Candle making advice

[robinson.tl]

Hi all,

I'm new to candle making and would really appreciate some advice.

I'm melting down old candles and mixing with beeswax but I notice that it needs a number of pours over time and that, on one of them, there's a hollow hole. Can anyone explain why this happens and what I might be able to do?

Thanks!

 

[jcandleattic]

Can anyone explain why this happens and what I might be able to do?

Pillar waxes (which is most likely what the old candles are made of) shrink down a lot. What you will need to do is after your first pour, poke relief holes, to hollow out the holes, and then do a repour. Do this as many times as needed to smooth it out.
If you don't poke the holes and just pour to smooth it out, what will happen is when you are burning the candle, it will hit one of those voids and either spill the melted wax into it and drown out the wick, or it will extinquish the wick due to the air in there. You will most likely not be able to relight the candle because of these scenarios, or relief holes are a must.

 

[TaliahLeBlancSoyCandles]

to help smooth out the top you can use a blow dryer

 

[jcandleattic]

to help smooth out the top you can use a blow dryer

A blow dryer wouldn't provide enough heat for beeswax, as well as have too much power blowing the air. He would need a heat gun, but that would also not get rid of the sink holes caused by cooling too fast. Relief holes and a repour would be required.

 

[AlexanderMakesSoap]

As mentioned above, relief holes should solve your issue. When I pour my beeswax pillars, I allow a thin layer of the wax to solidify, then use a chopstick to poke a hole on either side of the wick about midway between the wick and the pillar mold, then I pour in some more wax - filling the holes and covering the previous 'top' by a 1/4 inch or so.

 

[user 60791]

As mentioned above, relief holes should solve your issue. When I pour my beeswax pillars, I allow a thin layer of the wax to solidify, then use a chopstick to poke a hole on either side of the wick about midway between the wick and the pillar mold, then I pour in some more wax - filling the holes and covering the previous 'top' by a 1/4 inch or so.

I too have the same issues. I have tried relief holes, but still seem to have issues. Do I need to wait for the wax to harden before filling the holes?

I pour at lower temps now, that has helped, just as the wax is starting to film over in the melting pot. That has helped some.

Many thanks for your insight and help.

 

[Relle]

I too have the same issues. I have tried relief holes, but still seem to have issues. Do I need to wait for the wax to harden before filling the holes?

I pour at lower temps now, that has helped, just as the wax is starting to film over in the melting pot. That has helped some.

Many thanks for your insight and help.

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