Candle design and safety testing is critical to us. Choosing a wick for a candle that performs well and passes the safety test is where many hours are spent. Everything we do as a candle maker company is to create a perfect recipe for a perfect candle. When we choose the wicks, we take into account the different diameters of the containers, testing different serial numbers of cotton wicks, different melt and pour wax temperature, different load fragrances and many other factors.
During testing we face various issues such as: wax melt pool is created in less than 2 hour (where it needs constant trimming to prevent carbon build and black soot), or tunneling (wick up), or overheating the container, or a hot throw issue, etc...
For the testing process, we have created several testing steps.
Below we will show you the first step - wick selection
For testing we pour the wax mixed with fragrance up to half level (the critical point of overheating the containers) in three identical containers with three different sizes of the same serial wick.
Tip: The ‘’Golden Rule” to reduce the carbon and black soot build up is to trim the wick ¼ of an inch.
Our Plan: To check the candles every hour for a four hour burn interval, to see how the burn performs.
FIRST HOUR CHECK
Left to Right: The smallest wick, the medium wick, the largest wick.
On the first hour check they are almost similar and do not achieve a full melt pool.
Flame is steady and less than one inch in height.
SECOND HOUR CHECK
On the second hour check, there is a small ''hang up'' (wax remaining) on the side of the container.
The flame flickers a little bit, but not enough to overheat the container.
No carbon build, no black soot.
THIRD HOUR CHECK
On the third hour check, the melt pool achieved the side of the containers.
Carbon build shows up on the smallest and larger wick, with no black soot. Flames also flicker on the smallest and larger wick, and get close to the side of containers and increase the container temperature.
Basically, when we perform safety testing, the goal is to get a safe, full melt pool at the half point with container temperature in the approved limits of candle safety testing guidelines.
FOURTH HOUR CHECK
Here’s when we really see the difference between the wicks.
The medium wick consistently performs the best during the four hour burning test.
It had the complete smallest deep melting pool (less than one inch) with no additional ‘’wax hang up’’ and with a minimal container temperature, no carbon build or black soot. So, the medium wick passed the test to the next step of testing procedures.
The smallest and largest wicks are ruled out at this point because of excessive flame flickering and carbon build up.
The smallest and largest wicked candles are considered failed candles.
ALL THREE CANDLES AFTER EXTINGUISHING THEM
Left to right: smallest wick, medium wick, largest wick
ALL THREE CANDLES AFTER 4 HOURS EXTINGUISHED
Left to right: Smallest wick, medium wick, largest wick