SatinDucky Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Since I never could get my floating candles to burn for beans I'm doing more research before trying again.I don't know who makes these, but how can you get one that's smaller than 1" x 2" burn for 8 hours???? And how in the world do you do the spiral stripes?It says they're 100% handmade....http://www.zestcandle.com/product/9XE45GRZ/Candy-Cane-Green-Floating-Candles.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 I just went back and looked around more. They have 3x3 pillars that are the same. Selling for 2 for $6.99, which is $3.50 each. I can't believe anyone here would sell handmade candles that cheap, especially something so complicated.So I guess whoever is selling them wont be giving any advice on how to make them so well since it's extremely unlikely they're really handmade.Anyone else have any tips on making floaters bur for long periods? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 They look machine made but they are pretty. I gave up on floaters as I could not get mine to burn more than 2.5 - 3 hrs. Don't see how they could burn for 8 hrs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 They do say handpoured... maybe that's different from handmade, dunno. It's supposed to be a board members site though.My max on the burn was usually about 2 hrs. I used the smallest wicks I have, though I don't remember what it was offhand. I never tried actual tealight wicks though. I didn't have any since I don't make them. Maybe I can get my hands on a few to try and will give it another go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felixncharlie Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 I don't know the answer to your question but I was looking at their jar candles and the prices!!!!! Sooooo low, I wonder how they are? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wessex Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Maybe handmade, but I'm thinking in China! I would guess the quality is not great.Cheers,Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Jars are only 2/3 full. They remind me of those cheap dollar store candles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 Nothing about any of the candles there look handmade to me. I just find it very curious that the site belongs to one of our members Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricofAZ Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 (edited) With an HTP 13, you can get a good hard wax paraffin to last about 8 hours for one ounce. Those candles that are 1.7 inches wide are probably an ounce and a half. They won't burn all the wax, just tunnel and breach into the water, but if one ounce burns before it gets soaked, that might be doable.I have a rose mould that makes a 2 oz floater. The problem is that once the center burns down, it drowns and the outside pedals are never consumed. So if I were to take the ROC of the wick and divide that into the candle weight, I'd come up with a burn time much in excess of what would really happen.I've seen a great many products from China use numbers that don't reflect the actual product.For example, MagicShine sells a light that is supposed to be 900 lumens. When tested, it is more like 450. The LED is rated to 900 at max power, but the circuitry can't deliver that. The lens also makes a difference. American companies that make lights with the same chip rate them around 600 with special lenses and certify the testing. They don't use the calculated number, but the actual results number.So I would think it typical for foreign companies that are not concerned about reputation, only volume, to mass market and base their times on math calculations of best numbers rather than actual testing.ROC of 0.15 oz/hr would be maybe a hot flame but in the range of what a 1.7 inch candle should do. Now put that in a floater that probably weighs 1.5 ounces and the calculations = 10 hours. Expect that a real test will not consume all the wax, but drown once the water breaches and that might be at the one ounce consumption mark. So in reality, the candle would burn for 6 1/2 hours on a test. Edited February 11, 2011 by EricofAZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted February 11, 2011 Author Share Posted February 11, 2011 Thanks Eric. I had an HTP sampler pack at one time, so I'll check and see if I have any that size to try out. Since I ordered a new rose mold last night I'll be even more anxious to play with it when it comes As for made in China, I can understand that. Part of what confused me is that the site is posted here as a member of our board. I made the original post before I had looked around the site more. I don't know how many people actually look at the members links sections, but anyone who does handmade candles cannot compete with those prices and it seems rather unfair to have the link here. While I don't consider myself a real business, many people here are.So, the original topic has actually been split into two. Floating candles and a mass mfg wholesaler advertising here as a hand-making member. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 I'd be very much surprised if you can get a floater to last 8 hrs even if you have a magic wick. Sorry but there are just too many variables working against a floating candle in water. As I mentioned earlier the longest I ever got one to burn was 3 hrs. That was one I made from a standard tart mold that holds slightly less than 1 oz. The majority of the floaters only burned for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hrs.I have seen floating candle molds that that you wick and pour the wax in and use the whole mold & wax assembly as the floating candle. Tried to find a wholesaler for these molds and never found them. They looked like clear plastic molds in the shape of flowers that had a base to keep the water off the wax. Maybe I'll try again to see if I can find them. Someone posted a pick of them several years ago and I thought they were perfect. That was during the time I used to make them. Have given up on floaters since then as they just haven't sold well anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Another idea I had is to use large floating molds like the kinds that hold 3-5 oz of wax. Pour your wax in the mold then set a tea light mold on top. That way you can reuse the floaters by just switching out tea light candles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernadette Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 (edited) This is my biggest selling/growing line of candles, and since I sell on line and have spent a small fortune and hundreds of straight days testing/perfecting the designs, I cannot share how it's done, but all my floater designs burn a minimum of 5 hours, with some up to a max of 20 hours. I have test burned a minimum of 50 candles in each design under various conditions(wind, drafts,high/low containers, high/low water levels, smelly jelly crystals, etc.) because I wanted to make sure I had really discovered something. I have never advertised them. I sold some on eBay over 11 years ago now, customers followed me over to my website, and new customers arrive all the time strictly from word of mouth. And I've never had a complaint that they don't burn as long as I say they do.One of the advantages of testing, as was pointed out in a different post, is sometimes you hit on something that can turn out to be one of the best things you've ever come up with.I just wanted to let you know that it is possible.:tiptoe: Edited February 11, 2011 by Bernadette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricofAZ Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Well, I have to say that I just sent a bunch of rose floaters out for a swap. I made two changes that resulted in reducing the burn time. I switched the wick to a zinc 44 series instead of the HTP, and I didn't quite make them long enough. I noticed the test burns were about 3 hours with half the wax leftover. They also had a tendency to carbon a little bit which is typical of the zinc wick.Oh, it was a softer wax. J223.I'm pretty sure if I go back to the harder wax and lighter wick I'll get 5 or 6 hours out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted February 13, 2011 Author Share Posted February 13, 2011 This is my biggest selling/growing line of candles, and since I sell on line and have spent a small fortune and hundreds of straight days testing/perfecting the designs, I cannot share how it's done, but all my floater designs burn a minimum of 5 hours, with some up to a max of 20 hours. I have test burned a minimum of 50 candles in each design under various conditions(wind, drafts,high/low containers, high/low water levels, smelly jelly crystals, etc.) because I wanted to make sure I had really discovered something. I have never advertised them. I sold some on eBay over 11 years ago now, customers followed me over to my website, and new customers arrive all the time strictly from word of mouth. And I've never had a complaint that they don't burn as long as I say they do.One of the advantages of testing, as was pointed out in a different post, is sometimes you hit on something that can turn out to be one of the best things you've ever come up with.I just wanted to let you know that it is possible.:tiptoe:Ummm, ok.Well, I have to say that I just sent a bunch of rose floaters out for a swap. I made two changes that resulted in reducing the burn time. I switched the wick to a zinc 44 series instead of the HTP, and I didn't quite make them long enough. I noticed the test burns were about 3 hours with half the wax leftover. They also had a tendency to carbon a little bit which is typical of the zinc wick.Oh, it was a softer wax. J223.I'm pretty sure if I go back to the harder wax and lighter wick I'll get 5 or 6 hours out of it.Thanks Eric, any info in the general direction helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 I think I would try adding some beeswax to help harden the wax. Or maybe some stearic. An all beeswax floater might burn longer. But if you want to mass produce them it could get expensive unless you have a private source of beeswax. On the other hand it may tunnel too and you don't want a wick too hot to burn too fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 Hopefully I'll have time this week to try some different approaches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricofAZ Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 (edited) Ok, so, I now have a final burn time/drowning of a rose floater (3 inch diameter/1.9 oz) with J223 and HTP13. It was 6.6 hours.So I have one going that is IGI 1274 Mottling wax and htp13. We'll see. So far, a larger flame than I thought and 4 hours. Looks like it is not going to last as long, but time will tell of course.I'm thinking vybar will slow the burn.And it might be fun to use soy, which tends to burn slower than paraffin. Edited February 14, 2011 by EricofAZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 Personally I'd rather not mess with soy...Waiting for the rose mold to show up is killing me! May have to go play with the daisy instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricofAZ Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 I had to modify the rose mould. There were several ridges for the pedals that caused the final wax rose to drown early. Also, I cut back the corners around where the outside pedals contact the center. The outside pedals would break off too easy. And, the outside pedals had a dip or gap between each one on the outside top that let water in, so I reduced that as well. The net result was a rose with slightly more wax in the right places. Probably not as pretty, but I doubt anyone would notice.I'm wondering if a softer wax would burn slower. I don't like using soft wax because it makes handling the final product a bit of a mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricofAZ Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Ok, 5.1 hours with the mottling wax. It was two burns. As odd as this sounds, I believe it would have been longer had it just been one burn. The second burn tunneled and flooded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted February 15, 2011 Author Share Posted February 15, 2011 Is this the same rose mold from vanyulay or a different one? I have hearts hardening up right now with 4625 and 5 different wicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricofAZ Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I bought it on ebay I think but it looks identical to this one:http://www.candlewic.com/Store/Product.aspx?q=c51,p318&title=Rose-Floater-Mold Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted February 16, 2011 Author Share Posted February 16, 2011 Oh, ok... that one is different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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