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No smoke/soot gel candles?


Dana

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Is there such a thing? I have been playing around with gel lately and maybe I'm spoiled with the way soy burns, but I can't get these gel candles to burn clean. If I wick down, they tunnel. I have heard zincs are good in this wax so that is what I have been using. I tried the HD and, think maybe the LD would burn easier, tried that but still the sooting continues! I have not even BEGUN to add scent yet. Any suggestions?

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Gel wax is the worst for sooting. I never could get a total clean burn I did get it down to a bare minimum. Soot is probably one the main reason gel has fallen out of favor with customers.

I used HTP and cotton core to get the sooting down.

Edited by Vicky_CO
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That is why I figured many people stopped making gel candles. I will have to try the wicks you suggested. So far, I have only tried the zincs since that is what I have read works the best....we will just have to see about that!

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Gee, ladies, I've been making gel candles since 1998, selling since 2000, and have not had sooting/smoking problems. I only sold gel candles until 5-6 years ago, but still sell a ton of them. I use the HD Penreco. I do what some would call excessive testing, and the only time I've had sooting was when I overwicked. When I first started, I thought I was underwicking because the first couple burns looked like the candle was tunneling, but the gel would melt down and catch up to a level surface. The only time there is smoking now is when you blow them out, but that can be eliminated by dipping the wick to put it out. I'm surprised you're having this problem.

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Bernadette, what type wicks are you using? Maybe part of my problem is the glass shape. It is smaller at the top and wider in the middle. I think if I tried a straight sided jar, it may not be as bad. Second question: Bernadette, is your jar staight sided?

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Dana, I use zinc wicks, purchased by the roll/spool, not premade, and I use many sizes because I use alot of different glass - glass pillars in different diameters/heights, balls w/large or tapered openings, squares, triangles, etc. I use different types of wicks for tealights and floaters. I have found that any kind of breeze will make them smoke(ceiling fan, air conditioning/heat blower, window breeze, etc.), but I've never had sooting unless they were over wicked. Oh! I forgot! What fragrances are you using and how much? The "heaviness" of certain types of fragrance combined with over wicking will really blacken the glass.

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I have not even started to add fragrance. I have tried the spooled (unwaxed) zinc. It sounds like I am over wicking. I am trying to get the melt pool as close to the edge of the glass as I can in the 4 hour burn. Even though it doesn't look like a full mp, I notice that the gel is definately going down (or being consumed) because I can see where the gel used to be. So I will try wicking down a size or two. Thanks so much for the help!

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I am trying to get the melt pool as close to the edge of the glass as I can in the 4 hour burn. Even though it doesn't look like a full mp, I notice that the gel is definately going down (or being consumed) because I can see where the gel used to be. So I will try wicking down a size or two. Thanks so much for the help!

You don't want to do this for sure. Remember, gel has a very hot meltpool. The recommendation is leave 1/8" - 1/4"(even more depending on the diameter of your container) around the side of the glass as an insulator. Otherwise, the glass could get too hot. Someone could get burned if they touch it, or the glass could get too hot and crack. Once the flame goes below the initial insulator layer, the heat will melt it, and so on.

Another way to know if you are overwicking is you will get a real chemical smell while burning, fragrance or not. I used to hear this problem from potential customers all the time and they hated it! I tried to replicate in testing and found that the overwicking caused it.

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You don't want to do this for sure. Remember, gel has a very hot meltpool. The recommendation is leave 1/8" - 1/4"(even more depending on the diameter of your container) around the side of the glass as an insulator. Otherwise, the glass could get too hot. Someone could get burned if they touch it, or the glass could get too hot and crack. Once the flame goes below the initial insulator layer, the heat will melt it, and so on.

Another way to know if you are overwicking is you will get a real chemical smell while burning, fragrance or not. I used to hear this problem from potential customers all the time and they hated it! I tried to replicate in testing and found that the overwicking caused it.

Totally agree you are wicking way to hot

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The glass is not to hot to hold even after 4 hours, and there is at least 1/8 inch, but I do get that chemical smell while burning. Just got finished sending out a large order, so today is clean up and play day! Going to wick DOWN see how that goes. Hopefully I will have a smaller wick, even if it is waxed. Probably have some HTP (waxed) in a smaller size.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just thought I'd update. I wicked down and the melt pool of the gel turned an ugly gold color, tunneled, and still soot and smelled chemically. Guess this is why not to many make gel candles anymore! Hmmmm....I will keep trying different wicks though!

