Left over wax with CD wicks

[rjdaines]

I am testing 464 wax with Lonestar CD wicks and while I have been pleased with the results, there is certainly a lot of wax left over when the wick burn out. I assume the these have fairly high necks on the tabs. A great safety feature but wasteful of the wax. Should I look for a source of pre-tabbed CD wick with lower necks or just use these? How do customers react to a fair amount of unusable wax at the end of a burn?

I will post a picture when container cools.

Just did some looking, the Lonestar pre-tabbed CD wicks have a 10 mm neck and I've seen other places selling 6 mm and 3 mm. I assume that the longer neck holds the wick straighter at the end of the burn but the residual wax seems excessive.

Edited April 28, 2011 by rjdaines
Added info

[rjdaines]

As promised here is a photo, I calculate about 190 grams of wax left. If the wicks had burned longer maybe the side would have been cleaner too (GW 464 wax). Left is double wicked CD 5 and right is double wicked CD6.

Edited April 28, 2011 by rjdaines

[rjdaines]

Well folks, I just found this on Candle-Safety. org: Discontinue use of a container candle when ½" of wax remains. Seem these 10mm clips have that covered, still seems to be a waste of wax.

[IwantItgreen]

I have to agree with you there and I believe your future customers would agree also. Try testing the 6mm ones and see if that is more to your liking. 190 grams = 6.7 oz. Is that the calculated weight with the jar? Or the combined weight of remaining wax in both jars? If so, that would make it over 3 oz. of remaining wax per jar. That still seems excessive to me.

[SliverOfWax]

I agree. Some of Lone Star's wicks have 9 mm necks, others have 10 mm necks.

That's one big reason why I started buying wicks from Candlewic years ago. If you use CW's custom wick builder, you can choose you neck height. I always get 3 mm necks.

[rjdaines]

About the final wax weight, I was trying to back calculate and appear to have screwed it up, I will melt it out tomorrow but a recalculation puts it close to 2 ounces of unburned wax per container. Since it started at 8 oz, that's a quarter of the wax left unused. Which (if I am calculating correctly) is about another 8 hrs of burn (the ROC was 0.19 oz/hr).

[CandleAddict_RN]

I had bought some wicks from Lone Star also and ended up re-tabbing them with shorter wick tabs. BCS sells 6mm neck CD wicks and they also all come in 6" length which is nice too. I have a small jar that is finished burning and had a 6mm tab. I'll try and get the picture up so you can see what's left.

[CandleAddict_RN]

Here is what's left in a small libby square jar using a para-soy and an HTP 62 with a 6mm neck. Do you think this is to little left to be a safety issue?

[rjdaines]

Here is what's left in a small libby square jar using a para-soy and an HTP 62 with a 6mm neck. Do you think this is to little left to be a safety issue?

Looks fine to me but I'm a newbie to all this. Thanks for sharing the photo.

[EricofAZ]

I found the 3mm tabs are a bit short. I only use them in containers that have a raised center or are very small. The 6mm seem to be about right and I discontinue use at 1/4 inch rather than 1/2 inch.

[Stella1952]

Do you think this is to little left to be a safety issue?

Yes, I think there is too little remaining and that is a safety issue. The whole idea of safety tabs is that they self-extinguish at the top of the tab. It doesn't appear that yours did that. It looks like it continued sucking wax from underneath the tab. If a wick doesn't self-extinguish properly, it is at greater risk of heating up and causing a problem. Sure that leaves unburned wax at the bottom, but I would rather have a candle that errs on the side of safety and is NOT dependent upon the customer to extinguish it sensibly. Some folks will burn 'em until there's absolutely nothing left and that's foolish.

The National Candle Association recommends 1/2" for a reason:

http://www.candles.org/safety_rules.html

Most warning labels reflect that. I am good with that.

Edited April 29, 2011 by Stella1952

[rjdaines]

Excellent discussion, it certainly changes some of my preconceived notions. I've talked with some people who strive to have candles that end with a clean container, just the tab left. I see that this is not a good thing to do since the only way this can happen is to suck wax through the bottom of the tab. In some cases that may mean a loose or partially attached tab.

