LittleMissSunshine Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 I made some clamshells... 50/50 4630/4625 with 6% tested them after about a day. Did not smell them very strongly. Tried half a Yankee tart, didn't smell a thing. Not a whiff. Thought to myself, hmmm....maybe something is wrong with my burner. Walmart was out of bulbs, so I bought a whole new burner. I made another batch of clamshells, 10% this time...a little high, but I wanted to see. They cooled very very fast because I was doing a small amount, so I ended up adding fragrance and dye at like...150 and pouring at like 140 while it cooled to the sides. I tried one like 8hrs later in my new burner. It was really weird, because the scent seemed....spotty? to me. Like I would smell it really really strongly for a minute then not at all. Now I am trying it again 2 days later and *nothing*. I don't get it. I don't understand how it could smell pretty strong one minute and then 0 throw the next day (and two days later). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleMissSunshine Posted September 12, 2018 Author Share Posted September 12, 2018 Just an update on this, in case anyone is interested haha. I called my distributor, and they gave me a recommendation for a different ratio and fragrance load. But I actually think I figured out what the issue may be, hopefully. I think because of the way I'm melting the wax the fragrance is not getting fully incorporated. I'm using a pretty small amount, like less than half a lb of wax, and melting it in a presto pot, then pouring that into a glass measuring cup. I then mix in the dye and fragrance. It cools very quickly, so I almost immediately pour it. It goes from 185 to 145 in a matter of probably 2min. Maybe even less. But anyway. On my batch that I had made the other day I had a bit of extra wax leftover so I poured it into a silicone mold. Today I went to take it out and it was kind of like when you try to take an ice cube out of the tray before it's fully frozen and the outside is frozen but the water in the middle kind of spills out? That's what happened. So I think that was just fragrance oil. On the batch I made today I did a slightly bigger batch, not much, to try to avoid that, but after I had poured my clamshells I still had a bit left in the bottom of my measuring cup and it looked like oil and wax (I think) that didn't get mixed. There was some darker and some lighter. It definitely looked weird. So I'm going to try just doing everything in a metal pouring pot double boiler like I was doing before, to see if that makes a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jclemens88 Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 I'm using the same wax and my methods are the same as your and I'm having the same problem and I never had before I'm frustrated and thinking of going back to parasoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trappeur Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 Shouldn't you be curing at least a week? At least or more I would say.... Trappeur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jclemens88 Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 The issue isn't curing it's that the oil isn't binding to the wax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleMissSunshine Posted September 13, 2018 Author Share Posted September 13, 2018 Yeah it's 100% paraffin, even my distributor said I should only need a 24hr cure. Here I'll post a picture so you can see what I found. These are completely hardened and solid, but you can see liquid. That is all fragrance that did not get mixed into any of the rest of my wax. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah S Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 It sounds to me like you are correct that the FO and the wax are not incorporating well. I also tend to make small batches of melts when making them just for my own use. I heat the wax to a minimum of 190 in the pesto, transfer the amount I want to a (clean) plastic yogurt tub with the fragrance and color already in it, stir very well, and pour immediately. By the time I pour it's around 180ish. That's with paraffin. When pouring small batches of palm wax, I increase all the temps by about 10 degrees. With the small batches you gotta work hot and you gotta work fast. Another issue may be the ratio of your wax blend, as you touched on in one of your posts. IME, adding too much container wax will compromise your throw in strength, but mostly in longevity. The softer waxes just don't throw as long or as well in the melters. When blending I don't like to go over 25% container wax for the best results. Hope that's a little helpful for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleMissSunshine Posted September 14, 2018 Author Share Posted September 14, 2018 Another little update in case anyone is interested. I made a batch of melts in my metal pouring pot over a double-boiler to keep everything nice and hot, since it was a small batch again. I also moved my wax burner into my bedroom. My living room is connected to my kitchen and it's a really big open room. Put a wax melt on there from about 36hrs ago and shut the bedroom door (it's the second largest room in my house). Opened the door a little later and could smell the wax melt from the far opposite corner of the room. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belinda Posted September 15, 2018 Share Posted September 15, 2018 I think you're wax just hasn't been hot enough for the oil to blend with it. You're using a great wax combo. I would add FO at 185-190, especially for heavy oils and vanilla's. That's just my opinion. Hope that helps! 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katmeltswax Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 I agree 100% with Belinda ,adding the oil at 180-190 is the solution,this allows the oil to bind well to your wax . I notice with all vanillas it is a definite must b/c vanillas are heavy & stubborn . If you dont mind me asking where do you purchase your wax ? I think you will get a great melt if you add the oil at a much higher temperature . I hope all improves for you . 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katmeltswax Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 On 9/12/2018 at 7:04 PM, LittleMissSunshine said: Yeah it's 100% paraffin, even my distributor said I should only need a 24hr cure. Here I'll post a picture so you can see what I found. These are completely hardened and solid, but you can see liquid. That is all fragrance that did not get mixed into any of the rest of my wax. I really love your pumpkin mold ,us this silicone ? I want one lol.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleMissSunshine Posted September 16, 2018 Author Share Posted September 16, 2018 Oh yeah! It was definitely the temperature and how fast it was cooling. I *wanted* to add the fragrance higher, but it was such a small amount of wax that it cooled so quickly before I could even add the fragrance. I'm doing it in my double boiler now so I can keep the temperature up while I add the fragrance. I also added a bit more fragrance lol just to see what happened. I made some blueberry cheesecake ones yesterday, and my husband decided to test them after like 3hrs and they filled my whole house. 😍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleMissSunshine Posted September 16, 2018 Author Share Posted September 16, 2018 39 minutes ago, katmeltswax said: I really love your pumpkin mold ,us this silicone ? I want one lol.. Yep! It is silicone! 😊 My mom gave it to me. It's so stinking cute I love it lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katmeltswax Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 28 minutes ago, LittleMissSunshine said: Yep! It is silicone! 😊 My mom gave it to me. It's so stinking cute I love it lol. I agree it is awesome ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katmeltswax Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 30 minutes ago, LittleMissSunshine said: Oh yeah! It was definitely the temperature and how fast it was cooling. I *wanted* to add the fragrance higher, but it was such a small amount of wax that it cooled so quickly before I could even add the fragrance. I'm doing it in my double boiler now so I can keep the temperature up while I add the fragrance. I also added a bit more fragrance lol just to see what happened. I made some blueberry cheesecake ones yesterday, and my husband decided to test them after like 3hrs and they filled my whole house. 😍 Yes adding at high temp will do the trick . I think eventually you would love a presto pot with a spiget to drain the melted wax into you pour pot ,such a breeze when making melts ,verses stove top melting . You can get these on Amazon or ebay for around $50 to $75 . Keep pouring & have fun while doing so 😉 Kat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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