chuck_35550

Gosh I did business with those guys for several years. I knew that Brenda had been sick but the business was supposed to be doing real well. That used to be a great room to talk about the biz. Sorry guys. good luck in whatever you decide to do in the future. Steve

Vanilla Bean Noel (TCS) hands down.

I mix 1/3 Vanilla Bean Noel (TCS), 1/3 Sugar Cookie (Berts), and 1/3 Creme Brulee (JBN). Its droolworthy.

OOOhhh that sounds really good. I gotta try that. A customer asked me about strawberry coconut. I thought that sounded kinda nice too.

Right. There are too many variables in a candle to ensure perfect performance and 100% efficiency in fuel consumption. You breath a lot of fumes that are not detectable by the physical senses. Carbon didoxide is odorless and has no color, yet it will kill you deader than a wedge. Our candles produce fumes which may or may not be beneficial under most circumstances. I think its smart to just refrain from promoting an environmentally friendly product that does anything other than freshen the air of your home.

I use a salsa jar which holds 8 oz of wax. I take 15 ozs of wax and add 1oz sample for a full 16 oz. The percentage works out to almost 7% (1.05) and I get two candles out of the deal. One to test and one to sell. If the test is good and the one sells with requests for more, then I order a pound of that fo. If nobody wants or likes it, then I put it on the list of can't sell fos. I usually use an 1/8 th over an ounce when pouring up fos per pound so it all works out pretty well.

It used to be the wick discussion. Zinc and lead and all that crap. Now its the environmental discussion crap. Tell her your candle is safe as long as she burns it in a well ventilated room, away from curtains or flammable materials and that it does not emit radiation, lead, or cause birth defects. She may be more understanding if you refer to paraffin as "candle wax". There are many chandlers who offer both soy or paraffin candles. Keep the customer satisfied.

You probably glued the wick off center of the container. As the wick gets to the bottom there isnt't enough wax to maintain the wick in the center of the jar. The wick is in the wax at an angle instead of straight up and down. You have to make sure that the wick is tight in the holder and that you centered the jar. If the whole wicking device moved (came unglued) you need to use anther method.

24 lbs = 10.9 kg some might say a little more or a little less. HTH Steve

The wax will be fine. Empty out any standing water and air dry until you use the wax. You will see water on the bottom of your melter and this will not affect your product. Wax mfg use water to cool down the blocks and sometimes the water seeps into the wax. No big whoop, you probably will hear some frying sounds and that sort of thing. I have had this several times and it presented no problems. It just kinda throws you for a loop when it first happens. I can't believe this hasn't happened to you in 7 years! Lucky. HTH Steve

I used to offer $1.00 off for returns on the 8 oz Crisa tumbler. One time only per container and only on that container. It saved me shipping and I didn't worry about those thick containers weakening from one refill. Most customers didn't bother, some washed and cleaned, others brought them back in the worst condition. Chipped or cracked did not get refills but did get the $1.00 off bargain. I no longer carry those containers (no lids) and offer the salsa jars. No refills. I suggest they use them for potpourri or other items instead. I was never very comfortable refilling used jars.

I had a muscadine vineyard burning in my office and someone came in the door and stated that they could smell it all the way down the hall. I knew the office area was strong but didn't think anyone else could smell it. This is with a candle made the day before and no curing. The wicking on this first appears to be inadequate, because there is a small melt pool on first burn. The jar doesn't get very warm and there's a ton of hang up, but after the second burn the candle just settles in and soon there's a full melt pool no deeper than half an inch. I burned this candle almost a full 8 hours and never got a hot jar or any sooting. I think I've finally learned that a good candle doesn't have to eat up the jar right off the bat and that this makes for a much safer product. At least I feel its safe. sorry for the long post. Steve

I have a toaster oven on my work bench that keeps my jars nice and toasty. I restock the oven each time I use jars and this keeps a constant supply during a pour session. I take a jar at a time out and wick it and pour. I can pour quite a few jars in a short period of time and for someone like me with a small side business, that works just fine. I keep my jars pretty warm this time of year, due to the lower temps and the humidity here in the South. HTH. Steve

I still like Vanilla Bean Noel.

What kind of wax? I would normally use a 10 in my wax and that might be a little hot for different fos. I have used both wicks and have never noticed an apprciable difference in their performance. I like the cdn wicks because they are treated to resist the corrosive nature of soy wax. You might even look at an 8 and go up from there. HTH Steve

I can't trust my nose anymore. I have had people tell me they can smell a candle a long way off and I can hardly smell it at all. Besides, I don't really think you want a candle that would cut off people's air supply. Strong is a subjective term. What I call strong might be overwhelming (ususally) to other people. There have only been a couple of candles that I have encountered that were as strong as some people describe and they mostly assaulted my senses (Votivo for one). What did everyone else say about the candle?

I had an odd experience with a muscadine fo that collected in the bottom and looked really oily. It only occurred in one candle (which didn't go to market) so I stirred the dickens out of the rest of the batch and everything was ok. Never had that happen before.

You must be in a really cool pouring environment. If you don't like the idea of a hot plate, why not a griddle. They are inexpensive and you could place several pouring pots on it at the same time. HTH Steve

Vanilla is the worst for causing inefficient combustion (shrooms). If you are getting a great throw and all the other mechanics of your candle are working, then to heck with the shrooms. I bet if you bought a high end French vanilla candle it would give you the same result.....shrooms. Forget about it. HTH Steve

Stella, you are pure evil!!!!! LOL. If this doesn't cause massive soy bashing then I don't know what will. I'm gonna have to pray for you tonight. Steve

Stop the insanity! I already have a ton of testers that aren't gonna be touched till after the holidays; it just aint fair. Right now I'm in love with fos from AH/RE.

AH/RE Country Christmas

I use Clarus 70/30 soy/paraffin blend. I buy it from Tennessee Candle Supply. It aint cheap but its what I like. Try a slab. HTH Steve

I use a hot plate. I use a glass carafe from a GE coffee maker that pours real neat and clean for my pour pot. I keep my thermometer in the pot to monitor and stir occasionally to make sure the fo and temp are evenly distributed. Works great. I love my Master Built. HTH Steve

Anything that burns creates smoke (soot). Cooking food creates residues (grease) breathing air creates carbon dioxide. Cows create methane gas. I'm not sure what that point of this has become. Never mind.