Beeswax votive candles

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I was so impressed I’ve had a go myself. I’ve pre waxed the NT44 and stuck it in a sustainer. I’ve put scent in mine too.
Totting up the raw materials plus £1 an ounce for the wax they come out just under £4.50
Trying a trial burn.
Now how to price them
surely votives are the way to go? It's got to be cheaper in bulk than shelling out for the candle moulds? Couldn't believe how much those were....
 
Here's the bit about using a Pots & Co Ramekin. I've since found that you can get rid of any gap between wax and container by running a blowtorch gently round the edge after it has set. You can remelt just enough that the gap is filled.

Pots & Co Container candle


While searching online I found a candle company that recycles Pots and Co pudding ramekins into a beeswax container candle, so I thought I would have a go. The Pots & Co ramekin makes an ideal container for a candle as they are oven and heat proof. They also come with a very nice pudding and once washed out are free! Both these things should naturally appeal to beekeepers. Container candles are very fashionable but aren’t often made with beeswax; as the wax cools and shrinks it doesn’t stick to the side of the container and leaves a gap. Candlemakers try to avoid this and even blend specific container waxes that stick to the sides. I don’t think it matters at all - it shows that you are using natural beeswax and not some unholy blend of waxes. The gap can be minimised by warming the container before pouring and pouring the wax at 69°C to 70°C. For a bit of fun, I tried using both a traditional cotton wick and a wood wick. Wood wicks are very popular but can be tricky. They burn with a good flame and make a soft crackling sound – perfect for those cosy winter evenings by the fire. Like cotton wicks, wooden wicks must be trimmed down to 5mm before each lighting – they can be cut with sharp kitchen scissors. On the left, below, cotton wick, Wickwell NT 59. (Note the use of a heatproof coaster and the slight gap between the wax and the side of the container). This wick worked well if it was trimmed regularly to 5mm. The wooden wick, on the right, was excellent. I used Lumetique Original Woodwick 1.016, 15.875mm from 4candles. I found that using a double thickness (as recommended on the 4 candles website) worked best. The only downside being that, because of the way the wooden wick sustainers work, about a cm of wax in the bottom of the candle was unburned. The crackle and flame both made up for this though and this is my favourite candle so far. If you are going to get a present from me this Christmas, this is probably it! Note: You may be able to just stick the wick in place using a glue dot, rather than the metal sustainer, allowing more wax to be burned. Why not try it and let me know how it works?

Cost: Cotton wick 8p, Wooden wick 35p, beeswax » 100g

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Look great and I like the idea of the sound. Can you pls explain the point about making them with double thickness? Does that mean you bend over the wicks somehow or do you put 2 in the same pot (one sustainer)? Not familiar with these at all, so wondering what to order from 4candles per
Pot
Many thanks
 
surely votives are the way to go? It's got to be cheaper in bulk than shelling out for the candle moulds? Couldn't believe how much those were....
Agree.
Much cheaper and you can make quite a few altogether.
As you say the moulds are v expensive, so the whole process would be much slower waiting for wax to harden before removing from moulds. I think they look a bit ‘twee’ vs votives.
 
surely votives are the way to go? It's got to be cheaper in bulk than shelling out for the candle moulds? Couldn't believe how much those were....
Folk do like the skeps though
I have the moulds now. I got them from Abelo when they were a third of the price.
I like the idea of doing the votives with spare candles. Not this year though. I'm getting it in the neck from Stan over the money I'm spending trying different stuff out. The large kitchen table has been covered in candle making paraphernalia for a week now and some of it is migrating to the cooker and surrounds........
 
I'm getting it in the neck from Stan over the money I'm spending trying different stuff out. The large kitchen table has been covered in candle making paraphernalia for a week now and some of it is migrating to the cooker and surrounds
next week is candle making for me - already got orders in for the skeps (you can get nearly a fiver each for them) and I'll probably make up a few Christmas trees and plain pillar candles in readiness for the power cuts - I've already dusted down my grandparent's old oil lamp from the days when they lived on the mountain. Last time it was used in anger, Ted Heath was Prime Minister
 
Folk do like the skeps though
I have the moulds now. I got them from Abelo when they were a third of the price.
I like the idea of doing the votives with spare candles. Not this year though. I'm getting it in the neck from Stan over the money I'm spending trying different stuff out. The large kitchen table has been covered in candle making paraphernalia for a week now and some of it is migrating to the cooker and surrounds........
Sounds familiar “we regularly get £200-£300 on the credit card for bee stuff”!
 
