Am I goin crazy?

[Bfly]

I've been testing for awhile with tarts. I'm using 415 and mostly NG FO. So, I made a tart with Pumpkin Crunch Cake, loooove it btw, and it was strong and lasted 12 hrs! I did another one for myself and friends.... it didn't last as long. I did everything the same, maybe the AC was up higher that day...?...

I was reading the other day and someone (in candles) said that temp by 5 degrees or so does not effect the HT that much, not exact quote but... I have been testing each FO in variables of 5 degrees. Getting it up to 180 then letting it drop and I have noticed that 5degrees does make a huge difference....right? Or is it me?

I also started tempering recently cause I did it by accident and the wax looked soooo much better! I'm not holding it at a certain temp or anything. I've also noticed a few times my wax has gotten a bit hotter than what I have been trying to keep it at,180, do you think this has any effects on HT? Am I taking the temp thing too serious? I have not had the chance to test my tempered ones yet. And honestly I feel like maybe my thermometer is a lil slow. I've gotten some decient tarts avg. 8hrs, except the very first one I did and the first set of pumpkin, what a tease

Jus wanted some assurance that there is a chance that I am not completly off my rocker. Should I have a better system to keep the temps more steady and hold during tempering?

Wanted to make a nice basket of tarts for my MIL bday coming up so I'm kinda freaking out a lil Thanks for all the support and info guys!

[Bfly]

Oooops! Sorry, meant to put that in wickless ^^

[lmc]

Imo, 5* does not make a big difference and one would go nuts trying to maintain an exact temp to add fo or pour. That being said, you should try not to overheat your wax when melting. Going up to 200*+ can alter the color of wax.

Most fo's should be added around 180*-185* to help incorporate into wax, exception being citrus oils which can give off a fuel smell...those you can add at a lower temp, 170*-175*, to avoid that.

Air flow like the ac, ceiling fans, etc..can hinder the results you get when melting tarts or burning candles. hth

[Bfly]

Thanks Imc!

I did try adding the FO at higher temps and got a nice HT on very few. Am finding that mine is working best at lower temps. That's why I've been doing the variables of 5 to test, it's not always exact sometimes I'm a couple off. But I am finding that there can be a big dif in HT when I compare 160 to 165. Not every FO but so far a few.

I am also finding that my temps for adding oils is all over the place, like one works best at 170, the other at 165, another at 160 and another at 150. I could understand if they were in similar groups like bakery, citrus, spice, whatever.... so is that normal, every FO has it's own perfect lil temp? When I first started researching I just assumed each wax in what ever region, combined with house temps and if I'm wearing lucky pjs or not, would have it's own standard temp except for certain groups. I don't mind doing so many temps on one FO, it is time consuming but I am only doing 1 oz per temp. But the burning through it all is taking a long time

LMAO, who knows maybe I am crazy and there is no dif at all Thanks again!

[lmc]

What works for one, may not another. You should stick with what does best for you. We each have our own system, and while we can offer advice and suggestions, one never knows if it will be successful until its tested in their own system.

Generally speaking, majority add fo at 180-185*, heavier oils at the higher temp and as mentioned earlier, citrus should be added slightly lower-around 170-175*.

I just noticed you use soy, remember soy needs to cure...for best results, cure at least 5 days before testing them or ht will suffer.

[Bfly]

Yeah I fig it was jus gonna be my personal strange system Jus didn't expect temps to be all over the place but like you said what works, works. I have been letting it cure at least a week, I tried a few early for fun and it wasn't worth it lol. Thanks again!