Homemade tea Light candles

hushnel

hushnel

Joined
Feb 3, 2009
Messages
727
The great lantern thread of last week got me to thinking about candle lanterns. I have about 5 of the UCO original candle lanterns even an old one from L.L.Bean in brass.

The argument for the mini candle lantern intrigued me so I ordered two of them and a box of candles. That's when I started thinking, I've made at least a thousand candles over the years and every one of them of bees wax. So I started looking around the WWW and came across a site that sells the candle making supplies and matched up wicks with containers and preferred wax.

I ordered 100 wicks and 100 candle cups made out of polycarbonate. These are much deeper than the standards that are supposed to burn 4 to 5 hours. I know that beeswax burns a lot longer than regular candle wax. One of the benefits of the clear polycarbonate cups is the when the candle burns low the cup doesn't create a shadow.

Anyhow I made up 4 to test the beeswax and one of the cheap tea candles I burned down, replaced the wick with one designed for the beeswax and refilled it.

I still have to test them and time the burn. I'll let you know my results as soon as I can, maybe tomorrow.

2091753920033885154S600x600Q85.jpg
 
I found a place on line with free shipping for $6.00 a lb. I usually get it much cheaper from the local apiary supply, I think the last time I paid $3.40 but it is very dirty stuff and has to be filtered and the residual honey boiled off. I guess I just got lazy.

I ordered 35 pounds of clean wax. Should last me a few years, I use it for a lot of projects. Tool lube, lip wax, leather wax and sealer, Leather edge finishing, candles. reblacking ironware, waxing linen thread and needles so I can pull them through the leather project. I wax metal zippers, the list just goes on and on.
 
Bushman5 said:
looks good!

I just wish i could find beeswax locally that didn;t cost $80 a lb.
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Try a craft store. I saw 1 lb blocks of bees wax at a store called "Hobby Lobby" for about $15 in Austin Texas.
 
Good Project, Love the picture, But somehow candles and Vents just dont seem like a good match.
 
You need special wicks for beeswax?

Don't all wicks burn as long as there's fuel (wax)?
 
hushnel said:
The great lantern thread of last week got me to thinking about candle lanterns. I have about 5 of the UCO original candle lanterns even an old one from L.L.Bean in brass.

The argument for the mini candle lantern intrigued me so I ordered two of them and a box of candles. That's when I started thinking, I've made at least a thousand candles over the years and every one of them of bees wax. So I started looking around the WWW and came across a site that sells the candle making supplies and matched up wicks with containers and preferred wax.

I ordered 100 wicks and 100 candle cups made out of polycarbonate. These are much deeper than the standards that are supposed to burn 4 to 5 hours. I know that beeswax burns a lot longer than regular candle wax. One of the benefits of the clear polycarbonate cups is the when the candle burns low the cup doesn't create a shadow.

Anyhow I made up 4 to test the beeswax and one of the cheap tea candles I burned down, replaced the wick with one designed for the beeswax and refilled it.

I still have to test them and time the burn. I'll let you know my results as soon as I can, maybe tomorrow.

2091753920033885154S600x600Q85.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice idea. I bet they smell great. What are they sitting on? A ventilator of old? Being a Respiatory Therapist it perked my interest. Regards
 
I'm running a candle test at the moment, not too close to a ventilator, for those of you interested I completed a 10,000 hour over haul on the 7200 in the picture this morning logging a mear 7.5 hours for the overhaul, calibration and Performance Verification Procedure (PVP), fixed a Drager Evita IIdura having a problem with it's O2 sensor oxygen amplifier, and I'm calibrating a fluctuation Frequency problem on a high Frequency oscillator, the Sensormetics aka Viasys, 3100a. I"ve got Bird VIPs, Hamilton Galileos and a few Viasys Aveas waiting their turn.

But somehow candles and Vents just don't seem like a good match.
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Well, it ain't like they're lit. We have OCCA inspecting at the moment and I'm busting my ass getting all the vents up to compliance, funny how you can't get them down when they're due but bring in a few inspectors and it's an out of the wood work emergency.

So during my diner break last night I snapped this picture. Rest assured my work is exemplary and has been for the 27 years I've been at it. :) your loved ones will not experience equipment failure on any of my vents.

A ventilator of old? Being a Respiratory Therapist it perked my interest.
Click to expand...

PB 7200, second keyboard upgrade. We are slowly weening them out as they become just too expensive to repair or parts become unavailable. It shows how good the guy I trained and I keep this old stuff running. We had the Emerson MP3s running until just a few years ago, it just became insane keeping them maintained.
 
Thanks Bushman5.

Well on the tea light front it's a total failure. The wick that their calculator picked for me using beeswax and the Poly cups failed. The problem is, and this is common to making candles, that there is a balance between the burn rate of the wick and the fuel, in this case beeswax, I need to give you all a short run down so you can follow me.

