Beeswax votive candles

[elainemary]

Has anyone experience of making Beeswax votive candles?
I've been looking at votive moulds and wicks on Fourcandles and wondering which NT wick size to buy from the options?
Also how do the votive pins work, or do you just use the pre-made wicks with sustainer, like tea lights? Bit confused from their website...

waxed-votive.html

 

[Erichalfbee]

Get a sample pack from them and try different ones. Wick size can vary from wax batch to batch too

 

[elainemary]

Get a sample pack from them and try different ones. Wick size can vary from wax batch to batch too

Thanks will do

 

[Kaz]

Probably a stupid question @elainemary but have you checked out their votive making guide Make Votive Candles ? Does that make it easier? I have a bee buddy who uses 4candles and finds them very helpful and knowledgeable of you phone with a question?

 

[elainemary]

Probably a stupid question @elainemary but have you checked out their votive making guide Make Votive Candles ? Does that make it easier? I have a bee buddy who uses 4candles and finds them very helpful and knowledgeable of you phone with a question?

Thanks yes I read that but got a bit confused about pins and which wick size so I sent an email and they clarified and v helpful as you say. Got a tester pack of wick sizes coming to try out and ordered pins and moulds

 

[Kaz]

Thanks yes I read that but got a bit confused about pins and which wick size so I sent an email and they clarified and v helpful as you say. Got a tester pack of wick sizes coming to try out and ordered pins and moulds

I would be interested in knowing the outcome of your wick testing please, I'm now thinking of making some votives myself

 

[elainemary]

I would be interested in knowing the outcome of your wick testing please, I'm now thinking of making some votives myself

Will let you know, I’ve received them but probably won’t get a chance to try them out for a while

 

[blackcloud]

Please don't post pictures of your wax.It very weirdly makes me hungry!
I'm not allowed snacks.

 

[Sutty]

Please don't post pictures of your wax.It very weirdly makes me hungry!
I'm not allowed snacks.

Perhaps you were a wax moth in a previous life!

 

[blackcloud]

Some sort of parasite no doubt , given my fiscal reticence....
Hey there's one for Jenko!

 

[elainemary]

I would be interested in knowing the outcome of your wick testing please, I'm now thinking of making some votives myself

I've had mixed success so far with my votive candle making. I bought a set of metal votive moulds and pins. Not sure if you've used these but the recommended method is to fill the moulds with wax after adding the pins first. The idea of the pins is to make a hole that a ready made wick with sustainer can be threaded through once the candle is set. However, after buying a sample pack of NT29,32 and 35 from 4candles, only the NT29 can be threaded through and I only managed to get it through in 50% of candles. I think the pins are designed for soy candle wax making, beeswax type wick (square braided) is too thick. I've done a test burn this evening and the NT29 seems to work well, look really nice and 4 hours later there is loads of burn time left, so I'm guessing they will last for about 3 evenings. Just a shame the pins are too narrow.

Also, getting the candle out the mould is VERY difficult! I sprayed lightly with silicone spray first, maybe i didn't use enough, but even after leaving a few hours for the wax to shrink and putting in the fridge to shrink more, I still couldn't release the candle easily. Got it out bu using a vice and pliers holding onto the votive pin, in the end, aghhh!

Think I'll have a go next at making the votives directly in votive glass rather than using the moulds. You can buy large sized sustainers that automatically centre the wick as they fill the bottom of the glass. 4candles sell votives glass quite cheaply and I presume the whole candle will burn minimising the amount of cleaning needed to the glass afterwards.

