Nickie

On 10/28/2017 at 10:44 AM, TallTayl said:

I would fill the cookie sheet with water, weigh the water, then multiply the result by whatever the specific gravity is for that wax.

 

Example, 

if the cookie sheet holds 2 lbs of water, typical soy wax has a specific gravity of 0.89 or so (googled specific gravity of EcoSoya wax).

2 lbs times .89 = 1.78 lbs of wax. You can get closer with grams, but you get the idea. 

Very smart!!  I would have never thought of this!  Thanks for sharing. 

On 10/29/2017 at 9:32 AM, Terry said:

Wondering.....

In these day of soy, coconut, palm, beeswax -  Does anyone use paraffin wax alone and have a thriving business?

 

They are TONS of successful wax vendors who use all paraffin. 

4 hours ago, Sarah S said:

 

Right, I absolutely agree on all points!

 

The experiment here was to see how much tweaking this particular wax was going to need, and to compare it to The Candle Sources tart wax. Obviously it needs quite a lot of tweaking to perform as well as the TCS wax, according to my criteria. Others, of course, may feel differently or have different results. 

 

The KY 133 is certainly not a bad wax, but if I can be frank here 😉, I don't have the patience to struggle with it when another wax will give me good results with less work. I don't mind playing and experimenting, but when it comes to producing tarts for sale, I need a reliable wax that allows me to crank out those bad boys fast!

 

Having said all that, I have 19 pounds of this stuff still to go through, so I guess I'd better find a little patience to make it work for now, lol!

 

I will try upping my 4630 as suggested and see what happens!

 

I also just got a few pounds of this year's 415, so I guess I'll be finding out how the new soy waxes affect tart blends too.

Yeah it sounds like that KY133 is gonna take lots of tweaking to get it to compete with the Candle Source wax. I do think 4630 is the right wax to add to it.....it's soft but not sticky. Another wax that is not sticky at all that I've had good luck in blending is 4633.  

Those divots (on the cups and tarts) are a direct cause of cooling too fast. They won't do this if they are covered for 15-30 mins and poured as low as you can possibly pour. 

As for the dip, To be very frank, it typically doesn't level out on its own until around 50 percent container wax, maybe even 60. That may or not be possible and still get them to release.  It's all very much a balancing act between the release and the look of the tops.  but I've gotten some very soft waxes to release when blended, including 4627. It just takes lots of work in blending, patience and testing.  

11 hours ago, Sarah S said:

Ok, first round of testing the 133 mix is done!

I will apologize in advance for the terrible pictures, I have the very first iPad ever made and the camera is really crappy. 😂

 

My my wax blend was 80% KY 133 from RE, 10% GW 415 from CW, 10% CBL-125 (CW's in house production of IGI 4630)

 

I used the 6 cavity clamshells, 2oz cups, and a silicone daisy mold.

 

I heated my blend to 180 using the double boiler method, and added my fragrance at 175ish. I did use a couple different fragrances, but all were at an 8% FO load.

 

The brown tarts were poured at 150

 

The white tarts were poured at 140

 

I could see no visible difference between the ones poured at 150 vs 140, both were still quite bumpy on the top surface. It wasn't quite as bad as the KY 133 by itself, but still noticeable.

You'll see in the pictures I have a couple purple and green tarts, they were all made the the Candle Source's tart wax at 90% and the 4630 at 10%. Their tops are very smooth, although the 6 cavity clamshell does dip a bit in the cavities.

 

 

The bumpiness was not very noticeable on the daisy tarts, but of course we are looking at a much smaller surface area.

 

The HT is good for 8%, and I do think these last a long time. I'm on day 2 in the melter in my bedroom, scent is still strong, and I melt for solid 4-6 hour intervals.

 

The 80/10/10 blend is really hard, so I think I have room to try 80/10/20 and still be able to pop it out of the clams. Maybe that extra 10% 4630 will smooth everything out.

 

I will try another round of testing, but so far I feel like the TCS wax gets better results with less hassle. Maybe I'll have to test some more of their FOs to make the most of the shipping costs 😉😄

 

You're going to need to get much closer to 30% on the container wax to see any change in them leveling out. 

It sometimes helps if you pour as low as you can....maybe around 150 and cover them for approx. 15-30 mins while they cure. 

28 minutes ago, Trappeur said:

Geezum crow....you use chisels?  omg.....I have never worked with a paraffin and when I got these "bricks"...I thought, oh my god...how do these people deal with this all the time? 

 

Trappeur

Trappeur-

i have read through all of the posts in this thread....learned lots myself. Since I use almost exclusively all paraffin waxes, I agree with what others have said here that adding a little paraffin might work for you. The 4625 will certainly raise your Melt point. 

I am one of the people you mentioned earlier....I've tested nearly every paraffin wax out there. I will say that I have never had great results with 4625 (even tho I'm still testing with it at this time), but I do agree it will help with a Melt point increase.

