Almost blew up the lab

[EricofAZ]

Well, I was joking about blowing up the lab in another thread....

I have some containers that I wanted to re-wick due to soot resulting from blowing out the wick (vs dipping it to stop the flame). They were wicked right for ROC and MP and leaving a bit of stuff on the wall that would catch up, but just smoked too much when blown out and blackened the rim of the container.

I found another wick that had the same burn and power burn characteristics without the sooting when blown out and decided to put the containers in boiling water and melt, add a tad of FO and re-pour with the new wick.

Great plan....

Water got low so I poured some tap water in the pot to raise the level. Heard a pop. I pulled the containers and looked very closely. Nothing to see. I was looking at the bottom and it was fine. I looked at the sides and it was fine. I don't recall scrutinizing the area where the sides curve to the bottom (will remember this in the future).

When they were about ready to remove I grabbed one with tongs and the bottom dropped out perfectly right where it curves up to the sides. All the wax went into the boiling water and the pot overflowed.

Poof. The wax hit the burner and lit.

I put the pot in the sink and some of the wax sloshed out and down the drain (joy of joys). Mr. Plumer will get some revenue from moi.

Got the fire extinguisher which was reaching distance and pulled the pin. The huge flame went down on its own so I watched. It went out.

I did not need to use the extinguisher, but putting the pin back in is not going to happen (they make them that way for a reason).

So, I have a cleanup job tomorrow.

Einstein is sitting on the top of her chair looking at the wall and ignoring me. Her body language says it all.

Edited January 20, 2011 by EricofAZ

[Ring of Fire]

I'm confused. You were boiling jars with wax in them?

[moonshine]

I am thinking a candle warmer would be much safer! LOL

I have done this to rewick and it takes about 5 to 10 minutes to liquify and pull out the wick and insert the new when it starts to set back up

Thank goodness you didnt have to use that extinguisher:cheesy2:

[lovemylabs]

Wow...I bet your heart was racing when all that was going on. So glad you weren't hurt or burned and the good news...you still have your "lab"!

[lsbennis]

Oh my!

[Candybee]

What a story! Bet your heart was pounding during all that.

I've seen this happen with glass containers that get to close to the heating element. The bottom will fall off. Really makes a mess! LOL

Some advice I got long ago on this forum is to put your pots and containers on a cookie sheet and place in a low oven 175-200 degrees and slowly melt the wax. Then pour the melted wax out directly into the garbage. I use cake pans because they have high sides that can catch any wax in case of glass breakage. So far no glass has ever cracked or broken this way.

For containers/pots with residual amounts of leftover wax do the same thing only place them upside down on the cookie sheet. Line the cookie sheet with paper towels to soak up the melted wax. Place in low heat oven. The wax drains out of the container and you can just wipe it out with paper towels.

Edited January 20, 2011 by Candybee

[Stella1952]

Einstein is sitting on the top of her chair looking at the wall and ignoring me. Her body language says it all.

Silly humans!!! :laugh2:

Sorry - I know it was pretty exciting, but the picture I get in my mind from your description is definitely one of a bad day in the lab... Glad things didn't get REALLY exciting. It sounds like you made the right moves when things all went to hell in a handbasket... Moving the pot was risky, but I can understand you wanted to do so to get to the flamse. This is a good reason to have long-armed oven gloves...

OK. First, if you are gonna remelt candles, do it in a warm oven. Set the candles on a cookie rack which is set in a larger baking pan. The temp shouldn't be more than about 180°F. It's best to put them in when the oven is between 100°-150°F. Some electric ovens initially heat with both elements (top and bottom) until the oven comes up to temp, so be sure the rack is in the middle.

It's easier to scrape out the wax while cold, then warm the glass to wipe out the residue.

NEVER add cooler water to a pan of hot jars!! I guess you found out why. When canning, some containers will "pop" right out of the carton when sterilizing in the water bath, so understand that ALL glass is FRAGILE and can do this! It can also happen when one sets a hot jar of liquid wax on a cold countertop or if one puts a very cold jar onto a hot oven rack or warmer surface. The thing to remember is that even canning glass and pyrex cannot take extremes in temp, although pyrex (borosilicate glass) is more forgiving. If it's real cold, don't put glass directly into boiling water or in a hot oven. If it's real hot, don't put it in cooler water or set on a cold surface. I did this with green beans once... freakin' green beans EVERYWHERE... :rolleyes2 I also popped a pyrex dutch oven the same way... that one was full of baked beans... whadda mess THAT was. Because of the broken glass and shards, I couldn't let my canine clean up crew assist me...