Look great and I like the idea of the sound. Can you pls explain the point about making them with double thickness? Does that mean you bend over the wicks somehow or do you put 2 in the same pot (one sustainer)? Not familiar with these at all, so wondering what to order from 4candles per
Pot
Many thanks
Sorry, didn’t explain that well. You just cut 2 lengths the same and make a double thickness wick.
 
I’m a bit confused!
If I use the standard foil tea light cups sold on 4candles, which wick do I need please? Thanks 😊
 
I’m a bit confused!
If I use the standard foil tea light cups sold on 4candles, which wick do I need please? Thanks 😊
I have had many failures with these. I found that their pre tabbed tea light wicks didn't make a large enough pool. I use their prewaxed NT35, cut and tab them myself
 
I’m a bit confused!
If I use the standard foil tea light cups sold on 4candles, which wick do I need please? Thanks 😊
Hi Emily I’m currently using NT23 and NT 26 and have found both ok and all the wax burnt in the tea light ie no tunnelling. It’s interesting how different people’s wax behaves in different ways. I’d order their test pack (comes with the above and 1 other) and try out before buying.
 
Sorry, didn’t explain that well. You just cut 2 lengths the same and make a double thickness wick.
Thanks…I’m confused about whether you need to use 2 sustainers or when the wick is doubled do they fit somehow in the same one? Sorry about all the rookie questions 🤣

You’ve got lots of experience so I’m hoping you can help with another question 🙋‍♀️…I’ve found in burning votives, by the end of the evening, the wick is quite charred and it’s hard to blow out / pinch out without dropping bits of carbon into the wax. How do you safely put the candle out and do you cut the wick afterwards? If so how do you prevent carbon dropping into the wick when the wax hasn’t fully set?
 
Thanks for the suggestions. There seems to be a dark art surrounding wick sizing. I must learn it!
No dark art. Wax varies and all you can do is test burn. I make sure all my wax for particular candles is one batch even if I have to remelt different waxes together
 
Thanks…I’m confused about whether you need to use 2 sustainers or when the wick is doubled do they fit somehow in the same one? Sorry about all the rookie questions 🤣

You’ve got lots of experience so I’m hoping you can help with another question 🙋‍♀️…I’ve found in burning votives, by the end of the evening, the wick is quite charred and it’s hard to blow out / pinch out without dropping bits of carbon into the wax. How do you safely put the candle out and do you cut the wick afterwards? If so how do you prevent carbon dropping into the wick when the wax hasn’t fully set?
A double thickness wood wick fits in a single sustainer. It's quite a tight fit and you have to push quite hard. See the pic below.

I'm no expert, far from it, but I did a lot of research when I was writing my article. You should just blow the candle out - I place a coaster or similar over it to keep the smoke in until it has dissipated. You should always trim the wick to 5mm once the candle has cooled. The odd bit of carbon falling in won't be a problem, but if you have let the candle cool as described you should just be able to fish it out. I use the kitchen scissors to trim, but if they won't fit in the glass you can use nail scissors.

IMG_20221104_135847.jpg
 
A double thickness wood wick fits in a single sustainer. It's quite a tight fit and you have to push quite hard. See the pic below.

I'm no expert, far from it, but I did a lot of research when I was writing my article. You should just blow the candle out - I place a coaster or similar over it to keep the smoke in until it has dissipated. You should always trim the wick to 5mm once the candle has cooled. The odd bit of carbon falling in won't be a problem, but if you have let the candle cool as described you should just be able to fish it out. I use the kitchen scissors to trim, but if they won't fit in the glass you can use nail scissors.
Thanks John. That’s v clear now & I’ve placed an order
If you have any other articles or ideas on candle making pls post them. I’m learning from you which is great! 👩‍🎓😊🕯
 
Thanks John. That’s v clear now & I’ve placed an order
If you have any other articles or ideas on candle making pls post them. I’m learning from you which is great! 👩‍🎓😊🕯
You are very welcome. By coincidence, our association had a talk last Friday from Isabelle Green about wax and making wax bowls of the kind I think you mentioned in another thread. I’m thinking of having a go and writing it up for our next newsletter. If successful, I’ll post it on here.
 

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