The two higher melt point paraffin waxes I've had good results with are IGI 4794 and 450 from Flaming Candle. The 450 is in pellet form, so NO breaking up harder than rock slabs. Out of the 3 waxes I've mentioned here, I get my strongest results with 450. Flaming Candle does sell this in 2lb bags for testing, which could be cheaper for you than IGI products. It isn't going to take much to raise your Melt point to around 125-128 with these hard waxes. 

I would be happy to send you any of the 15  plus paraffin (or any soy) waxes I have for your testing. Just let me know and I would be happy to send you a box!  Believe me, I have more than I can even handle and my testing is coming to an end, finally. 

This wax typically has a really good to great scent throw. I would suggest that something is likely wrong with your process vs an issue with the wax. Again, above it was mentioned your fragrance load....what load are you using?  What temp do you add your oil?  What wattage melter are you using?  

I blend together then Melt. The pouring temp doesn't effect the performance, just the look so you just have to play around and see what works best. Pouring in the range of 140-160 should work. 

Flaming Candle birthday cake is awesome!  The throw is intense!  I've used it as one of my testers cause it's such a good thrower. 

For me it is  more of a surgery, buttercream scent with some almond and cherry base notes.  Some cake to it, but more of the previous notes, than just cake. It not one that smells too good out of the bottle.....you have to try it in wax to get its full scent profile. 

I would start at a 50-50 or a 60-40 and go from there. This is all about testing. Blending then testing. The blend is really up to you depending on the characteristics you would like in the end. 

4 hours ago, Belinda said:

I can't see where her waxes are any better than any you can get from other suppliers and at a much more cost effective price. I love KY's granule wax as well as Flamings and TCS. I also love IGI wax. I can't justify paying her price for wax that's not superior. If I were a betting person, I would say her granule wax is  similar if not the very same as KY and Flaming. I would also bet her container wax is very similar to 6006 and 4630. I could be very wrong but I would bet on it.....if I were a betting person.

Thanks for saying this....needed to hear it. I have in my mind that I want to test these waxes, but you're very right that they are not any better than what I can get elsewhere and at a much better price. 

5 hours ago, wthomas57 said:

Ya thats true... a lot of factors. 

Also depends on type snd width of the wick

I understand. I was speaking in relation to this post. 

This is why I reached out to everyone on here in an earlier post, asking if anyone has tested any of these 4 waxes...I wanted feedback before I spent this kind of money. But only 1 person responded to say they had used a JS wax.  Not at all surprising given the price and limitations of ordering. They must not sell much wax. I do know of one vendor out there who uses her stuff and that is what lead me to want to try it. But I just can't make it make sense. 

1 hour ago, Belinda said:

I was just checking out her prices for her wax and her 50/50 tart wax is $19.95 for 4 pounds! Wow! RE's is $8.95 for 5 pounds! Who on earth would pay that big a difference? That's quite a bit of difference in price. The same with her all paraffin blend for tarts. 

Yes, her prices are insanely high. Plus, on the container waxes you are forced to buy by the case, no slabs, at $100, before shipping.  I was quoted $100 to ship a case to Texas.  So that is $200 to test 1 container wax. Another $200 to test the second container wax, plus the 50:50 waxes are $20 each with $20 shipping.  Sooooo you can see that it just isn't possible for testers, smaller businesses or hobby makers to even try her waxes. But what she's failing to realize is that smaller businesses grow and buy more and more wax over time. And she's putting herself out of getting ALL of that business. Horrible move. 

She told me she use to offer smaller quantities of her waxes for testing, but it just wasn't in her denefit, as she as losing money. Sometimes it takes money to make money, but she's not willing to bend at all on it. So as a new maker of melts, I have to pay $500 to test her 4 waxes. It's crazy talk.  And if I don't like it, I have well over 2 cases of wax I don't need. But I could love it and buy more and more and more, as my business grows. 

41 minutes ago, Trappeur said:

Who is JS?

 

Just Scent?

 

Trappeur

Yes 

28 minutes ago, Belinda said:

I've read from several on here that she's been rude to them too. I'm sure if the opportunity presents itself she'd be rude to me too. I've not had that happen yet. I received the wrong order once and she immediately sent me my order and told me to keep the one I'd received. It wasn't much, just a couple of 4 ounce bottles and some samples that she'd sent me accidentally, but I was surprised that she told me to keep it and admitted to sending the wrong thing after everything I'd read. Maybe one day her attitude will change. We can only hope! It's certainly not good for business to be rude to your customers!

Glad to hear your experience has been different!  

Maybe she saw my two emails as bothersome, full of questions, without an order to back them up, although, I was dead serious about wanting to test her waxes and I still am. Even though, it would be near $500 to test all 4 JS waxes, I am still absolutely considering it. 

It's not at all thick, easy to squeeze out. Doesn't really run out, but easily squeezable. 

On 9/7/2017 at 8:26 PM, Moonstar said:

One thing that makes me uneasy is Ive read several threads on the owner being rude. I can't say how much truth there is to that since I haven't experienced that myself

She has been rude and more importantly NOT at all helpful to me in the past. I've reached out to her two separate times, asking her if I could make a purchase on all 4 of her waxes, with a similar bad attitude toward me both times. 