Another FYI: Some container glass will pop when burned in extremely cold areas, so don't do dat either.

Good move to have had an extinguisher nearby. A large pot lid is very useful, too, and will make less mess.

For cleanup:

Raise the surface of your stove and check really well under the burners & around the element to ensure there is no melted wax under there.

Squirt a bunch of Dawn detergent directly into the drain, then pour a big pot of boiling water into your sink. Just to be sure, run the HOT water for 10 minutes or so to help melt and flush all the wax through the drain and into the sewer pipe or septic tank, whichever you have.

At least it isn't like having to put the pin back in a hand grenade...

Edited January 20, 2011 by Stella1952

[Wessex]

Ah, cold/heat and glass, some of the fun you can have, LOL! Glad things didn't go really bad. Oh, and it is quite easy to put a pin back into a hand grenade...unless you already dropped it into the sand and can't find it...don't ask me how I know .

Be careful, it is hard to type with burned hands!

Cheers,

Steve

[Sharon in KY]

You misses a great opportunity to be famous on you-tube. Too bad you weren't doing an instructional video. I know... not funny...

[pcbrook]

I am just glad that everyting turned out okay and no one was hurt!!!

[LuminousBoutique]

You misses a great opportunity to be famous on you-tube. Too bad you weren't doing an instructional video. I know... not funny...

hehehe

glad you're ok, sorry for the mess!!

[Kitn]

Whew. i am glad you are okay..

[SliverOfWax]

lol.

As candybee said, if you have several jars, put them in a pan in an oven at 175-200. If you just have one, use a hot plate candle warmer. It will take longer, but what's the rush.

As for scraping wax out of a jar, even with the very soft wax I use (comfort blend), you're not going to get very far. It's funny this came up. I was just this morning trying to hurry along an underwicked patchouli candle on a warmer that I was melting to rewick. I tried scraping this very soft wax out of the jar with an old-style wooden tongue depressor. What a waste of time!

And really, seriously, who dumps wax down a drain and into a septic tank? Even soy, which I would never, ever do. Talk about an ecological disaster! I'm not on some silly "save the planet" kick, and I know soy people say they do this all the time, but it's not something I would even remotely consider.

[EricofAZ]

Well, its a mess to clean. Near as I can figure, 6 ounces is either on the floor, the drain or burned.

It was not very scary at all, I just had to move quickly.

As for the wax down the drain, that was not intentional. The water was boiling and overflowing the wax onto the heat source so my first reaction was to reduce the amount of wax going to the fire by removing it. When I got the pan into the sink, some sloshed out, but not much. I think BP still has a bigger spill than I do.

Well, the "double boiler" idea doesn't seem to be a very good one any more. I don't want to use the oven. Maybe a hotplate that I can control the heat will be the better choice. I have one of those coffee cup warmers around somewhere so I'll check the temperature on that and see if it is appropriate.

Thanks for the cleanup tips.

As for you tube, ya never know. Einstein probably thinks there will be other delightful "learning opportunities" in the future.

Edited January 21, 2011 by EricofAZ

[Stella1952]

If you do scrape the wax out (which I do quite successfully with C3 and even palm wax, which is very hard), use a thin bladed knife, not something with a blunt edge made of wood or plastic. I cut mine in quarters, then run the knife around the edge and start hacking out the wax pieces. It's very easy for most folks.

When putting candle jars in water, you need to set them on something that keeps them OFF the bottom of the pan. Water bath canners come with a large metal circle with holes in it for this purpose. I use canning jar rings in smaller pans. The idea is simply to keep the glass from direct contact with the bottom where it might overheat. You should fill the pan nearly to the top of the wax level so it will melt faster and heat the glass slowly and evenly.

Even in an oven, I don't set mine directly on a flat metal surface - I use a rack inside a deep baking pan that can accept the quantity of melted wax should something bad happen. I am assuming that the reason your pan overflowed is because it was not large enough to accept the melted wax along with the water without overflowing. Gotta think ahead to worst case scenario, just in case...

Regarding the mess - if you find wax under the burners/elements, use your heat gun and paper towels to sop it up.

