Topbar Beekeeping

I'm an urban topbar beekeeper in Albuquerque, NM. I manage hives in backyards and small organic farms within city limits. These hives are probably pollinating your veggie patches right now. Visit my website at: http://brownsdowntownbees.com/

2/22/12

Finding the perfect wick beeswax candles

I'm in the middle of candle experimenting, but having a tough time trying to solve 2 problems. 1) Finding the right wick that will stay lit after an hour and 2) Keeping my small tea light candles from cracking while cooling.
Melting wax in a double boiler

Experimenting with different wicks and burn times

Eeee, it's cracking!
The wick problem shouldn't be an issue except that the only way I can find large sizes are by ordering them online. I can't just whip into a store to get a wick and then go back later in the day for a different size. Every wick I have found in town is too thin even for tea lights, including the wicks at Hobby Lobby that are advertised for pillars over 4 inches wide!

The other issue that I still can't seem to solve is how to keep my small beeswax candles from cracking as they cool. This also happens on the large candles, but it isn't too big an issue because the tops of the mold are actually the bottoms of the candle and I can melt out the cracks with a heated pan.

I've tried everything I can think of for the cracks. I've covered the tins molds in newspaper to try and insulate them from cooling too fast. No luck. I've tried putting the molds into hot water while they cool. No luck. I've tried making the molds in a warmed room. No luck. Any ideas out there?!

After much experimentation, I discovered that the candles were cooling too fast. By giving the wax an initial cool until a film formed on the top of the double boiler and then pouring the candles, I was able to eliminate most of my issues with cracking. 
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5 comments:

  1. David GriffithsMay 22, 2012 at 3:40 AM

    I let them crack then pour fresh wax into the cracks. and the wicks I ordered a sample pack of a range of sizes and just keep experimenting.

    just go slow and keep changing till you get it

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJune 28, 2012 at 10:22 PM

    I bought 70 dollars worth of supplies and havent got a decent burning candle yet. I bought mine online from candlewic.com and they were nice enough to send additional samples. As soon as the wick touched the wax the flame gets really tiny. I gonna try even larger wicks (I cant make tea lights either). As far as pouring I used old glass glade candle containers the thick bottom really helps getting them to set up quickly. I had the same problem with cracks take one of those skewers after the wax hardens on top poke a couple hole around the wick and after the candle cools pour another layer and the candle will be flawless.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousFebruary 14, 2013 at 12:30 PM

    Beeswax is pretty sticky, and the reason I get the cracks on my candles is because the wax is sticking to the side of my glass jars. If you spray the jars or molds with a bit of silicon spray, it shouldn't stick to the side and thus preventing the cracks. This has helped me a ton, hope it helps you too. Best of luck.

    @Anonymous
    I find that square braided wicks work best. They were made for beeswax after all. I like to use a size that was meant for candles 1" - 1 1/2" larger than what I make, though I don't know if it would work for pillars since I only make container candles.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousDecember 31, 2013 at 5:31 PM

    You need to dilout it. Try useing 1/2 coconot oil (or any other standard base oil) and around 250 grams beeswax. Hope ths helped

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jessie BrownMay 7, 2015 at 10:01 AM

    Thanks for the tip Virginia, I'll try this technique next time

    ReplyDelete

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