Judge me! :)

[QTsmum]

I just made my second batch of candles. My first round, I used (*grabs notes...*) 125 and 250 ml jelly jars. 1 lbs of 4627 and pumpkin soufflé FO (with some orange dye). I wicked the 125 ml (4 oz) with HTP 52 (since that's what I had on hand. I'm still waiting on my order of extra wicks). It sucked. Hard. I knew it after the first burn. That sucker drown like a popped gangster tied to a cinder block.

The 8 oz, I wicked with 44-24-18 C wick. It's burning pretty well. Full melt pool. I worried at first that it was burning too quickly, but it looks nice. Has some left over wax on one side of the jar (a very thin layer stuck to the wall), but it's melting down nicely. Burning pretty even and the jar doesn't get all that hot. I'm 5 (or 6) burns in, about half way through the jar (averaging 4 hours per burn).

Would you put that wick in that candle if you had the choice?

Also, for my failure candles, can I remelt that wax and to re-wick it? I poured a few of the small jelly jars in my madness (I was really overwhelmed the first try!). So now I have 2.5 small jelly jars with this lovely wax that I can't burn. (If so, how the heck do I get it out of the jar?)

If you're still with me....

Tonight I did (for experiment's sake!):

4627 with 'oak barrel cider' FO (smells divine!) in an 8oz jelly jar and a hex jar. Both wicked with 44-24-18.

I did soy 464 with Pumpkin creme brulee with the same wick. I have CD 14s, but from what I read, they will burn too hot in those jelly jars. I didn't want to risk that, so I need to order some 10's and 12's. (Do you think this will burn in it? And how long should I let it set before I burn this?) The soy was sort of a night of a few mojitos and an impulse buy!

And then, just for kicks, I did a 50/50 mix of 4624 and 464 soy with Plumberry spice (YUM!) wicked the same, in the jelly jars. I'm really curious to see how they burn differently.

Should I let this one cure as well, since there's soy in it?

Anyways, thanks a ton for all the getting started tips and support I've already received. I already was much more organized and relaxed doing this batch! I can't wait to do more! (And to burn these!)

[Chefmom]

For your failed jars you can just melt the wax out by putting it on a candle warmer plate and when the whole thing is liquid just pour into another jar. Or a quicker way is to put them in a pan with some water on VERY LOW heat until they melt, then pour out and wipe the jar with a paper towel and you can use it again. Then you can just set up another jar/wick and start all over again.

[HorseScentS]

You can melt your candles in your oven on the lowest setting, which on my oven is 170, then pour into another container to make another candle, or make fire starters with it.

I think you're testing too many different waxes and wicks at once. I would stick with one jar, with 4627 wax and HTP wicks for awhile so that your only variable is the different FO's you try. After awhile you'll learn a lot about that wax and whether you need to wick up or wick down with each FO. Let your 4627 wax cure for at least 48 hours before test burning or you won't get an accurate result, because it's a really soft wax that needs to harden up before test burning. Actually, it would be even better to wait one week to see how it's really going to burn with a certain wick. After you master your wax, then you might play around with mixing two waxes. In the 8 oz jelly jar with 4627 you can try the HTP 73 and HTP 83 wicks, or maybe even go down to an HTP 63. Be careful not to overwick those jars because they're taller than they are wide so they'll burn hotter in the last half of the jar, so you don't want a full melt pool until your second or third 3-hour burn session.

Edited September 27, 2012 by HorsescentS

[lmc]

What HS said : ) In the jj with 464, you may want to test a CD 12...I use the CDN12 in C3 (soy veggie). hth

[HorseScentS]

What HS said : ) In the jj with 464, you may want to test a CD 12...I use the CDN12 in C3 (soy veggie). hth

Just adding a note so she'll know: HTP wicks and CD wicks are essentially the same wick, except that HTP's are made in the USA and CD's are made in Germany, and the CD's burn a bit hotter than the same size HTP.