Burning Oils

[morethanrubies]

Hello! I was wondering if anyone has tried creating burning oils like the ones you can get at B&BW. I have tried several ways since I can't seem to get my tarts to last.

The type of burner I have is a candle warmer with a ceramic bowl on top but I have also tried the ones with a tealight under as well.

1. I tried the oils straight and at first it was WONDERFUL then the oil got too hot and the oil smoked.

2. Someone suggested I put a drop of Olive Oil in with the oils to stop the smoking. That worked but as the oil got hotter, the scent distorts ( no matter the scent ) to an almost plasticy smell.

3. I tried adding DPG... that just weakened the scent and after about an hour you smelled nothing.

4. I tried putting water in the the warmer, a drop or two on the water which does GREAT .. BUT if you let the water evaporate/boil down then the oil remains and you are left with #1 & #2 issues.

I use to LOVE just burning those B&BW oils because it only took a few drops but I can't get it to work at home with my own.

Any suggestions? Thank you in advance!

[number2of7]

I've always done a 1:1 ration of FO and DPG with no problems -- it shouldn't weaken the scent at all, so either A) you added too much DPG or you're getting used to the scent?

[morethanrubies]

Thank you! I will try to measure better and see what I end up with. Maybe I had it all wrong. Thanks again!

[jluper7297]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is DPG?

[LadyJo]

lol I had to go look it up too

DPG --- Di-Propylene Glycol

used for making incense and other scented oils

[lauramw71]

I use a 1:1 ratio of dpg : fo also. I love it! The scent lasts literally all day! Sometimes you think that the scent has gone, when actually you've gotten used to it. Maybe that could be the problem?

[morethanrubies]

I am about to tackle this after your suggestions and wanted to know if I should be doing a 1:1 ratio by WEIGHT or 1:1 by volume?

Thanks!!

I use a 1:1 ratio of dpg : fo also. I love it! The scent lasts literally all day! Sometimes you think that the scent has gone, when actually you've gotten used to it. Maybe that could be the problem?

[dnj]

For my own personal use I add some FCO and never had any problems with smoke or funky smells.

I think I might order me some dpg and give that a try. I have a few burners in my house for testing oils and keeping my home smelling good all the time.

I have 1 tealight burner and notice that the scent fades out faster than using the electric or nightlight warmers.

[morethanrubies]

ok... i thought i knew all the abbreviations but what is FCO?

[dnj]

sorry! Fractionated Coconut Oil

[WimbleyW]

I have an effusion lamp that I haven't used in several years. I could never get the right ratio of oil and DPG. It was either too fragrant or too chemical or alcohol smelling from the DPG I assume.

[NewInTheBiz]

I am very interested in this topic. I just tried burning FO diluted in DPG and would like to share the results with the board. I tried it two ways. One with 1 : 1. The other 30% FO and 70% DPG. I used a tea-light burner (short in height - gets fairly hot). Without water, it burns fairly fast (regardless of the ratio) and has a white smokey appearance. It does not burn the FO so that in itself is a good point for DPG. However, I think it still needs to burn slower. If I add some water, that slows it down and it isn't so smokey. But the problem with water is that it will evaporate at a different rate than the FO/DPG. You either have to constantly keep an eye on it or the water will evaporate and you will have the problem I mentioned above. Also, if you add too much water, it will slow it down too much.

Does anyone know how to get a long, reliable burn without having to use water?

The Fractionated Coconut Oil sounds good, might try that. Anyone else tried that? Or, something else? Perhaps a combination of FCO and DPG would be even better.

[morethanrubies]

I am very interested in this topic. I just tried burning FO diluted in DPG and would like to share the results with the board. I tried it two ways. One with 1 : 1. The other 30% FO and 70% DPG. I used a tea-light burner (short in height - gets fairly hot). Without water, it burns fairly fast (regardless of the ratio) and has a white smokey appearance. It does not burn the FO so that in itself is a good point for DPG. However, I think it still needs to burn slower. If I add some water, that slows it down and it isn't so smokey. But the problem with water is that it will evaporate at a different rate than the FO/DPG. You either have to constantly keep an eye on it or the water will evaporate and you will have the problem I mentioned above. Also, if you add too much water, it will slow it down too much.

Does anyone know how to get a long, reliable burn without having to use water?

The Fractionated Coconut Oil sounds good, might try that. Anyone else tried that? Or, something else? Perhaps a combination of FCO and DPG would be even better.

That has been my issue exactly. With water, I ALWAYS forget to watch it and isn't really a great way to market it to the customer "just add water but watch it!!" LOL.. would love to hear more from others THANK YOU for sharing your testing!

[NewInTheBiz]

That has been my issue exactly. With water, I ALWAYS forget to watch it and isn't really a great way to market it to the customer "just add water but watch it!!"

Yes, this is my main concern. I want to sell FO's that are already mixed with something that will will control the burn so that water is no longer needed. Sort of plug-and-play for customers. Just put it in and let it burn.

Edited September 28, 2011 by NewInTheBiz

[Sharon in KY]

I would love to find the right blend of oil/FO, like B&BW, great money maker. Wouldn't it be great if mineral oil would work cause it never goes bad.

