Help about wax

[bpmurray]

I don't know if this is the correct forum although I'm sure it'll be moved if not.

I have collected plenty of wax, extracting it with my newly purchased second-hand steam wallpaper stripper. This works really well and is a great alternative to the solar extractor which isn't particularly useful in winter. However, there's a down side: the wax seems to have a load of water incorporated into it so a test candle splutters and spits. I've tried melting it over and over in a bain marie, and some of it is clearing (the wax is very cloudy) but it's still a long way from the usual.

Anyone got any ideas? I suppose I can exchange this lot of wax once the pandemic quietens, but I was hoping to pass the time with candlemaking.

 

[REDWOOD]

Have you filtered it ?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

better to have more water than a little when processing, melt it in equal quantities with water then leave the whole thing cool, wax will float to the top and harden totally devoid of water

 

[enrico]

You need a larger wick than for a parafin wax candle and it will pick up ANY impurities in the wax !!!! I gave up in the end but that was before silicon moulds!
E

 

[pargyle]

I found using steam to melt the wax a little violent initially when I introduced steam into my wax melter - it was very effective in rendering the wax down but it was coming out rather brown in colour which I think was indicative of overheating it.

I put a mesh floor in the bottom of my wax melter and then introduced the steam below that which seemed to work better and the wax comes out yellow. I've also exchanged the wall paper steamer (which really does make vast quantities of steam) for a domestic steam cleaner that we had and which broke but the steam generator was still OK. It still produces steam but not in the volume that the wallpaper steamer does.

The wax still needs filtering thoroughly if you are going to make candles with it as any impurities will make the candle splutter.

I really prefer solar wax melting wherever possible but in our unpredictable weather I recognise that steamers are sometimes the only option.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Overheated wax
I had some so I melted it and poured it into a silicone pie dish in thin circles.
A winter in the greenhouse has bleached it nicely.