# Why can't pillar wax be used in containers?



## Guest (Jan 19, 2009)

I can see why container wax can't be used in pillars, but why wouldn't pillar wax work in containers?

Maybe if I bought soy for pillars so much wouldn't melt and the wicks wouldn't fall over...

The wax descriptions all say that you have to use pillar wax for pillars and container wax for containers.

Do you think it's true that you can't use pillar wax in containers?


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## Wax Munky (Jan 19, 2009)

It's been no secret that I don't work with Soy.I won't even comment on the container formulas they have.

In some cases it's true that you can use pillar wax for containers.I use Paraffin and make containers for my own personal use.

It does have one huge flaw..Wetspots. If you can live with that,get the wicking down for the container.I personally see no problem with it.I use the largest Zinc Core wick,and depending on the size of the container.Sometimes just the votive size wick works just fine.

Depending on the look that I want to achieve I decide if I'll add additives or not.

So aside from the wetspots,they burn very nice.If you look real close at some of the leading candle suppliers,they have wet spots to.Weather has a lot to do with the appearance of containers.It's not just the formula.

So all in all you don't have to use wax in one particular way.Manufactures just say that as just a general guideline to sell wax.


Munky.


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## jcandleattic (Jan 19, 2009)

Most pillar waxes have a higher melt point than containers do, so the wax needs to get hotter than container wax, which would make your container hotter, with a better chance of having it shatter. Also, since it shrinks more, it would be floating around in your container instead of right up against the sides of the jar, therefore causeing melting wax to ooze in the gap and making the container (providing it's clear) very ugly.

HTH


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2009)

Wax Munky said:
			
		

> It's been no secret that I don't work with Soy.I won't even comment on the container formulas they have.
> 
> In some cases it's true that you can use pillar wax for containers.I use Paraffin and make containers for my own personal use.
> 
> ...



OHHHHHH!

I don't know what a "wet spot" is, but I don't think it would matter to me since my candles are used right away, and they are judged on heat, not appearance.

I was beginning to think that, about the guidelines being to sell wax... though clearly you couldn't use container wax, the tallow type stuff, for pillars.

I got the soy because of my lakes of fire. I had to laugh when I read your post in the wood wick thread, about how it would scare you if your candles were making crackling sounds.

Well, you should hear the sound when a lake of fire cracks a container! It's better than the "hard crack" you get making candy if you've failed to recognize the "soft crack".

I thought the lakes of fire resulted from me using left over pillar wax in my containers, but now I think it was because of the sand.

When I was a silversmith I used sand to dampen the heat so that I could repair things without bits melting that I didn't want to melt.

So, I put sand at the bottom of my jars so that the flame wouldn't break the glass when it got to the bottom. In commercial candles the flame periodically breaks the glass in the last moments when it's hot on the bottom.

I think that what happened was that the whole of the wax infused sand caught fire because the sand became so hot.

I immediately put stones on top of the sand so that there wouldn't be enough air to support a fire, and that has worked great. The other thing the sand does, you see, is raise the fire so that it's closer to the bottom of my pots of water.

But, even though I solved the sand problem by using the flat stones, I kept thinking the problem was the pillar wax being used in containers.

I have a bit of brain injury from a fall I had when I was living in the hydrogen sulfide, so my thinking is much slower than it used to be, and SO frustrating.

Now, I think that my switch to container wax was misguided...

(I love making votives, by the way. Are votives container candles? or pillars? I've been wondering about that. One votive rewicked is enough to make coffee and cook brown rice.  )


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2009)

jcandleattic said:
			
		

> Most pillar waxes have a higher melt point than containers do, so the wax needs to get hotter than container wax, which would make your container hotter, with a better chance of having it shatter. Also, since it shrinks more, it would be floating around in your container instead of right up against the sides of the jar, therefore causeing melting wax to ooze in the gap and making the container (providing it's clear) very ugly.
> 
> HTH



Oh, that's interesting. Hmmm. I can see that. 

I used old pillar wax to refill my tall votives and it worked fine. That was last year.

But this year the lakes of fire were pretty intense... They certainly made an impression on me.

Hmmm.

I had thought that if I got pillar wax then I could use the braid wicks because not so much would melt at one time... but, maybe I simply have to figure out the container wicks...



Thanks a lot for your input. Very helpful.


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## Wax Munky (Jan 19, 2009)

Votives aren't free standing candles.They need to be burned in snug votive holders,to get the optimum burn time out of them.

I only make those teasers when I absolutely have to.Trying out a new wax,wick, scents.I then give them out as samples for others to try out.

Oh and when my neighbors freak out when the power goes out.They really lay on my doorbell   :roll: 

Lucky for me I can unload the the stinky ones onto them 

It all works out.


Munky.


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2009)

Wax Munky said:
			
		

> Votives aren't free standing candles.They need to be burned in snug votive holders,to get the optimum burn time out of them.
> 
> I only make those teasers when I absolutely have to.Trying out a new wax,wick, scents.I then give them out as samples for others to try out.
> 
> ...



LOVE it!!!!!!!!

Yes, I was thinking they'd be a great way to try out fragrances and things.

I was thinking of giving some away, but they look really tacky without the cute domed top.


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## BDoodles (Jan 1, 2011)

Pillar wax shrinks so you can get it out of molds.  If you use it in containers it can shrink away from the container and end up rattling around.


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## soapbuddy (Jan 1, 2011)

BDoodles said:
			
		

> Pillar wax shrinks so you can get it out of molds.  If you use it in containers it can shrink away from the container and end up rattling around.


This.
Depending on what type of a wick I use, I thread a glass bead onto the bottom of the wick before I use it, so the wick won't burn all the way to the bottom.


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