lets try this one more time

[Gbhunter]

When you mix parafin with soy say 20/80. 80% soy 125 and 20 percent 145 MP parafin and use it for container wax is the shrinkage going to be an issue? Or instead of parafin use steric .

One more question. How hot is to hot for a jar?

And the last point is it possible not to turn this into a battle of words that has nothing to do with the original question. :tiptoe:

Play nice:highfive:

[deb426]

And the last point is it possible not to turn this into a battle of words that has nothing to do with the original question. :tiptoe:

Play nice:highfive:

Haha, you dream. per chance? LOL

Too hot for a jar is when its too hot to pick up with your fingers and carry comfortably to another location. That's my criteria, anyway.

[CaftCandles]

I've never mixed those exact waxes but when I tested with Para/Soy blends (My blends) with the majority being Soy, I found that the wax will shrink enough that it will completly pull away from the jar, all the way around. It still looks good because the only part still stuck to the jar is the bottom (so they don't rattle, at least mine don't) but not as good as if it was completley adhered to the glass.

As far as how much heat a glass jar can stand, The glass it self can withstand close to 2000 degrees before it starts to deform. If you are asking what a safe temperature too pour is, then it is not the actual temperature you need to worry about it's the thermal shock. You just need to make sure that your pouring temperature is not more or less than 70 degrees different from that of the jar for example; if you pour at 180 degrees then your jar shouldn't be less than 110 degrees or more than 250 degrees. HTH

[Gbhunter]

Well the double wick jar is so hot around the top rim it cannot be touched. You can move it from place to place as long as you hold onto the bottom. I will post pictures of each candle after a 7 hour burn. It seems if I want. Scent throw I will need to put up with some mushrooming

The double wicked jar has no throw

The #5 wick mushroomed again I will post what it looks like after 7 hours non stop, but it has good throw and it took a while for the mushroom to develop, plus by adding beeswax the melt pool got larger, I just have to see if it smokes. The #6 is an abysmal failure it had a smaller pool then the #5(proving to me that the article I read which stated the lower the MP the bigger the wick). Next I will do 2 21 ply wicks and see how that goes. I will add stirene instead of beeswax and see if the results are the same(beeswax is just too expensive). I might test a soy palm mix. But I will have images soon

Edited December 24, 2011 by Gbhunter

[Beth]

This may be a tad off subject, but is there a reason why you are doing 7 hour burns?

[CaftCandles]

Well the double wick jar is so hot around the top rim it cannot be touched. You can move it from place to place as long as you hold onto the bottom.

For safety's sake thats probably a little too hot, as far as for the glass you shouldn't have any problems as long as the outside temp does not change rapidly. I you were to get a cold breeze, a drop of water or even the touch of your hand (if 70+ degrees different) touch the outside of the jar it could shatter.

I can't offer any help with those wicks, I've never used them. I do use Beeswax as an additive and it has tamed all the burning and adhesion issues I encountered with my wax. My mushrooming problems almost went to nill when I started using beeswax and it also extended the burn time. I agree, it is very expensive but for me, it's worth it.

[Gbhunter]

Here is the result of a test burn,7 hour burn. This candle was 20% beeswax 80% 125 soy. A #5 wick, it has small mushroom but it also needs trimming. There is 4% f/o by weight.

http://www.angelfire.com/on3/shellandpaulsphoto/candles/IMG_20111224_131616.jpg

This is the dual wick both are 24 ply wicks, I think 21 ply will work also. This setup caused the jar tob super hot. No f/o or color.

http://www.angelfire.com/on3/shellandpaulsphoto/candles/IMG_20111224_131616.jpg

The last two photos were straight soy 125 only the first one was a mix. I will run more tests.

As for the 7 hour burn someone on the forum mentioned that that to do a through test the candle needs to be burned for 8 hours.

Edited December 24, 2011 by Gbhunter

[rjdaines]

Here is the result of a test burn,7 hour burn. This candle was 20% beeswax 80% 125 soy. A #5 wick, it has small mushroom but it also needs trimming. There is 4% f/o by weight.

http://www.angelfire.com/on3/shellandpaulsphoto/candles/IMG_20111224_131616.jpg

This is the dual wick both are 24 ply wicks, I think 21 ply will work also. This setup caused the jar tob super hot. No f/o or color.

http://www.angelfire.com/on3/shellandpaulsphoto/candles/IMG_20111224_131616.jpg

The last two photos were straight soy 125 only the first one was a mix. I will run more tests.

