Aimee81 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Hi everyone, I am new to this Forum and had a few questions.First off, let me explain how I got started in the candle business. My Mother and I decided to make candles together 2 years ago. She make all the candles and I did all the labeling, selling them to customer's, etc. I never actually was with her during the candle making process since we lived in different states but somehow we were able to join together and sell candles as a business. About 6 months ago my Mom moved even farther away and had to quit the candle business, leaving it all up to me. I no longer sell my candles to the public as a business, just make them myself and for friends/family.With all that said, my Mom was using the Ecosoya CB 135 wax with ECO 8 wicks (double wick) in our 4 inch diameter apothecary jars. (8 oz, 16 oz, 26 oz). I had soot all over my wall's and all over the candle jar and the flame was way too big. I contacted a candle company I purchase most of my FO's from and they said I should never be using ECO's in my brand of wax. She recommended using LX 28, LX 30 to try to single wick and for double wick LX 16 and LX 14.The single wicks still didn't work in my jars, not a full melting pool and believe it or not the LX 28 and LX 30 mushroomed bad and had to constantly be trimmed.The LX 16 double wicked I thought did amazing, no soot, had to trim the wick still a few times but nothing major. I sent the pic of how my candle was burning after 2.5 hours (pic attached below) and the sales rep told me that the melting pool I had should be like that after 4 hours, not 2 so I should go down to double wick LX 14. Well, the LX 14 wont give me a full melting pool. I am really confused about which wick to use and would LOVE to go to a single wick but can't seem to have any luck with the one's suggested. Also, my Ecosoya says 9% max for FO usage. I notice FO bottled state 2%-10%. Would it not be very wise to put 10% FO in my wax if I wanted a stronger smell?I hope I didn't ramble on too much, just really want to get this wick thing solved and not have my candles with soot all over them and the information I am getting from my sales rep isn't heping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Maybe this thread will help:http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?68489-Ecosoya-CB-135...clarity-needed!&highlight=ecosoya+135+wick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 More FO doesn't equal better HT. Just because you CA use up to a certain maximum percentage in a wax doesn't mean that will yield a stronger HT. Good HT is a combination of the wax, the FO itself, the amount, the type wick and the size wick. Try a single CD or CDN 20-22 in that size container and stick with 1-1.5 oz. FO PP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aimee81 Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 I am testing HTP 1212 and HTP 1312 in 8 oz apothecary jars with Ecosoya CB 135 wax and 9% Pumpkin Crunch Cake FO from Natures Garden. The HTP 1312 instantly created a hole around the wick right after I lit it, exposing too much wick and making a huge flame.I added FO at 185 degrees and poured the wax very slowly into my jar at 125 degrees. Any idea why this could have happened? I have never had this happen before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjdaines Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Sounds like you had a void or air pocket just under the wax near the wick. Uneven cooling can cause such things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aimee81 Posted December 11, 2011 Author Share Posted December 11, 2011 How would I cool the candles evenly?I just made some more candles and poured at 106 degrees. All were different FO's and out of all 6 only 1 of the candles looks like it has holes in the top, which I am sure can be smoothed out with a heat gun. I am wondering if it is the FO's that make the top's look smooth or not because all the other top's look beautiful and smooth and no holes. What is really weird is I have never had a sink hole around my wick with my ECO wicks so this is a first for me and I haven't changed anything in past 6 months (meaning pour temps, wax, fo's, etc)I am hoping my next batch of candles to test for 1 wick wont cave in around the wick like my last batch...keeping my fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aimee81 Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 I poured my last batch of candles at 106 and so far 2 of my tester's have NO SINK HOLE!!! Thank God I am testing the CD 22 and CD 20 in an 8 oz apothecary jar (single wick) with 9% FO from Enchanted Lites and the CD 20 did not get a full melting poolafter 4.5 hours, about 1/2 inch left on sides of jar. I blew it out and relit this morning and will see how it does. For the scent throw, it wasn't that strong either..I am assuming because the melting pool was so small.My CD 22 jar after lit got a big mushroom and the flame was dancing around (I trimmed the wick to 1/4 inch before lit) so I blew it out and trimmed the wick again, this time too short. So the candle started to tunnel. This morning I took the CD 22 and leveled out the wax so it isn't tunneled and relit.One thing I noticed about the CD's is even with the wick trimmed they get a mushroom pretty quick and the wick sticks straight up, it is not bend outward.My ECO 6 don't mushroom until half way down the jar and shortly after I light my ECO's the wick is tilted or slanted just a bit and they don't mushroom that bad in the beginning. (I saw on a web site that a good wick will slant or tilt out of the hottest part of the flame, don't know if that is what is going on with my ECO's)I am getting really close to just keeping my ECO 6 (double wick) and deal with the mushroom's that appear on my candle and just have to keep an eye on it and trim off the mushroom so the candle doesn't soot. Keeping my fingers crossed for this CD 22!!!Question: Since apparently my 2.5 hour burn creates too much of a melting pool (see pic above) even tho there is no soot or horrible mushrooms...would a ECO 4 (double wick) possibly do the trick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjdaines Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 I am wicking a 4" apothecary jar with 464 wax, 2 CD-4s for a double or a single CD-20. From my experience and sore fingers (from testing) the double wick configuration burns hotter as measured by grasping the glass (hence the sore fingers). The double throws better (until the last third) and soots less because of the heat. I have not decided which I like better. I don't like a hot container but the double flame is prettier (to me). At least I have options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aimee81 Posted December 16, 2011 Author Share Posted December 16, 2011 Just thought I would update on this thread: I was able to single wick my apothecary 4 inch diameter jars with a CD 22!! It was weird having a jar that wasn't so hot I couldn't pick it up while lit. I was apparently melting my candles with torches before using 2 ECO 6's. Really hoping all my FO's will burn great with the CD 22, if not I am sure there is a bigger wick than CD 22 I could try?Thanks for all your help everyone... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjdaines Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 (edited) I am amazed at how well the CD series of wick works with both soy and paraffin blends. Edited December 16, 2011 by rjdaines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Hooray!! Glad the 22 is working for you!CDs & CDNs are manufactured in sizes all the way up to 30. It's difficult, however, to find a supplier who stocks them in sizes over 22. I think a 20 & 22 should work in most applications, but it's entirely possible that a 24 would net a stronger HT without heating up the container excessvely. You can call a distributor (Premier, WickIt or Wicks Unlimited) to order samples to test - you can expect to pay shipping but testing will settle the question of whether a 24 is needed. Good luck!Let us know how the EL Millenium testing goes... :smiley2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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