Candles are relatively new on the scene, being only a few hundred years old. The idea of a twisted wick in the wax didn't work, it wasn't until somebody discovered that only a 4 ply braided wick would work. The reason is that previous to the 4 braided wick the wick stood straight up from the wax, this caused the flame to increase as the wax was consumed, until the flame was so high the wax melted to fast and wax ran off the candle, destroying the candle. What the 4 braid did was to curl over as it burned, so that it's length above the solid wax was kept consistent by the excess being consumed or burned off. Now comes the balance of wick to fuel. If the wick is too thin or can't for some reason, construction or material, feed the fuel it will not last, it will keep getting smaller and smaller until it is drowned out by the fluid fuel, this is what happened to my candles. If it feeds or consumes the fuel too fast the wick will not burn off at a short enough point and too much fuel will be liquefied and run off the candle creating failure, wax everywhere and a flaming torch of a wick.

Getting this in balance can take a little time, I've contacted my supplier to recommend a wax I can use with these wicks and a sample of wicks that I can test to find the best balance of cup, wick and wax for what I'm trying to accomplish. I know it can be done because beeswax tea lights are available.

I'll keep ya'all informed.
Mike
 
Thanks Texasred66.

subscribed- as beeswax "survival" candles are spendy
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You bet, I started making candles 15 years or so ago and I was getting a dollar a piece for them, well 6" colonial tapers.

I got stung by so many bees out riding around on the motorcycle that I figured all these farms and groves down here had to have bee keepers so I found the local supplier and was buying raw bulk beeswax from him. When I started I was paying $1.34 a pound.
 
hushnel

what was your source for the wicks?
i have 2.25 lbs. of bees wax and would'nt mind making a candle or two

i still use my Early Winters latern
all good
buzz
I'll keep ya'all informed.
Mike

excellent tutorial
 
You want to match your wax to wick and this will be determined by the thickness of the candle you want to make. You can use a mould or you can hand dip to a certain thickness. A hand dipped candle, though more labor intensive is a better candle, the thinking is that more air/oxygen gets trapped in the candle by dipping, cooling and re-dipping.

I have used candlewic.com extensively in the past and they are good. I'm using a new source now but because of the failure mentioned above I can't really recommend them until all is made right, they seem like good people so far they are trying to help me achieve the results I desire.
 
hushnel said:
I'm running a candle test at the moment, not too close to a ventilator, for those of you interested I completed a 10,000 hour over haul on the 7200 in the picture this morning logging a mear 7.5 hours for the overhaul, calibration and Performance Verification Procedure (PVP), fixed a Drager Evita IIdura having a problem with it's O2 sensor oxygen amplifier, and I'm calibrating a fluctuation Frequency problem on a high Frequency oscillator, the Sensormetics aka Viasys, 3100a. I"ve got Bird VIPs, Hamilton Galileos and a few Viasys Aveas waiting their turn.



Well, it ain't like they're lit. We have OCCA inspecting at the moment and I'm busting my ass getting all the vents up to compliance, funny how you can't get them down when they're due but bring in a few inspectors and it's an out of the wood work emergency.

So during my diner break last night I snapped this picture. Rest assured my work is exemplary and has been for the 27 years I've been at it. :) your loved ones will not experience equipment failure on any of my vents.



PB 7200, second keyboard upgrade. We are slowly weening them out as they become just too expensive to repair or parts become unavailable. It shows how good the guy I trained and I keep this old stuff running. We had the Emerson MP3s running until just a few years ago, it just became insane keeping them maintained.
Click to expand...

You are most talented. We have alot in common. I can smell the candles. Regards. Loosearrow
 
I have thrown a box of the LED flameless ones in my pack but I will have to try some of these.
 
The second supply link I posted above has tried but they don't seem to either be very interested or just don't have the knowledge, I ordered 20 pounds of soy wax that they said works very well in the tea lights with the wicks I bought from them. They have the best price on the polycarbonate cups so I may still use them now and then.

I contacted Candlewic.com about my problem, I had found my spool of cotton four ply 2/0 wick and made up a couple more candles, I've got to stop doing that, one will be enough for the purpose of testing. After 1 hour and 50 minutes I had catastrophic failure. The 2/0 wick is too much for the tea light cups, though this wick works perfectly in the 6" colonial taper that has a diameter of about 3/4" in the tea light with an even wider diameter it burned too hot, it got up to 211 degrees the wick was not burning down and at the time of 1:50 it became a fire hazard.

So I've bracketed the wicks, too small and too large. There are four other sizes and assorted material compositions yet to try, I am certain that at least one maybe two will do the job. Candlewic.com is sending me an assortment of pre assembled wicks to test at no charge along with my order of 4 lbs of 2/0 cotton wick, that's a life time supply, unless I go into a very much higher rate of production.
 
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