FO Percentage question

[kfintoni]

Hello everyone,

 

If this should be in a different section I apologize in advance but figured if I posted here I would get more opinins. Now to my question as I sit here watching another foot of snow fall.

 

I currently use 8.25 % FO in my candles I use GB 444 and it says it can handle a 12% load. I read all over where people use the full 12% or even more, shudder. What in general do you use for your scent load. I am wondering if I should up it to 9 or 10 % if it si worth it. I have not had any complaints on scent throw but when I burn my own candles I don't always smell them, it could be my nose is a but broken.

 

Thanks,

Karen from a very snowed in MA

[Jcandleattic]

I use paraffin, not soy, so it may be different, but I never go higher than 6%. (Even though some of the waxes I use can handle a 10-12% load - just because it can, doesn't mean it should, IMO) 

I figure if it is not going to throw at 6%, then I don't need it. This helps me maintain my costs, which I can then pass on to my consumers. 

 

You may very well have "candle nose" and not be able to smell some scents at certain times. It happens to all of us at on point or another. 

 

If you haven't had complaints, I would keep your fragrance load where you have it. 

You know the saying "if it isn't broken, don't fix it" ... 

[Candybee]

Soy can be a bit trickier to find the right % of FO. I would use anywhere from 6-9% load. Depends on the FO. The lower % you can use the better. Using more FO could create problems with the wick burning. But with some soy blends you sometimes just need a little more with certain oils.

 

I use palm and anything over 6% I tend to not use with precious few exceptions. But then I almost never have hot throw problems with palm.

 

When I made parasoy candles I also used 6% FO load as my standard with just a few as high as 8%. Maybe 2 out of 12 FOs.

[moonshine]

With soy I have found 1.5 ounces per pound which is roughly 9% I believe works best to my nose

Most fragrances when using 1 ounce per pound I smell nothing... I tried this again recently with a new supplier- TCS and I was surprised how well they did throw but I am not going thru the headache of trying them all at that percentage - I have too many scents tested at 1.5

I used to use specific percentages but tired of the calculations so I went with 1.5 to make it easy and it has worked well- string throw in most all scents

[chuck_35550]

Not all fragrances are created equal. Blow the doors off floral would be a disaster, as well as a light bakery fragrance. Unless a customer requested an in-your-face throw on say, Gardenia(ack); I would probably go with a light load for a subtle approach. If you want to avoid burning out your nose sensors, I would suggest pouring with an industrial strength respirator. Its a pain but your nose and lungs will thank you for it later. Plus, you'll be better equipped to evaluate your product. HTH

Steve

[moonshine]

Even with florals anything less than 1.5 ounces per pound I cannot smell well enough to fill a room

The only fragrances in 415 I have had to back down were MW at 1.25 ounces per pound

Parasoy I have had to use the same

I do now wear a respirator and I have exhaust fans pulling the scent out of the room

Maybe I have a defective sniffer but there has not been one commercial or handmade candle that I ever bought that I thought wow...that smells really good- and my customers have never said they were to strong either they like and expect a candle to throw and fill a room

That's what is so variable in this craft- everyone's scent perception is so different and even using the FO load I do there are some scents that are just plain light and those are te ones I direct to people that are scent sensitive

[Guest OldGlory]

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