Second photo is the same as the first for me

[Gbhunter]

Stupid cut and paste here are the 3 photos

http://www.angelfire.com/on3/shellandpaulsphoto/candles/IMG_20111224_131616.jpg

http://www.angelfire.com/on3/shellandpaulsphoto/candles/IMG_20111224_131643.jpg

http://www.angelfire.com/on3/shellandpaulsphoto/candles/IMG_20111224_131715.jpg

Last photo is of the #6 wick which failed terribly.

Edited December 24, 2011 by Gbhunter

[rjdaines]

Certainly like the beeswax blend better for appearance. The hangup may vanish in the last half of the burn. Looks good to me, thanks for sharing.

[ChrisR]

I don't put my double wicks that far apart, I almost have the tabs touching, which puts the wicks maybe 1/2" apart. I think the 21 ply will still be too hot, personally I'd start with 12 or 15 ply and go from there.

[Gbhunter]

:grin2:I Agree with you on this also- I will see if add in palm stric or palm wax gives similar reults. I realy want to see what happens with brittllewax and soft wax together.

I will decrease the distance between both wicks. 15 ply in this wax will drill a hole even with 24 ply the wax pool was very shallow (less than 1/8". 21 ply should just get to the edge. But putting them this close together is a great idea. I am still waiting for a package of sample CD wicks so I can see if they are as good as people say,. I have a smal sample of CD wicks but they are the smalest sizes so I will test those on the 8oz candle jars I also make.

Edited December 24, 2011 by Gbhunter

[HorseScentS]

I don't put my double wicks that far apart, I almost have the tabs touching, which puts the wicks maybe 1/2" apart. I think the 21 ply will still be too hot, personally I'd start with 12 or 15 ply and go from there.

I've Googled and also searched Craftserver to find info about double-wicking, and there's really nothing that explains why some chandlers divide the jar in thirds and space the wicks far apart, and why others have the tabs touching. There must be reasons and theories behind both methods, can you point me in the right direction of where to research this?

[rjdaines]

I've Googled and also searched Craftserver to find info about double-wicking, and there's really nothing that explains why some chandlers divide the jar in thirds and space the wicks far apart, and why others have the tabs touching. There must be reasons and theories behind both methods, can you point me in the right direction of where to research this?

Doesn't this relate to heat distribution? My 4" apothecary should take a single wick (if I can find one) but I think the double looks better. I have the tabs touching because I want the heat centered as much as possible and not heat the glass lip. Doubles for me are the hotter configuration. Larger diameter containers can take more wicks. I think the best heat distribution would come with 4 wicks but if the container won't fit 4 then 3 is the next choice arranged in an isosceles triangle configuration. The spacing (radiating from the center outward) of the wicks is probably trial and error to get the heating of the wax (center to edges) just right. Maybe there is a formula for this but I don't know it.

[HorseScentS]

Doesn't this relate to heat distribution? My 4" apothecary should take a single wick (if I can find one) but I think the double looks better. I have the tabs touching because I want the heat centered as much as possible and not heat the glass lip. Doubles for me are the hotter configuration. Larger diameter containers can take more wicks. I think the best heat distribution would come with 4 wicks but if the container won't fit 4 then 3 is the next choice arranged in an isosceles triangle configuration. The spacing (radiating from the center outward) of the wicks is probably trial and error to get the heating of the wax (center to edges) just right. Maybe there is a formula for this but I don't know it.

That makes sense. At one time I was wondering if having the wicks close together could build up too much heat between the two flames and ignite the wax, but I don't even know how I got that idea in my head.

[Stella1952]

I really think you should be testing for 1 hour per inch of container for your initial testing. Once you have settled on the wick and wax blend and think everything is working well, THEN do a powerburn test.

[Gbhunter]

I should be getting some CD wick soon and I will see what it can do for me.

For now I will experiment wth mixing palm and soy just to see what happens. I will post results here.

Edited December 25, 2011 by Gbhunter

[HorseScentS]

I should be getting some CD wick soon and I will see what it can do for me.

For now I will experiment wth mixing palm and soy just to see what happens. I will post results here.

In my newbie opion, f you want to make things much cheaper and easier on yourself, while learning to make consistently good candles, pick ONE small straight-sided container of 8 oz or less to work with, pick ONE wax, and pick ONE supplier that is known for good strong FOs, and just work with those while experimenting with different types & sizes of wicks.