As far as make one's own pre-tabs, is there a crimping device because when I try by using pliers, the tab base bends?

Just to finish the thread in terms of the amount of wax left over, each container had 2.5 ounces left out of the 8 originally added.

Edited April 29, 2011 by rjdaines

[IwantItgreen]

As far as make one's own pre-tabs, is there a crimping device because when I try by using pliers, the tab base bends?

Yes there is, it's an electrical crimping tool, that can be purchased a your local hardware store. However, I have found when you do this that you puncture the safety tab, allowing the wick to suck the liquid wax through the puncture. I personally can't get a good crimp without puncturing the tab. Anyone have any pointers concerning that?

[CandleAddict_RN]

Looks fine to me but I'm a newbie to all this. Thanks for sharing the photo.

Believe me, I consider myself very much a newbi also and still learning. I starting making candles last August and still trying to get that "perfect" burn in a jar:( , so all these threads and posts are very helpful.

Yes, I think there is too little remaining and that is a safety issue. The whole idea of safety tabs is that they self-extinguish at the top of the tab. It doesn't appear that yours did that. It looks like it continued sucking wax from underneath the tab. If a wick doesn't self-extinguish properly, it is at greater risk of heating up and causing a problem. Sure that leaves unburned wax at the bottom, but I would rather have a candle that errs on the side of safety and is NOT dependent upon the customer to extinguish it sensibly. Some folks will burn 'em until there's absolutely nothing left and that's foolish.

The National Candle Association recommends 1/2" for a reason:

http://www.candles.org/safety_rules.html

Most warning labels reflect that. I am good with that.

Somehow I just knew this response was coming from you Stella:smiley2: I have read MANY threads where you have reinforced this info/advice and very good info/advice it is!! When I first burned a candle with the 10mm neck I mentioned to my friend how much wax it left. That's when I started using the shorter tabs, of course prior to reading all these threads :smiley2: So for now I will use these shorter tabbed wicks for testing since I have tons of them. Once I find my right wick with my right jar I will use the 10mm necks. I also want to pick up some of that permatex that you have mentioned in prior threads to help prevent the wick from sucking up the wax.

I do HATE that wasted wax though.

[rjdaines]

I took the left over wax (5 oz) and made a small container candle out of it. The scent won't be as good as the original but it's pretty-much a freebie the way I look at it. Can't have too many candles.

[Stella1952]

I do HATE that wasted wax though.

I do too.

Can't have too many candles.

My sentiments exactly! I save up my used containers, melt the remaining wax and strain it while pouring layered candles for myself. The scent is usually fine - even better if the layers have fragrances that complement one another. When my customers ask about it, I suggest that they melt the wax and use it in a tart warmer. One of them is a candle freak, but doesn't have a lot of bucks, so I gave her a few votive wicks for flowerpot votives and she faithfully pours her own layered votives to get more bang for her buck. The success of melting and using the last bit of wax kinda rests on how careful the customer has been when burning the candle, ie. no wick trimmings, debris, etc. I strain mine as I pour the new layers because I burn candles on my porch quite often and get fried moths & skeeters in them. I fish out the big 'uns, but some sink and escape me until the end.

Honestly, most folks just don't seem to care enough to retrieve the last little drop of wax in a container. In fact, I see huge name brand containers in homes that, by the time they are burned halfway down, look terrible because people don't maintain them. They just throw them out and buy new ones!

I save used wax for other projects like firestarters. I strain the wax, combine similar colors/fragrances and refresh the fragrance and color. I save little 1" pieces of wicks that are trimmed to use to light these. Because they are made to start fires, no testing is needed! YAY!

Edited April 30, 2011 by Stella1952

[Candybee]

I remember reading some time ago that the new standard for tabs was 6mm neck for safety. Think it was a back issue of IGCA or the NCA. Anyway it was about 2 yrs ago. That was around the time that the NGA issued the new candle burning instruction icon pics that are supposed to go on your warning labels.

If I run across the article I will post a link.