As far as the infusion lamp goes, alcohol works best for that. Use .5 to 1 oz FO and 16oz 99% alcohol I use 91% from Walgreens, vanilla types

don't work well for me. Bitter Creek's forum has a long topic on this. I'm sure you have to sign up to check it out.

http://boards.bittercreek.com/post?lampe-berger-400460

[NewInTheBiz]

I would love to find the right blend of oil/FO, like B&BW, great money maker. Wouldn't it be great if mineral oil would work cause it never goes bad.

As far as the infusion lamp goes, alcohol works best for that. Use .5 to 1 oz FO and 16oz 99% alcohol I use 91% from Walgreens, vanilla types

don't work well for me. Bitter Creek's forum has a long topic on this. I'm sure you have to sign up to check it out.

http://boards.bittercreek.com/post?lampe-berger-400460

B&BW???

What do you mean by an infusion lamp? An oil burner with a halogen lamp?

[NewInTheBiz]

For my own personal use I add some FCO and never had any problems with smoke or funky smells.

What ratio are you using? Does the FCO slow down the burn? Do you use it with water too or just FCO? Does the FCO in itself have a scent? I mean like, does it smell like coconut?

[Sharon in KY]

"I have an effusion lamp that I haven't used in several years. I could never get the right ratio of oil and DPG. It was either too fragrant or too chemical or alcohol smelling from the DPG I assume."

Lampe Berger, catalytic conversion lamps. that's what I was talking about. http://www.clarysourceberger.com/history/ a nice story about the lamps. I thought this question was about this type of lamp. HTH

[NewInTheBiz]

OK, I did some more testing on this and would like to share the results with the board. I now have two oil burners, one electric and one tea light. The tea light one seems to be made of terra-cotta - at least it seems. The electric one has a 15w light bulb in it. Not sure if it is halogen.

First thing I found is that there is a big difference between the two. Apparently the tea light one generates a good deal more heat than the electric one. As such, the tea light one smokes like a locomotive. The electric one has no smoke at all. My impression is, even with pure oil, the electric one gives off enough scent for a very small room. Perhaps good for a bathroom.

Back to the locomotive ... I tried adding things like fractionated coconut oil and/or DPG. It still put out a lot of smoke. I tried the FCO by itself, even 25% FO to 75% FCO and it still smoked too much. I noticed that after the FO was gone, the FCO remained in the dish. With 25% FO to 75% DPG, the DPG and the FO were both used up at the same time.

As to the electric one, absolutely no smoke at all. As for the tea light one, too much smoke. I have a question. Is some smoke desirable? Is that the norm? Any other commenst welcome.

[dnj]

50/50 most of the time depending on the FO. Doesn't seem to slow down the burn time. No water and no smell of coconut. FCO is odorless and clear and resonably priced.

Like I said...I use this for my own personal use. have never sold oils with this mix.

The next time I place an order from a supplier that sells DPG I'm going to buy a small bottle of it to try out and see if I like that method better.

[lauramw71]

I don't sell my oils.... I just use them in my house, and I use them in one of those old potpourri crockpots. It burns pretty hot, so there is a bit of white smoke. It seems to me that the reason it makes the smoke is because it's burning so hot. I've used 50/50 (I usually mix 1 oz DPG with 1oz FO in a bottle and just pour what I want in the burner) in my scentsy tart warmer and haven't seen any smoke; it does not get nearly as hot as my lil crockpot. A tealight burner is going to burn hotter than a burner used with a lightbulb like a tart warmer. Even in my crockpot, I leave it on for the whole day and it doesn't burn away...

[NewInTheBiz]

I did some further testing on this. First, let me stress that the temperature of the burner greatly affects the need for a good diluent. A lamp with a bulb with low-wattage will not do much of anything so the diluent won't make much difference. For a "hot" burner, I used a tea-light. I tried FCO, DPG, IPM, PG, and glycerine. I did all these tests without any water in the dish.

Some people say they use or recommend DPG as it has a higher flash point and therefore will raise the FP on anything it is combined with. That is why I tried glycerine, as it has an FP even higher than DPG. Nevertheless, the minute the glycerine hit the hot dish it started to boil. Even more than PG which has a lower FP and boiling point than both DPG and glycerine.

The FCO was kind of smokey. Of all of these solvents/carrier oils, I found DPG to work the best. While all of them had white smoke, the smoke from the DPG looked more laid back. The IPM also worked fairly well. I also compared the look of the drops in the dish. The DPG did not react violently like the PG and glycerine. It slowly disappeared and left no trace. Nothing left to wipe out either. The PG and glycerine drops started to boil immediately when put in the dish. It seems to leave a burnt residue in the dish afterwards. The FCO seems to get left over after the FO gets atomized, but does not get burnt like the PG and glycerine.

In conclusion, I think the DPG made the best overall carrier/diluent. But I also think there is much more to this than flash point as my glycerine test proves. Glycerine not only has a high flash point but also a high boiling point, more than DPG. But it boiled when I put it in the dish. The DPG did not. IPM has the lowest boiling point of all but held up better than glycerine in my tests.

After all of this, it is easy to see why some people recommend DPG. I would go with DPG first, IPM second for oil burners. But I think IPM would be a better choice for reed diffusers.