Candle Wicks

[flemage]

I Just made up a steamer so that I can steam a box of frames at a time and surprisingly, it works really well!
Any way I now have a load of wax and thought I could make some easy candles by just filling a jam jar with a wick suspending in it?
do candle wicks have to be 'special or can you just use string.
Thanks

 

[prana vallabha]

Hi..... i make candles myself like many here do, as wicks go if you google wicks for bees wax you will find many sizes according to width of candle ..... good luck . There are some great moulds out there .....

 

[flemage]

brill thanks

 

[enrico]

There are a lot if ifs and buts! If you only use pure wax then the wick needs to be double the width of a paraffin candle. If you mix paraffin flakes with it you need to vary the size of the wick accordingly. There is tons of shrinking from melted wax so you have to keep topping moulded candles up.
The only reason I know all this is cos I thought it would be easy too so I made and sold loads. Most of them burnt well for the first half hour and then flooded the wick never to be lit again. Unhappy customers is not what you want so experiment on yourself keeping a careful record of how you make them. Oh and the wax has to be absolutely clean as bees legs don't burn and all the bits gather round the wick and then it all goes to pot too. To be honest I decided it wasn't worth the hassle. They smell nice but that's all that's going for them!
E

 

[MandF]

You need a proper candle wick, and the correct size depending on the diameter of the candle/pot, or else the wick could burn too fast, or too slow.

 

[flemage]

Thanks for the info

look like there is more to it than i thought (as per normal).

they werent for selling so shouldnt matter to much if i mess it up!

 

[MandF]

Candle wick is cheap, so it isnt a game changer