with, I test full containers and go from there. Why is that sloppy?

"Sloppy" meaning "inaccurate." I already said why I think testing partial containers is inaccurate...

...because the burn characteristics of the candle change from the initial lighting to the middle to the bottom of the container...

Some wicks start out slowly and improve as they burn down. With others, it's just the reverse. Starting halfway down into a container doesn't tell me anything about how the wick will burn from the beginning to the middle... How a wick handles hangup is a good example. With most veggie wax candles, it's common to have some hangup during the first quarter of the container. How will the wick handle the extra wax melting from the hangup as it burns down? Will it heat the container up too much toward the bottom? Will it drown the wick? The only way to know this is to burn it from top to bottom... I wick for the last half of the container, but the candle has to get there first! HTH

[deb426]

No one is stating that a test should not be performed from top to bottom in a new candle once you have a wick size dialed in. And no where in this thread did anyone mention testing partial containers . I believe that everyone who responded to this thread is saying the same thing. If you want to dial in a wick size using the pulling out the wick method, you must re-test using new, fresh, full containers from top to bottom once you narrowed the wick down to one or two sizes.

This method is neither sloppy nor inaccurate, it is simply a form of "pre-testing." And you, Stella, are misstating our responses. Why in the world would you put my words in quotes and then make it seem like I am saying we should test partial containers. My sentence read "...I test full containers..." That means I test full containers. I dial in the wick size using one container. Then I pour a new candle in a new container using the wick I have chosen to begin my testing. I light the wick. I test it. If I like it, I pour another one and I test it again.

[soy327]

Please don't do this. The best way to test a candle is to test exactly the same product you plan to sell from top to bottom, not a half-poured candle nor a previously burned one. This is especially important with container candles because the burn characteristics of the candle change from the initial lighting to the middle to the bottom of the container. With pillars, pulling the wick makes a little more sense because you can then level the top of the candle as if new, and continue burning (so long as you haven't lost too much in depth).

If one is planning to pull wicks, one would not use a wicktab to secure the wick as there is no way to "reinsert" the next wick into the wicktab once the previous one is pulled out. At best, the new wick will sit on top of the wicktab. Pour the candle with no wick and make a hole with an ice pick to insert one. There is no need to melt the top to seal the wick into the candle when using this kind of sloppy testing procedure.

At some point, you will have to test your candle from top to bottom at least twice with a chosen wick. There is no real saving in pulling wicks. All you end up with is inconclusive results which have to be re-verified by testing correctly. There are no real shortcuts to wick testing.

I think Stella was referring to a post I made a long time ago (1Yr) I did pour a tester 3/4 the way full thinking I could save something:laugh2:and her reply made me realize what a mistake I was making. I was new to this. I pulled my wicks too, so deb I know why and how it's being done. I think Stella is just trying to reinforce the importance to new candlemakers this is not the proper way to test. I know you are a experienced serious candlemaker from reading your posts, please don't take offense it was I she was talking about.:rolleyes2