She doenst offer her container waxes in slab form, you have to purchase a case of wax just for testing. So it would be around $400 to test her 2 container waxes. And she refused to help me in buying a smaller amount, saying she "loses money when selling smaller amounts."  Well she apparently doesn't understand that you might have to lose a little on the samples, in order to gain larger and larger case orders in the future. This is why when you post here asking questions about her waxes, no one has tested them. 

You can see and notice her attitude even in her FAQ on her website. That is how she talked to and treated me, if you want to get a flavor for her, read those FAQ. 

On 9/7/2017 at 9:01 PM, Belinda said:

I've never had her be rude to me either but she does remove negative reviews of her FO's. I really like a lot of her FO's though. As far as her wax, I've never used it but I remember reading that it was the same as KY tart wax and KY 133. I don't know for sure if that's the case but I remember reading that or someone telling me that.

Her 50-50 blends may be the same as KY tart, as I don't know for sure. But her 100 percent paraffin container wax isn't the same as any other wax I have seen. It looks as if her base wax is like 4627, its very soft. But I'm still yet to test it as she hasn't been helpful. You have to buy $200 to even test it and that is before shipping.

On 9/7/2017 at 8:23 PM, Moonstar said:

Did you ever get this issue resolved ? Have you read any of the threads on the new formulas of ECO + Golden waxes . Many are saying they aren't getting a good HT

I still have unused wax (464) so I can't speak to those problems. Your not the only person Ive read on here that has mentioned the owner being rude. That would make 

me uneasy putting in a big order. 

You can see the rudeness in her FAQ on her website even. Not a great attitude. To test all 4 of her waxes it would cost $440 and that is before shipping. She had NO interest in helping me get smaller amounts. I don't know how she would never secure new customers for her wax, in expecting them to place that kind of order just to test her waxes. Yes, maybe she has old customers, but she won't be gaining any new wax customers until she becomes more helpful in offering something reasonable methods to test her waxes. 

Still, I want to test them, as I know a very large successful vendor who uses her waxes and I love the look, texture, sliceability and throw of the wax. Again, I'm gutted she won't be more helpful. And yes, I agree it's concerning. 

On 9/3/2017 at 7:39 AM, NickS said:

I found this site http://www.color-hex.com/ where you can find the exact color you want and one piece of info it will give you is the RGB percentages to make that color. I may just get some red, green, and blue to try to mix my own color.

You won't ever get there Using this. RGB coloring is used for computer graphics/printing, not for candle making.  I can easily get a gunmetal grey color using black liquid dye from candle science. 

On 9/18/2017 at 8:40 PM, wthomas57 said:

What wax were you using? That wick seems huge to me (even for a wood wick). My wood wicks in the same jar are half that size using 6006

I have found with 4627 it is very typical to need a larger wick. May be the oil content in the wax....not sure. But either way, the smaller wicks drown out in this wax type. 

https://waxmosphere.com/products/z-rts-molten-wax-4-oz-bottle

On 8/21/2016 at 11:43 AM, CBeardly said:

Thanks for the reply. I'm currently melting some that I made 3 weeks ago & I can barely smell it & it's just a few feet away. It's FO from NG & I used 10%. I do the same as you as far as heating, adding FO, & stirring, etc. I've used FO from NG, RE, WSP, MO, & BB. How long do you cure your melts? I know it states that PoB doesn't need a cure, but I still do. They do get better after a really long cure. I mean a *really* long cure, like months long. But my nose doesn't think it's as good as the wax from other vendors.

It could be so many things. You need to identify all possible issues and eliminate them one by one. Could be....your process, your wax melter wattage, your hvac system, your sq footage, the FO load being too high or too low, a particular FO not having a good throw with soy or in general....on and on. Research eveytbing that can cause a poor scent throw. This forum is the best place to stay research, reading old posts. 

POB generally has a very good hot and cold throw. I've mixed it with just about every paraffin out there, with varied results. You will have to do your own blending and test. This hobby is all about testing. There is no way to save money or to keep from wasting product. I could tell you my formula exactly but that doesn't mean it will work for you....what works well for some doesn't work well for others. 

I will say that POB is the same as KY tart wax and 650 Problend. So no need to test these, as all 3 are the exact same wax. 

On 8/30/2017 at 2:58 PM, NickS said:

Since there's a lot of time waiting while testing candles, I've been researching other things to add to our eventual product line. I found a few threads on squeezable wax and made myself a 100g sample and I love this stuff. One 25w halogen bulb melter is scenting my whole house.

 

I put this in a condiment squeeze bottle, but that won't work if I want to sell this. I'm considering using either a tottle or a cylinder/Boston round with a disc top. The wax has a fairly thick consistency. After it cooled, I had to bang the bottle in the counter upside down to get the wax to the spout. It squeezed out very easily, however.

 

I'm thinking the tottle is best, but I like all the color and shape options available in other bottles. Any thoughts?

There are many wax vendors who sell this successfully and all use condiment bottles, as in a clear plastic ketchup bottle, squeeze bottle.