Draft Free Testing

[wakeylad]

Hi all:

I've been testing some 4630 wax. I'm intending to test pretty much all the different wick types with this wax in my container. I started with CD and I was not impressed. Some different wicks showed promise then started to dance on their 3rd testing burn (3 hours at a time).

Anyway, I wondered if I had a bit of a draft somewhere so I hung a long piece of cotton from a door frame and there is about a 2" movement from center.

Anyone come up with a way to ensure their candles are tested in a draft free environment? I was thinking to build a mesh cage to see if that would do the trick. Maybe start with mosquito netting or a finer mesh if possible. I figure I could blow a small fan on the cage to see how much it affected the flame. I saw something on another site about testing candles for soot and they used a mesh cage with a small plate of glass for gathering soot samples.

If no-one else has tried this, I'll keep you up-to-date with my findings.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Neil

[deb426]

I prefer to test in a normal, everyday home environment since that is where my customers burn their candles. If that means there is the occasional draft or a temperature change or anything else that occurs in most households, my candles should still burn well. If I make them to burn in a laboratory setting, what good does that do my customers? Just my opinion, I'm sure there are others.

[Chefmom]

Just burn a small taper in the area. If you have a draft the flame will show you.

[rjdaines]

I second the testing in a "normal" environment as that is what your candles will be used in. As for wicks, I have tested LX, CD, HTP, and now Premier. I look for a wick that will produce the best throw, keep soot ti a minimum and not dance. Well, the no dancing this is still to be worked on but in terms of HT here is my ranking from highest to lowest: CD, HTP, Premier (700s), and LX. No them them are complete duds, even the LX does a fine job with most FO and in some containers the HTP comes out first. I won't even talk about viscous FOs vs. less viscous. One thing I have learned, candle making is not a "one size fits all" kind of craft.

[ksranch]

I'm with everyone else - I test under "normal" conditions, and torture test - if they work well here, they'll be fine in "ideal" conditions.

[wakeylad]

I think I found out what the problem is. I'm at work right now but will explain later when I have a little more time.

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm definitely going to incorporate the taper suggestion into my testing routine.

Neil

[HorseScentS]

Hi all:

I've been testing some 4630 wax. I'm intending to test pretty much all the different wick types with this wax in my container. I started with CD and I was not impressed. Some different wicks showed promise then started to dance on their 3rd testing burn (3 hours at a time).

Anyway, I wondered if I had a bit of a draft somewhere so I hung a long piece of cotton from a door frame and there is about a 2" movement from center.

Anyone come up with a way to ensure their candles are tested in a draft free environment? I was thinking to build a mesh cage to see if that would do the trick. Maybe start with mosquito netting or a finer mesh if possible. I figure I could blow a small fan on the cage to see how much it affected the flame. I saw something on another site about testing candles for soot and they used a mesh cage with a small plate of glass for gathering soot samples.

If no-one else has tried this, I'll keep you up-to-date with my findings.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Neil

As far as I know, all container candles have dancing flames once the wax is low enough in the jar to restrict air flow. The only way to prevent dancing flames is use a shallow bowl. I went to a Catholic chapel, and they have the best container candles in the world, and they're left to burn unsupervised 24/7. They're about 1 foot tall, and about 2-3/4" diameter, and they burn perfectly clean and even all the way down with no wick trimming, no soot, no overheating, but the flames do dance. That's just the way it is.

Edited March 2, 2012 by HorsescentS

[Stella1952]

I prefer to test in a normal, everyday home environment since that is where my customers burn their candles. If that means there is the occasional draft or a temperature change or anything else that occurs in most households, my candles should still burn well. If I make them to burn in a laboratory setting, what good does that do my customers?

I agree. While I take common sense measures to keep the air as still as possible while testing (turn off fans, keep out of drafts, etc.) I don't go nutz trying to achieve an absolutely still environment which will not resemble the typical conditions found in most homes.

As far as I know, all container candles have dancing flames once the wax is low enough in the jar to restrict air flow.

"Dancing flames" is a relative term. If you call the normal movement of a flame "dancing," then we have a difference in terminology. It is not expected that a flame should have no movement in a container or pillar. That just isn't realistic for a number of reasons. A "dancing" flame is one that will not settle down and moves continually, often changing size and shape. A normal flame moves a small amount when burning, but doesn't wave around like a ballet dancer, nor change size or shape appreciably.

To say that "all container containers have dancing flames" is inaccurate, but to say that all container candles have flames that move somewhat is accurate. It is a question of degree.

[wakeylad]

As I mentioned earlier, I hung a 7 or 8 foot length of cotton which was drifting by up to 6". As it happens, I was having a new boiler installed for the heating. The boiler room in the basement is pretty drafty and because of the work going the guys had to leave the boiler room door open. As part of my investigation (now I feel like Sherlock Holmes), I covered the fireplace with a piece of plywood. I went upstairs to get something and heard a loud bang. I thought the new boiler had blown a valve or something. Anyway, it turns out that the wood was blown over and also knocked down a few other things. I went downstairs and made sure the boiler room door was closed (the boiler is installed and I have heat again). I then put the wood against the fireplace and voila!, my cotton thread is now hanging straight down. I may have expected it to move that much hanging next to a window but now from the door frame between the living and dining rooms.

To put things in perspective, I moved into this place just over a year ago and the main floor has been chilly in the winter even with the heat up high unless you had a fire going. The previous owner said the same thing oo. BTW, the old boiler was working fine, just converting from oil to gas. Now, the thermostat is set lower but the room is toasty thanks to the fireplace cover.

So, all the candles that were doing fine on Wednesday night are back in the game. I wiped of the soot that had accumulated around the CD's and gave them a second chance. So far only an an RD34 and a Premier 755 gave any smoke. The others are burning perfectly for their size.

Thanks for all the input.

Neil