Do you wish you could create a perfect balance between scent throw, wick, candle flame, and jar? That is what I strive for when I make candles. That perfect balance.
For now, let’s concentrate on trying for the right wick. It is frustrating when you try one wick, let’s say X (the larger wick), and you (during the testing phase) burn wick X to your half way testing mark. The melt pool gets deeper than 1/2 inches with wick X. You have over wicked your wax. The container feels too hot, so you try wick Y(the smaller wick). The melt pool is great with wick Y, but the hot throw seems weaker. You would think it would be almost the same.
Why? Why? Why does this happen? I try to shoot for the maximum potential from all variables. (fragrance oil, wick, wax, etc)
Another scenario is that you over wick your candle. The melt pool is 1/2 inch or better, but the scent throw is crappy. The scent throw is actually better if you put it on a candle warmer instead of burning the wick.
What in the world is going on?
Here is a bit of information on candle wicking chemistry to help explain some of these troublesome results. When a a scented candle is burning both wax and fragrance are going up the wick together at the same time.
When you “over wick” a candle most of the fragrance in a wicked candle burns off because the wick is too hot. This means a larger wick sometimes decreases scent throw. On top of that having a wick to large provides less fragrance over the life of the candle simply because the burn time is less. When a candle has been burning for awhile you get the best scent throw for a brief time after blowing it out. In this case you get better scent throw from a wickless candles and hardly anything when it is wicked.
A small wick can be too small for optimal burn ,but great for scent throw. It is surprising how much fragrance a small flame can throw because the fragrance oil is not getting quickly burned off. Also, the candle will last you longer. I have had it where the wick in my candle would nearly drown, but the scent throw was terrific.
I try to achieve a melt pool that is not greater than 1/4 of an inch. Some of my scents don’t achieve good scent throw when I am shooting for the 1/4 inch melting pool. My foundation is too have a melt pool of no greater than 1/4 of an inch, so I either put a bit more fragrance oil into my wax, or find another fragrance oil that performs the better.
Try to find the wick that burns the candle the best. If you can get a nice burn for a reasonable session time, use up the wax and not generate soot stay with that wick. Allow the scent throw to be what it is. What maybe weak smelling to you maybe stronger to your customers.
Remember when you test your candle the way to check the performance is when the candle has burned 2/3 of the way through. This is your most accurate measurement when you test burn. We get too focused on that perfect clean burn without any wax residue on the sides.
Don’t let an undersized wick fool you. Yes, the undersized wick may not give you the biggest melt pool when you first test the candle, but as the candle burns down in the container the hotter it gets. An undersized wick provides a much better throw and the sides of the container aren’t too hot. The smaller wick may eventually the catch up about mid burn.
What do you shoot for when you make your candles?
Many Blessings,
P.S. For more candle talk come and join our forum.
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