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  • Common Candle Questions

    How to Administer a Burn Test

    Trim wick to 1/4". Place candle on clean, flat, heat resistant surface - away from drafts. Record time & light candle. After 2 hours, record burn pool diameter and wick appearance. After a total of 4 hours, again record burn pool diameter and wick appearance and then gently blow out candle. Allow candle to cool for 8 hours. Repeat process until all of the wax is gone.

    Note: Candle should achieve desired burn at 2 hour check. The wax should not be more than 1/2" deep at 4 hour check. If either of these occurs, you need to adjust the size of your wick.

    Calculating How Much Wax a Container Will Hold

    Fill the container with water and use the below conversion that applies to the wax you are using.

    • 16 oz of weighed Paraffin Wax = 20 fluid oz
    • 16 oz of weighed Soy Wax = 18 fluid oz
    Pillar or Votive Candle Cracks

    1. If performing a second pour, make sure the re-pour wax is not too hot. This will cause thermal shock and candle cracks.
    2. Candle may have cooled too quickly causing cracks or mottling.
    3. Use only quality fragrance oils that have not been diluted to improve cost. This can cause wax to mottle.
    4. Prior pouring, make sure the mold is clean and free of old wax.
    Pillar or Votive is Difficult to Unmold
    1. Do not re-pour candle after it has become cool and started to pull away from the mold.
    2. Make sure mold is clean and in good condition.
    3. As a last resort, put the candle (and mold) in the freezer for 5 minutes. This will cause the wax to shrink and pull away from the mold.
    Candle Flame is Too Large

    Your wick is likely too large. Using the appropriate size and type of wick is fundamental to a well burning candle.

    Candle Flame is Too Small

    Your wick may be too small. Using the appropriate size and type of wick is fundamental to a well burning candle.

    Pit Marks on Candle
    1. Pour slowly and use minimal stirring to avoid the creation of bubbles.
    2. Prior to pouring, ensure your mold is clear and free from residual wax.
    3. Pit marks can happen when a candle takes too long to cool.
    Poor Candle Throw (Can’t Smell Scent)
    1. Try using a higher quality fragrance oil. Often fragrances smell good out of the bottle but lack the depth to create a candle with a good "hot throw" (smell while burning) and a good "cold throw" (smell while cold).
    2. Try adding fragrance just prior to pouring candle.
    3. Try adding more fragrance (do not exceed wax recommendations).
    4. Try changing waxes. All wax formulas perform differently.
    Container Candle Sink Hole
    1. Immediately prior to pouring candles, carefully warm containers in the over at 150ยบ for 15 minutes. This will allow the wax to cool very slowly thus lessening the changes of sink holes.
    2. Do you heat the wax beyond the pouring temperature? Overheating causes the wax to over expand.
    3. Make sure you candle cools slowly. Avoid drafts in the room.
    4. Visible Horizontal Lines
    5. When pouring a second time, make sure your wax is not too cool.
    6. When doing a second pour, retain some wax from your first pour and use this reheated wax as your second pour. This ensures the color of the two waxes will be exactly the same.
    7. Lower your pouring temperature.
    Wishing You Much Success!
    Debbie May
    http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/
    1-800-359-0944

1 comments:

  1. Wax should cool within 3 hours for retesting. I test my candles with a 3-4 hour cool time and have for years. Also mottling wax will not crack, unless you put it through some extreme temp changes like the freezer for example. I have seen wax crack in as little as 5 minutes so use this last resort sparingly. Mottling wax is a pure paraffin with very few if any additives. It is missing mainly vybar which binds oils. I have never in 6 years had mottling waxes from either Astorlite or IGI crack. They cool very slowly because a high pour temp is needed for a proper mottle effect. I pour at all temps and have created many projects for groups using this wax, It's versatility lends itself to many uses. You need a minimum load of 4% to get a full mottle, it is not a bad thing in fact many people spend hours trying to achieve a perfect mottle effect. IGI has a wonderful technical sheet everyone should study regarding mottling. It shows controls and how the different additives effect the outcome.

    Blended waxes like the 4625 cannot mottle period no matter what kind of oil you use, research your wax and the manufacturer will note if it will mottle on its technical data sheets. These waxes have been designed for a certain outcome..you cannot change that regardless of additives.

    Hope this information is helpful to some of you.

    Professional Chandler
    Maureen

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