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Hi everyone! I'm soooo glad you're here! I want to start making gel wax candles. I read that making your own gel wax is way cheaper than buying it off the shelf! Is this true? Also, after reading all the safety advice it seems as though I should make this stuff outside with a hazmat suit! lol. You guys know more about this than I do. What should I do? My goal is to become an expert at this!

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cqui,

I think I figured it out awhile back that the items needed to make your own gel wax, don't end up being much cheaper than buying it when it is either on sale or when you can use various coupons (Michaels, ACMoore, Hobby Lobby) and such. By the time you buy the correct oil, and the find and get shipped the needed additional chemicals to make it, I think the money saved, will not make up for the time spent making it.

Just my 2 cents. Unless prices have changed dramatically that is.

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cqui,

I think I figured it out awhile back that the items needed to make your own gel wax, don't end up being much cheaper than buying it when it is either on sale or when you can use various coupons (Michaels, ACMoore, Hobby Lobby) and such. By the time you buy the correct oil, and the find and get shipped the needed additional chemicals to make it, I think the money saved, will not make up for the time spent making it.

Just my 2 cents. Unless prices have changed dramatically that is.

If that's true I won't have to worry about cost once I run out of the stuff I have! I've got people checking their closets, storage areas, you name it. They practically are giving this stuff to me! But it's a whole lot of hoops to jump through to get to the end product. I'm not getting any younger so lifting 4 gallons of mineral oil better go quick!

Thanks for the advice!

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I looked into the process of making my own gel. There are raw supplies available that can cut the cost but figure in the labor and its still something that probably doesn't make sense on a small scale. Then figure in that if the formula is not perfectly right, there is a liability risk and that makes the purchased gel even more attractive.

Given that a good gel candle can fetch a pretty penny, it might not be that necessary to penny pinch. So after all that, I decided not to make my own gel.

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I never even THOUGHT about making my own gel. My advice would be to learn how to make a properly burning gel candle FIRST. You may come to find out that you don't even like the end result and give up on it. Just my 2cents.

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  • 2 weeks later...

After consulting my hubby I think I'll give it a go. I'll start with one candle. He suggested using a milk carton and ice. Everything will be free for me and I'll test the first candle myself. Gel candles are so beautiful I can't help myself. If it works I'll work at expertise. What I am concerned about is our public library system doesn't carry any books about gel candles. There are few people online who suggest anything about it. Could liability have something to do with it? One pound of mineral oil on a hot plate, stove, etc concerns me. I'm thinking grease fire. Caution is my main concern.

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Milk carton? Stove? Ice? Fire should concern you. Gel is delicate to use and meant for a good glass container. Using a presto pot is also a lot safer.

As for books, be careful. There are some books in print that are not very well thought out.

If you're starting out new with candles, I'd suggest paraffin or soy and move to gel after you have a good sense of what candle making science is all about.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm well on my way to stocking those shelves! First of all, pouring gel wax into a small dairy carton is not dangerous in any way if you use your head! After cooling and hardening then warming only to 150 degrees it's safe to pour into a carton with ice. The most volatile point for gel for candles is the first melt. Cool it, then pour.

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I'm well on my way to stocking those shelves! First of all, pouring gel wax into a small dairy carton is not dangerous in any way if you use your head! After cooling and hardening then warming only to 150 degrees it's safe to pour into a carton with ice. The most volatile point for gel for candles is the first melt. Cool it, then pour.

Are you leaving the candles in the carton????? Why??? I think you need to do more research.

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  • 2 months later...

It's been a while since I've been here but I've been trying my hand at actually making gel candles! I've found everything you guys said is probably true! I poured enough wax to determine Penreco Vesagel is probably the way to go. I poured some of my wax into a clear glass candle holder with nothing else in it and it turned out cloudy. This wax is probably junk! Off to Michales I go.....

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  • 1 month later...

It's hard to believe it's been 6 months since starting out on my gel candle venture! I'm so glad you are all here! My first candle sales confirmed how sell-able these things are which led me to raise the bar for inventory. I ended up finding amazing resources for the gel, embeds, wicks, you name it and became a lot more creative in designing my candles. Now I'm lining up two shows to get more sales and planning my future website. My camera takes great shots of them but next spring I'm hiring a photographer to use some staging techniques to make them pop! At $150 for one hour of his time I think it will be worth it! I'm going to use them for the website and my portfolio. I've got a lot more creating to do before next spring but it's about as much fun as a girl (or boy) can have all by themselves. Again, thanks for being here!

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  • 8 years later...

I am so sorry but please can you help me. May I ask you a question that has been racking my brain...... How do I get scented gel wax to solidify fully. I mean, to the point where it will not move even if I tip the glass container that is housing the scented gel wax upside down? 

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