chuck_35550

I add color and stir about 2 minutes. Add fo and stir about 2 minutes. Pour at the temp that your wax likes best (mine is 185-190 degrees in warmed jars). I stir my wax after pouring one or two candles, just to make sure that my fo is evenly distributed. Top hit the nail on the head when he said no one can give you a clear answer to your question. I don't believe that the wax and fo incorporates on a molecular level but rather they just temporarily blend together (so stir that wax). HTH. Steve

Well, this is just par for the course. The mfg of my salsa jars discontinued that product 30 days ago. I just got an order for 9 cases and have no jars. The distributor didn't even offer a "sorry" or anything else. Fillmore has the jars but with shipping are double the price. Fortunately, I had exactly 9 cases of jars in my shop but this leaves me with no jars, 7 Christmas mugs and the season just beginning. Soooooo it will be a short season with maybe just a few sales here and there with soap and other candles. Just wanted to rant about how powerless it makes you feel when a necessary element of your business just gets taken away without even a thank you or kiss my ass. Thanks to all the suppliers who don't bother to give customers a heads up.

Carole (Bugtussle) and several others on the board use a combination of 85/15 6006 and CB Advance. I tried it with 415 and 464 and found it to be a great combination. Very clean and adheres well to the container. I use Clarus 70/30 from TCS because I know this wax so well and didn't want to retest with the other combo. It really is a super blend. Steve

I'm sorry for not giving you more details. I used 415 soy with the J223 in a mix of 80% soy and 20% paraffin. It was very easy to wick but unfortunately it did not burn cleanly; sooted like crazy. I tried different ratios but all the others caused the wax to pull away and make nasty huge wet spots. The 85/15 was better for clean burn but it just looked so nasty. The ht was really incredible without any need for a cure time. You might get better results testing other wicks besides the cd, zinc or lx. HTH. Steve

Try a 80/20 on the j223 and CB Advanced. I liked the ht and the ct was so so IMHO. I used zincs and LX wicks but the j223 is a smoker on its own. HTH. Steve

You are absolutely correct. I place the tab over the opening and the whole thing rests slightly above the glass. There is a slim amount of wax left in the bottom but I have burnt the thing down to nearly nothing. Customers never complain and several have told me that they are not comfortable letting a candle burn all the way to the bottom. Personally, I sleep a little better hoping that my products are safer than the average bear. Burning to the bitter end is a super hot container IMHO. Steve

I think we get too focused on that perfect clean burn with no hang ups on the sides. I have found that underwicking provides a much better throw and that eventually the candle catches up about mid burn. Even if there is some residual wax left on the sides; who cares? The candle lasts longer, throws better and doesn't get too hot. I have never had a customer who came back and said my candle didn't burn up every drop of wax. Look at Yankee or any of the other commercial candles and tell me how perfect their melt pools are (aren't) and I think you will relax about melt pools. HTH. Steve

I bought a brass single outdoor water faucett (has a red handle). Cut your hole for the pipe to go through, drill holes for the screws and then seal with JB weld. It works just great. Its not a tap but I mean all you have to do is just turn the handle to open or close. Very simple and has lasted for years now. I don't use it anymore cause I have a turkey melter that gets me ready in minutes. HTH. Steve

Now come on guys. Thanks Top for pointing out the obvious. What kind of measurable affect would there be on the burn? Increased smoking/sooting? Reduced throw or clogging? I have to admit that my decision making on this wick has been a lemming mentality. It seemed like a logical choice but it was not based on any measurable improvement in the quality of the product. Stella makes a good argument concerning soy composition and the wild card in this discussion would be the fact that we don't know the absolute formula of these waxes. There are just too many variables in an industry that is absolutely unregulated. There is no existing agency that holds any mfg feet to the fire concerning the quality or standards of their products. Do you feel that there is more reliability within the mfg of paraffin products Top?

You put a space heater in your car? You are kidding........right?

