Can you help me troubleshoot?

[joy.]

I made my first candle today, and it started out great, but after an hour or so of burning, the flame started to dwindle and it's just barely lit now.

The wax and wicks did not come with instructions, so I'm not sure where I went wrong. The wax is 100% natural soy wax from hobby lobby, and the wicks are waxed container candle wicks from there, too. The package didn't specify what type of wax they worked with.

I melted the wax until it was transparent, added .15 oz cinnamon bark eo and .15 oz clove eo to 4oz wax (a bit less than 1oz/lb), poured into a 4oz metal tin with wick glued in, refrigerated until it set, took out and let sit at room temp for a few hours, trimmed wick to 1/4" before lighting.

Any thoughts on where I went wrong?

Thanks!

 

[luebella]

The wick is too small for your candle. You'll want to look up the size wick for the diameter of your candle. Tin

 

[luebella]

Candlescience and other sites have good guides to help determine wick sizing. Wick sizing is a pain. Lots of trial and error but guides help

 

[joy.]

Thank you!

Should I just toss this, or does it work to remelt the wax and pour it into a smaller diameter jar?

 

[luebella]

U can remelt! I've used heat guns

 

[luebella]

Fragrance oil.. Colorant and wax all affect wick size too.. So will have to experiment and make sure to write down what you do so ya know what works!

 

[joy.]

I love the heat gun idea! It's in the oven remelting now, though I'm not sure how well the essential oils are going to hold up in there.

I'll let you know how it goes in a smaller jar. Thanks for the help.

 

[joy.]

So, melting in the oven was a fun experience. Even though I had the tin on a cookie sheet in case of a spill, I ended up bumping it and dumping hot scented wax all over the inside of my oven. It took over an hour to clean it out, and my oven still smells a little like cinnamon and clove when I turn it on...

I'm on my fourth attempt with different wick sizes, and using the biggest one I could find I did get a nice consistent flame but I still can't get it to melt all the way to the edges in this tin. I think that means it needs two wicks?

I'm also having an issue with the candle tops looking uneven and bumpy when they harden after burning. Is this due to the essential oils, or is this just a soy wax thing? The top looks worse on this one with lemon essential oil than the cinnamon/clove essential oils, but I haven't tried and unscented one yet.

 

[Stacyspy]

That are the dimensions of the tin?

 

[joy.]

That are the dimensions of the tin?

Diameter is 3 1/8", 1 1/2" high

 

[lsg]

I use a hair dryer to melt the top of a container candle when I have a well by the wick. I too, think that the wick may be too small.

 

[Stacyspy]

I use soy wax, but with a bit of beeswax. It seems to melt more evenly for me. If the wicks you're using from Hobby Lobby come in a package of 5 for around $3, you should use 2 wicks evenly spaced apart from the center of the candle- if that makes sense. I found those wicks just don't seem to work for hardly anything larger than a tealight size. Hope it helps

 

[joy.]

Thank you both!

Yes, the hobby lobby ones didn't have a candle size on them, so I picked up the other two (for pillars) because they were bigger. Those worked better than the first batch. The other wicks are from the honey store. They said I'd need two of those for beeswax in that tin, but he wasn't sure about soy.

I will try mixing waxes and adding a second wick. Is something like 10% beeswax enough, or would I need to add more to get a smoother finish?

 

[Stacyspy]

10% should be fine. I use 25%, but I use that percentage for the color it produces.

 

[joy.]

10% should be fine. I use 25%, but I use that percentage for the color it produces.

Thanks! I'll give it a try. Fingers crossed that attempt #5 will be a success : )

 

[Stacyspy]

Good luck! You'll get the hang of it

Thanks! I'll give it a try. Fingers crossed that attempt #5 will be a success : )

 

[joy.]

I use soy wax, but with a bit of beeswax. It seems to melt more evenly for me.

THANK YOU for this suggestion! It's melting and re-hardening much smoother with the beeswax in there - made a huge difference.

I'm still having wick issues. I used the pre-tabbed wicks from the honey store in this one, and I'm having the same issue with them burning fine for 30-60min, then the flame fizzles out and is barely there. The only ones that are working OK are the thick woven ones labeled for pillars. I don't mind tabbing them myself, but is there a safety issue using pillar wicks in containers? I've been watching it closely just in case...

 

[Stacyspy]

I read back through your original post... If you're using almost an ounce of EOs per lb of wax, you may be clogging the wick ( I read that 5 ml per lb. of wax is recommended) If you're using FOs, 1 oz per lb. is fine ( which is what I use). I use the wood wicks, so I'm not much help with cotton wicking, but I do know there are so many kinds available that trial and error is the only way to really figure out what you have going on, or if you can find that particular brand on line, read the reviews...they may have useful information.

 

[joy.]

I read back through your original post... If you're using almost an ounce of EOs per lb of wax, you may be clogging the wick ( I read that 5 ml per lb. of wax is recommended) If you're using FOs, 1 oz per lb. is fine ( which is what I use). I use the wood wicks, so I'm not much help with cotton wicking, but I do know there are so many kinds available that trial and error is the only way to really figure out what you have going on, or if you can find that particular brand on line, read the reviews...they may have useful information.

I think I'll make an unscented one an see how these wicks work. I was wondering if the EOs were the problem, or if I just need to get a better brand of wick. The scent is not very strong as is, so having to use less would be a bummer.

I saw a candle with a wood wick at target the other day. It looked so cool! I'd like to give that a try once I get these issues sorted out...or maybe that would solve the problem.

 

[Stacyspy]

Once I started using the wooden wicks, I've never looked back...lol...
Making one without the EOs is a good idea, it'll let you see what's going on.