I like the longer burn time and look of votives but they are a faff to make! Might in the end decide to stick with tea lights....Be interested how you get on, if you give them a go.
Elaine

Edit: 4candles have advised the self centring sustainers don’t work for beeswax as the hole isn’t large enough to thread the square braid through. Best option is to fix votive wicks directly into the glass jars with NT wicks. I’ve made 3 trials today with NT29,32 and 35 wicks. Need to support the wicks when pouring. Added a couple of pics of my first trial with the moulds and NT29 wicks alight

 

[Kaz]

Thanks @elainemary for such a detailed post, really helpful to have this information. Looks like your candle in the votive glass burns beautifully, were the NT29 wicks successful or are you going to upsize them? I've just had my first ever attempt at making candles and I'm quite pleased with how they've turned out. I'm sure there's lots I can improve on but it's my first time "bothering" to filter wax and use it rather than just exchanging for foundation

 

[elainemary]

Thanks @elainemary for such a detailed post, really helpful to have this information. Looks like your candle in the votive glass burns beautifully, were the NT29 wicks successful or are you going to upsize them? I've just had my first ever attempt at making candles and I'm quite pleased with how they've turned out. I'm sure there's lots I can improve on but it's my busy time "bothering" to filter wax and use it rather than just exchanging for foundation

They look really fab. Can you share the source of your tins? The wicks and how they burnt too pls

I made 3 more votive test candles yesterday with the same and 2 larger wicks. Won’t get a chance to burn them til next week but will let you know how they perform direct in the glasses

 

[Kaz]

They look really fab. Can you share the source of your tins? The wicks and how they burnt too pls

I made 3 more votive test candles yesterday with the same and 2 larger wicks. Won’t get a chance to burn them til next week but will let you know how they perform direct in the glasses

Candle tins from amazon: Candle Tin 4oz - 24 Piece Candle... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0875WMWXZ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Using 4candles NT44 wicks, seems to my inexperienced eye to give a good burn and reaches the edges of the tin

 

[elainemary]

Candle tins from amazon: Candle Tin 4oz - 24 Piece Candle... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0875WMWXZ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Using 4candles NT44 wicks, seems to my inexperienced eye to give a good burn and reaches the edges of the tin

Thanks. How many mls of beeswax does each tin take? Did you print the labels yourself? Look v nice

The NT 29 burnt to the edge when made as a votive to place in the glasses but suspect direct in the glass the larger NT32 or 35 will perform better

The votive glasses and aluminium tins with clear lids are v good value from 4candles. Here’s a link if you haven’t seen them
https://www.4candles.co.uk/candle-making-accessories/glassware-tins.html

 

[Kaz]

Thanks. How many mls of beeswax does each tin take? Did you print the labels yourself? Look v nice

They were supposed to be 4oz tins, I think they actually took approx 3.5 ozs to leave room for the wick. I don't know what that translates to in ml, sorry.

I printed the labels but it was a lot of faffing about to get them lined up properly (and even then they weren't particularly well centred. In future I think I would get them printed for me. The quality (avery labels) was also a bit disappointing, they are very thin

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks @elainemary for such a detailed post, really helpful to have this information. Looks like your candle in the votive glass burns beautifully, were the NT29 wicks successful or are you going to upsize them? I've just had my first ever attempt at making candles and I'm quite pleased with how they've turned out. I'm sure there's lots I can improve on but it's my first time "bothering" to filter wax and use it rather than just exchanging for foundation

These look really good. I’ve today just done a test for a similar sized can. The wax cracked. So I put it in the oven to remelt the top and let it cool in the oven. Still cracked. How did you avoid cracks?

 

[Kaz]

These look really good. I’ve today just done a test for a similar sized can. The wax cracked. So I put it in the oven to remelt the top and let it cool in the oven. Still cracked. How did you avoid cracks?

Ah yes 2 of mine cracked in the second batch, I put them in a pan of water and slowly warmed them until there was enough melted wax to cover the top of the candle. Then I left them in the water so they cooled more slowly and they were fine. Next time I'm thinking of warming the tins first to see if that helps

 

[Erichalfbee]

Ah yes 2 of mine cracked in the second batch, I put them in a pan of water and slowly warmed them until there was enough melted wax to cover the top of the candle. Then I left them in the water so they cooled more slowly and they were fine. Next time I'm thinking of warming the tins first to see if that helps

Thanks. Husband suggested similar.
I was also thinking of a heat mat underneath.
I’ll give it a go.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

These look really good. I’ve today just done a test for a similar sized can. The wax cracked. So I put it in the oven to remelt the top and let it cool in the oven. Still cracked. How did you avoid cracks?

cracking is usually caused by the wax cooling too quickly