I would think a 10 is ok but an 8 would be ok too (depending on the fo). I would hand that baby over to someone else and let them tell you about the strength of the candle. You may have candle nose. HTH. Steve

I asked this question awhile back and got the same results. I poured the Welcome Home and it was just fine but later I poured the Hansel and Gretel from TCS. Stuff just about burned my nose hairs off it was so stout. You wont be disappointed either way you go but no, they are not the same. HTH. Steve

Organic refers to a product that is pesticide free, minimally processed and as close to natural state as possible. I suppose you could say that you got olive oil from trees that have not been sprayed or caged or mistreated in any way......in this case this is a load of bull. IMHO. You process oils and use chemical methods in some cases to distill oils and fragrances. I mean human beings are organic but some have been processes more than others and some are full of pesticides.

The CDN wick series is considered the highest premium wick by seasoned candle makers. It is a coreless, non-directional, flat braided wick with a special paper filament woven around it. This configuration is engineered to promote maximum and consistent capillary action while insuring a wick trimming flame posture. The CDN wick series is used in many different applications and is especially compatible with the harder-to-melt viscous waxes of both soy, vegetable and paraffin base. The CDN series of wick is identical to the CD wick series except that it has been treated with a special patent-pending process to resist the corrosive action of the acidic nature of natural-based candle waxes. So I bought into the insurance type mentality concerning something which is not confirmed by sight or performance. I don't know if the wick is being attacked by veggied wax but what does it hurt if it performs basically the same way as a plain cd?

Buy them at Wal-Mart in the glue section. Cut each square into 8 pieces and stick to the bottom of your wicks. They don't let go until the end of the candle and are easy to remove from the jar if re-using. They are cheap and always available and only take a couple of minutes to cut into small squares. I usually cut one square in half and then cut four from each half of the square and peel off the paper and stick my wicks. I have never had a wick let go in nearly 4 years of candlemaking. HTH. Chuck -------------- ROLL TIDE ROLL!

You're just gonna lose a lot of lye. I did the same thing and tried storing the lye in all sorts of containers. The best result was to store in the large gallon zip lock bags. Make sure you get out as much air as possbile and store in a cool area. I have lye in the airtight containers and still get lumps from opening to use and letting air get in the container. Its the one aspect of soap making that I really don't like.

I would wonder about the jars. Regular canning jars should be able to take just about anything, unless they are not top quality or have a defect. Look for any abnormalities with the glass. Make sure and cut your wicks short enough for that first lighting. Customers aren't going to trim back the wick before lighting that first time and that can make a big difference. Personally, I don't care for the eco wicks. They just get kind of balled up and nasty toward the end of the candle (or at least that has been my experience). I think just about everybody has switched to cdn wicks or lx wicks. If that combination is consuming fuel too fast and creating too much heat; then you have to re-think your formula. HTH. Steve

The 7505 had good adhesion initially but soon it got lots of little wet spots that eventually took over the whole container. You mixed those two waxes together and got a good result? Hmmmmm.

I never color my milk soaps. Personally, I like the tan or chocolate colors from using certain fos with vanilla. I swirl all my other recipes with color.

I'd leave em alone and not take the chance on the heat altering the outside appearance as well as create any fumes from paint on the inside. JMO. Steve

I have a case of SB7505 and would be happy to sell it. I use the 70/30 from TCS.

You might try Clarus Stasis 3020. Maybe see if they will send you a slab and test it. My experience with wax mfg is that they never reveal customers that they "special blend" wax for. The same wax is under a whole lot of different names but its no different. I think this is the wax you want but I don't know a distributor. HTH. Steve

No sales during the busy season. I never see sales on wax anytime of the year. Demand keeps the supply tight and the prices up. Any sales on fos or other items have long gone. Its the holidays and customers are looking for inexpensive gifts for co-workers, teachers, ect. Buy the wax and hope that they don't run out of stock before you do.

Plain non-tapered/wide mouth Masons have gone up in price from my local distributor. Instead, I got a much better deal on another container that my customers prefer over Masons. The square Masons are really neat for Christmas but that's about it. Wally world does carry other containers year round and they are reasonably priced but still too high for my overhead. Usually, if you order a large amount of jars you can get a deal on the shipping. Alabaster Candle Supply has a great deal on plain Masons with nice one piece lids. HTH Steve

Go to Wally world and buy a digital probe thermometer for less than $20.00 dollars. It has a probe on the end of a wire that goes down in your presto and then a digital read out that you can program for stirring times and things like that. It is very accurate and easy to clean off and there is nothing to break. I wouldn't dream of doing without mine. HTH. Steve