The only way is down...

[Cattleya]

So here I am at the end of my second full year of bee keeping. Started this year with 2 full colonies and a nuc, ended with 5 colonies, 133 lb honey and 3 cups at the local Association Honey show, so must be doing something right Now paranoid that Karma will catch up with me and it will all go horribly wrong somehow...ah, found my nemesis. Why the @!*& won't the tealight burn properly???

 

[Walrus]

Hello, welcome

 

[Cattleya]

Thanks. Looking forward to learning more.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Karma is significant only if you deserve it
Hello and welcomed

 

[enrico]

Give up on tealights.stick to honey.
E

 

[madasafish]

Tealights?

Drink gin and light your breath with a match...

 

[Murox]

Bees really do gather and multiply very well given the right circumstances.
Enjoy the local accolades

 

[Beefriendly]

Why the @!*& won't the tealight burn properly???

Welcome.
Wrong wick size is usual reason. Don't believe the sizes quoted...many are just plain wrong as often quoted for ordinary paraffin wax candles.. try a few sizes either side of where you are

 

[Erichalfbee]

Simple thing is to buy pre-tabbed beeswax tealight wicks avsilablefrom any reputable candle making supplier. I get mine from https://4candles.co.uk/

 

[enrico]

Simple thing is to buy pre-tabbed beeswax tealight wicks avsilablefrom any reputable candle making supplier. I get mine from https://4candles.co.uk/

I thought that they had to be twice the width for beeswax?
E

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I thought that they had to be twice the width for beeswax?
E

Just one size thicker usually does the trick

 

[Erichalfbee]

I thought that they had to be twice the width for beeswax?
E

No idea.
I get these and they work very well

 

[Cattleya]

Thanks all for the welcome. Learning stuff already.

 

[boywonder]

My experience with the Wickwell NT23 from 4Candles (attached) ... grrrrrr ... What to do with the 100 or so I stupidly made without testing?!

More to the point, does anyone have experience of other pre-tabbed wicks which do work well ?

What's the difference between the NT23 and the NT26 which our @Erichalfbee swears by (I thought it was just the length) ? ... And ...

... Can there be material difference between the burn characteristics of different beeswax batches ?

Who knew it was so difficult ?!

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

 

[Beefriendly]

Yes it is tricky getting the right wick for the candle size. Major problem is several people will give different answers as most candles will burn to some degree. I have just consulted with my local expert wmbo. She says under no circumstances use the usually recommended zinc wick. Best wick size she has found for tealights is the 1/4 inch wick size from Thornes. It needs pre-threading onto the little wick sustainers for tealights and also needs prewaxing before pouring the tealight for the best results. She sticks the little foil moulds into glass tealight holders (pound shop jobbies) with the wick suspended between 2 cocktail sticks elastic banded together (look up pellet bands barbel fishing on ebay) and fixes sticks in position on edges of glass holder with bluetac. Then pour and leave to set.
You get a perfect flame without a flicker in still conditions.
As she says it is time consuming and real labour of love to get it right.
I've no idea what the NT sizes refer to as all our wicks are in imperial fractions of an inch.

 

[Erichalfbee]

My experience with the Wickwell NT23 from 4Candles (attached) ... grrrrrr ... What to do with the 100 or so I stupidly made without testing?!

More to the point, does anyone have experience of other pre-tabbed wicks which do work well ?

What's the difference between the NT23 and the NT26 which our @Erichalfbee swears by (I thought it was just the length) ? ... And ...

... Can there be material difference between the burn characteristics of different beeswax batches ?

Who knew it was so difficult ?!

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

The NT 26 is thicker than the 23
I get them pretabbed
Always test burn though as wax differs yearly.
Some sculptural pretty candles are not meant to be burned though

 

[Swarm]

My experience with the Wickwell NT23 from 4Candles (attached) ... grrrrrr ... What to do with the 100 or so I stupidly made without testing?!

More to the point, does anyone have experience of other pre-tabbed wicks which do work well ?

What's the difference between the NT23 and the NT26 which our @Erichalfbee swears by (I thought it was just the length) ? ... And ...

... Can there be material difference between the burn characteristics of different beeswax batches ?

Who knew it was so difficult ?!

Melt them and remove the wicks, then put the bigger ones in their place. Try the ones you have in wine bottle tops, they burn for three hours.