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Do you always need to test?


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Ok I think I know the answer to this but I am going to ask anyway. I have my main scents that i sell down and I know that they perform as they should. What I want to know is if I'm buying FO from (let's say Candle Science that is known to test in soy and has truthful ratings on their site as far as I know) do I still need to go through a testing phase for a new FO that has proven to work in soy? *hiding*

I'm small and just starting out and would like to offer some special one time scents but I don't think I have the cash flow to go through testing again and again.

I know I'm about to get killed here and I think the answer is NO but I still wanted to ask. TIA! Don't hit me to hard please. *dead horse*

Edited by jackbenimble
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The short answer is Yes! Chances are you can use the same wick but to be sure you have to test. Some FOs you need to be wicked up and some down.

Or-- you could wait for your customer to come back and TELL YOU it didn't burn right; the wick drowned out ! -or- It burned like a tiki torch and set my cat on fire!

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Unfortunately testing is a crucial part of candlemaking.

Not only do you have wicking issues like Candy said...you also have to keep in mind that just because a supplier says a FO works well in soy...doesn't mean you will get the same results in your soy. I have plenty of duds sitting in my basement that were said to be "awesome", "run you out of the house strong" in soy..but I couldn't get them to throw at all in GB415. And a couple of those came from CS. :-(

The only reviewer you can trust 100% is yourself.

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yep sorry paul but you always have to test, i learned my lesson one christmas when I got really overwhelmed with orders and I just poured a new scent for family and friends only, guessed on wick considering its the same wick I use for over 40 scents in that same container. wouldnt you know it, that one scent needed to be wicked up. Its a huge bummer (not to mention squirm worthy) to have family and friends tell you your candle didnt burn right

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Jack,

You already know the answer, but I'll give you my story. Last year I did a fundraiser, and their was an issue with product in one scent. I had tested this scent repeatedly in home and through others. So I poured for the fundraiser, but had to REORDER oil in that time span to fill the order. The batch of oil I ordered was defective, and the mfgr. replaced. I ended up replacing a bunch of candles, which was embarassing, and taught me to test every batch. I assumed the FO would perform the same, but have since learned that suppliers change formulations all the time. Each batch has to be treated different. Good luck, and if I can give you any answers, don't be afraid to ask.

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Yes. Every new FO, every new batch of FO, every new shipment of wicks, every new shipment of additives, every new lot of wax, ESPECIALLY when changing suppliers. Every supplier has "duds" in their line up. Every wax manufacturer occasionally has a bad batch that slips through their quality control. Every manufacturer of FOs reformulates from time to time. Suppliers do change things without anouncing this to their customers. Testing is the CHEAPEST and QUICKEST way to find out if something about your candle system has changed. I take nothing for granted. I don't want my customers to inform me that a candle I made isn't up to par as compared to previous ones.

Edited by Stella1952
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wick duds are the worst, i got a 1000 pack of cotton core tealight wicks once that were just pathetic, wouldnt burn. would. not. burn. I thought, well crap maybe my notes were wrong and I need to wick up.. so I used a different wax I had on hand that takes smaller wicking.. well no. Well maybe its the fragrance? No. They were just bad wicks, they would initially light and then within seconds the flame would go out, every single time. I went through 200 of them testing. If I hadnt tested, 100 of those tealights would have gone out to my customer, and all of them eventually. I recieved 100 from the same supplier for re-testing at their urging, and they were fine, burned like a dream. On closer inspection, the bad wicks looked thinner and flimsier, and were coated in a slightly different colored wax. It was a huge eye opener for me.

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