[Candybee]

I have a trick I use when making candles or soap or anything I don't want accidentally poured down my drain. Before I start work I place one of those plastic cutting boards in my sink over the drain.

I got the plastic cutting boards at Ikea. But you can find them most anywhere now; Walmart, KMart, Target, Dollar Tree.

I got bright red so I can't miss seeing it in the sink. Its amazing how just seeing the 'red' reminds me to stay away from my drain and not let any type of wax, butters, oils, etc. get dropped by accident down it. Before I started using it I would sometimes catch myself to keep from subconsciously pouring leftover wax in the sink. It really works.

[Stella1952]

I got bright red so I can't miss seeing it in the sink.

BRILLIANT!!

[soy327]

Glad you and Einstein are alright, I also warm mine in the oven on a cookie sheet or something it doesn't take much heat to melt soy.

By the way Eric, Einstein has kinda become an addition to the board maybe when she's speaking to you again you could take a pic and post it, how many lives does she have left :laugh2:I mean livin with you and all.

Just Kiddin

[Maggie]

I have always used the oven since way back when I started. Pat who used to post as Pat God Bless America on other boards told me about that little gem. And I dump the wax in the trash and clean the jar with paper towels. For wicking my jars I use the melting pot with hot temp stringless glue that I found in Michael's floral section. Wax is liquid but the glue is still tight so I just use an old butter knife to pry the wick tab and glue loose. If there is a little residue I don't mind because the jars are for my own testing only.

[B@BlissStreet]

Glad you and Einstein are alright, I also warm mine in the oven on a cookie sheet or something it doesn't take much heat to melt soy.

By the way Eric, Einstein has kinda become an addition to the board maybe when she's speaking to you again you could take a pic and post it, how many lives does she have left :laugh2:I mean livin with you and all.

Just Kiddin

I agree! Glad you are safe, and Einstein as well.

[EricofAZ]

Well, below is a photo of Einstein inspecting the glass fracture. (Oh, and she wanted me to include a portrait and resume/CV but I haven't finalized the resume yet.)

Einstein thinks there is a rhyme to the reason here.

The "double boiler" idea of boiling the glass had a flaw.

Einstein pointed out that the pan was in direct contact with the burner and the glass jar in direct contact with the pan.

That means the bottom of the jar had full heat while the sides only boiling temperature (about 209 degrees here).

So when I added cold water to the pot, the sides contracted while the bottom remained expanded. Hence the very precise crack and separation line for the bottom of the jar.

Einstein is so smart.

By the way, she still has about half her lives left. She's 9 years old as of last August, and still likes to chase things.

She does also like to rest her head after a hard day at work. To the left of the resting photo is a string that dangles where she contemplates "string theory."

We have a contractual agreement. I brought her home from the pound when she was 6 months old and we made a pact, at the pound, and I made sure she shook hands and meowed to agree before I rescued her.

I agreed to pet her and feed her and give her a home and take care of her. In return, she would get rid of the spiders and bugs. That was her job and to this day, she does it well.

Edited January 23, 2011 by EricofAZ
Hit the send button too soon

[soy327]

where I don't see a pic

[EricofAZ]

Try again, I edited.

[SliverOfWax]

She's an absolutely beautiful kittie and I'm so glad you rescued her.

As far as your theory, you'll notice regular canning jars are NOT flat on the bottoms. Now you know why.

[jonsie]

Gorgeous cat! Thanks for sharing pictures of her.

And so sorry to hear about the glass. I've done a couple of things like that. Aluminum pour pots are expensive over here, so I've been using glass coffee carafes that I've picked up from the Salvation Army. For the most part they work very well for me and I'll continue to use them, just I'll be a little more careful about what shapes I use due to my experience below.

One rare time I had to shut down my candle pouring after I had added the FO and color to my coffee pot of wax. The wax had completely cooled so I set the coffee pot back into the skillet of water to slowly warm it up. I heard a pop and soon noticed blobs of light-green wax floating in the water. Ugh. This particular coffee pot was bell-shaped, and when the wax heated and expanded only on the bottom, it had no where to go, so it blew out the bottom of the pot.

The picture I've attached shows the coffee pot sitting in the oven to melt away the wax. What a mess. Even my stirring spoon was still stuck in there, lol. But you should be able to see where it broke along the bottom.