Candle making using surplus wax

I had a little Beeswax to spare recovered from unneeded frames. So made some Tealights, I filtered the wax and made the candles all went well tried a couple of different sizes of wick. They burn quite well for about 10 to 15 mins then the flame gets so tiny it almost goes out. Is there anything else I should be doing eg. refining the wax more, using a certain type of wick or leaving to cure or set for longer? I am using the polycarbonate Tealight containers and have used both pre waxed wick with retainers and also retainers with thicker wick and beeswax.

I used to make candles when I was a teenager - maybe a hidden wish to set the house on fire? :smiling_imp:

I have a suspicion that the wick sizes sold by most candle supplies places are for paraffin wax candles, and the thickness required for beeswax is likely different, given the different melt temperatures of the two waxes. Did you buy wicks specially for beeswax candles?

Do you trim the wick to about 5-6mm (1/4") before lighting? Candles work by melting a pool of wax, then drawing it up the wick by capillary action. If the wick is too thin, it will drown in the pool of melted wax. It won’t do that until it has burned down though, so if you start with a longer wick, everything looks fine for the first few minutes. Sounds like the wick may be too thin. You can probably try rethreading the candles with a thicker wick. There is a helpful thread about it here:

Outstanding info here:
http://www.kerzenidee.de/shop_content.php?coID=3889907

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Thanks Dawn there are a couple of us having the same problem. We are obviously keen to sort it. I have been trying thicker wicks and even some with a metal core.

Will check out your links. Thanks

I have been checking out this link too. http://www.4candles.co.uk/candle-making/guides/wick-choice.html

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Your site looks good too.

Just to get this nugget of info onto this forum, it appears that one recurring problem that people have with beeswax candles is impurities. If there are fine particles in your wax, they can get stuck in the wick and block the flow of wax up into the flame, so the candle goes out. You need to have a really good rendering method to prevent this - some even suggest using a fine paint filter for the last purification step. Might be worth a thought.

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Metal core wicks are really meant for paraffin wax candles. For beeswax, many people seem to prefer an open weave square core wick. Just a suggestion. :blush:

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I have been making tea lights for years. You need thick tabbed wicks ( or you can tab them yourself) they need to be bees waxed not paraffin. Most reputable candle making suppliers do them. A tea light should burn for 7 hours

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Thanks Dee do you have a link or other where I can purchase the correct ones please How thick do they need to be for tealights?. Do you do anything special to filter or purify your wax?

http://www.4candles.co.uk/candle-making-wick/waxed-tealight.html

Go to the bottom of the page

Wickwell NT Wick
NT23 or NT26 work for me.
They will send you samples so you can experiment

As for cleaning the wax I just strain it through muslin in a low oven Then use an old metal teapot to pour it. You always get some rubbish settling out at the bottom so make sure you stop pouring before it drips into your candle

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Thank you very much for the helpful post. We’re also active in the manufacture of candles. Please visit our site. قیمت شمع تزئینی قیمت شمع فانتزی

Interested in how many people here were participating in making candles from Beeswax? My candles stay for 10-15 minutes also. If you are having any problems with keeping candles lit, try to cut away some wax at the top of the around the wick. By the way, if you are not a bee owner, where do you get Beeswax? I’ve been ordering here for the last time : Beeswax Yellow. Nice quality and no smoking smell.

Bees wax burns slower than paraffin wax candles so I would go over board with a wick thickness and give that a try. Dip the wick in melted wax and then pour the bees wax to the wick.
I used to tinker about making wax candles by the dip and cool method with really ‘cruddy’ wax with hemp string and they burnt ok.
Regards