Homemade tea Light candles

I used some hemp cord I bought at wally for wicks, bee's wax from ebay and either paper towel tubes or tp tubes as single use molds. I get some wax just shy of smoking hot then immerse the cordage until it is completely saturated. I never knew about the wick matching but these do burn well and completely.
 
That's cool as it gets, some times things just come together. I've never had that kind of luck with candles, even a few I've bought in the past didn't burn right.

Your beeswax candles don't run or drip?
 
Yes they do run, I just use them stuck to a plate or jar lid. Thanks for the info, I'm glad I got lucky but I'll know better than to depend on it next time. It also explains why the votive candles I bought would never stay lit for more than an hour or so, no wonder they were so cheap.!
 
Duh, it took a bit! I guess if I had the correct wick size and they were actually burning completely, there should be no running?
 
Perhaps this can help you in picking the correct wick,
Click to expand...
Yes, good info there, I have the two sizes they recommend in the cotton braid ordered, they will be included in the test samples Candlewic is sending me, all beeswax is a little different but I should be able to match up the wicks,

I guess if I had the correct wick size and they were actually burning completely, there should be no running?
Click to expand...

Well, you have experienced both to big and too small wick diameter, the way the hemp cord is put together will not be able to curl as it burns creating a constant length of wick for the balance of fuel to candle stick diameter, beeswax is known for not dripping, if all of the components are in balance, the candle is level and it is out of the wind. If you are burning the candle in a dish or candle tin that captures the running wax, it's OK. It works and the flame doesn't run away, a flame less than an inch is good.

For me the tea light is a new problem and does not follow the diameter, wick, fuel physics that I have become accustomed to, in this type of candle all the wax melts and feeds the wick like a liquid fuel lantern. mckrob's link is the first reference I've seen that covers wicks for tea lights using beeswax. I used the wick selector at the candle supply I mentioned above and it gave me a wrong solution.

I know it would be a lot easier to just buy the things but it just ain't fun that way for me :) I don't know what these candles cost but it looks like .32 per with the $6.00/ lbs and .23 with the local wax some where around $3.00/ lbs.
 
hushnel said:
I know it would be a lot easier to just buy the things but it just ain't fun that way for me :) I don't know what these candles cost but it looks like .32 per with the $6.00/ lbs and .23 with the local wax some where around $3.00/ lbs.
Click to expand...

that's much cheaper than I paid for completed one

has anyone found suitable small tins w/ a lid?
 
has anyone found suitable small tins w/ a lid?
Click to expand...

Yes, I purchased a bunch of them from Specialty Bottle for a leather wax I made up a few years back that I gave away with the custom motorcycle seats I was making at the time. I have recently bought an assortment to try out for different projects, both friction top and screw top.

I'm heading off to the Alafia River Rendezvous this coming Friday so this process will have to wait until we return. Making up candles in one of these tins is another good idea and I'll work on it. It will take the same process as the tea lights I'm working on now.
 
^ nice :)

the TND1 looks very close to the same size tin that Pheylonian is using, looks like the TND2 would work pretty well too
 
It might, I'm wondering how my 2/0 wicks would work with a tin. I know the 2/0 are too large for the 1.5" diameter tea light. If I bought an assortment of the these tins up to about the TND-4 at 2.6" diameter one of them should work.

TND-2

tnd2.jpg
 
I've been crazy busy with the Rendezvous and my brother and his crowd rolling into town but I have been working towards the goal.

I'm still waiting for a shipment of wick samples for the pure beeswax. I've used the 2/0 wick in these and it is OK when the tea light is in the UCO lantern, but there is a flow problem with out the heat provided by the closed environment of the lantern, it heats up the wax and it flows better than the testing I've been doing with the tea light cup just sitting in the open.

I've been fooling around with a mixture trying to utilize the wicks I have. In order to use the wics from Candle Science I ordered 20 lbs of Golden Brands Soy Wax. This stuff burns well in the tea light cups, maybe too well. The wax liquefies totally and the candle burns with a high flame in the UCO. This total liquifying is a little disconcerting, it makes the lantern difficult to move with out spilling fuel/wax. I've mixed up beeswax and this soy wax and have fairly good results, the flame is a bit tamer and only the top 16th of an inch or so is liquid, so some spilling may occur but it falls more in line with that of a normal candle.

I've also been fooling around with candles in tins. The same mixture used for the tea light works well but I haven't done full testing yet.
 
I received a sample pack of various wicks from the supplier. Three different gauge wicks where included. The first two failed, one started putting out black soot at 1 hour and 10 min. the other lasted an other half hour then I had to shut it down. Not encouraging, then the last of the sample gauge and after an hour and a half it was in excellent balance putting out a nice flame of about an inch when I needed to shut it down, I will do further testing when I get home tonight, there is only so much fooling around I can do at work.

This could be my solution to 100% beeswax tea light candles though I have to age some and run more tests. Candles get a little better with age, meaning for the same wick they are cast with they will burn longer than when new. At this point a wick that worked perfectly with a newly poured candle will perform a little less admirably aged, occasionally.

At one and a half hour.

2115077710033885154S600x600Q85.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top