A new candlemaker with ?'s

[Carolyn]

Hi,

At our annual summer camp this year we are making rolled candles from beeswax. We have made a rubber mold of a bee foundation board to get the octagonal texture. Now we need to pour melted beeswax into them. Our question is.....can we use a double boiler and add a drop of mango scent to the melted wax? At what point do we do this? Is the wax melter usable as a food cooking utensil once the project is finished or does melted wax "ruin" the inside finish after several uses? (We just bought a new stainless steel double boiler for this project and hopefully home use afterwards?)

Thanks for your answers.

[Fern]

Hi! I've never made candles using beeswax, I use strictly paraffin, however; one thing I do know is that 1 drop of fragrance oil will give you no scent whatsoever. The appropriate amount of fragrance oil is 1-1.5 ounces per pound of wax. I don't know the exact pour temperature for beeswax, but it's probably not that much different then paraffin. You could melt and heat the wax to approximately 185 degrees (I hope you have a thermometer, because you've got to watch the temperature of the wax). Remove from the heat and add your fragrance oil at about 175-180, stir very well and pour into mold. Again, I don't know the exact temperature is that you should pour beeswax at so you might want to post this question in the Veggie section of this board where you might get some more info. I might also suggest you do some testing of these candles before you have the kids do it...it's a little more involved then you may realize.

Oh yeah, about the double boiler. If you clean it out really good with a heat gun to get rid of every trace of wax, wipe it out with a paper towel and then wash it real well with soap and water, you can reuse it at home.

[Janette]

I wouldn't us that pot for food if you add scent to it. If you just use beeswax it will be fine, but the scent could be a problem. Insted, you could use a large coffee can in a pot of water. Put something like a canning ring under it to keep it off the bottom of the water pot. HTH

[Scented]

I probably wouldn't scent beeswax at the start. I believe this wax has its own scent that is rather nice. However, where's HenryK or Cetacea for more bees wax info?

Yeah a drop of any fragrance isn't going to give you any kind of smell.

I'd just use stuff for candlemaking and something else for food. The stuff doesn't ruin the pot inside that I'm aware of. The majority of what I've got is double-digit age and still in good condition.