# now that i have had a good cry...candle problems



## HVH (Feb 20, 2008)

honeyshack said:


> ...can someone help me?
> Votives are driving me insane I can pout 24 votives from the same batch of wax, three will come out nice, the rest dig out or wait for them to harden more, watch the flare separate from the body of the candle, and then pop out the candle
> 
> HELP


I am not an expert at making candles but wondered if there was something to be learned from the three votives that released. Were they the first or last three in the run or were they randomly distributed? If they were from either end of the run it could be that temperature differences or wax purity is different between the beginning and the end of the line. Isn't 190F on the high side? It seems like temperatures around 160F would work fine and lead to less shrinkage. I have also read that letting the wax cool slowly reduces shrinkage (i.e. place in an insulated container for cooling). If your room temperature has dropped because of the weather and your wax cools faster, then I think you would have more shrinkage or at least your wax would.


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## honeyshack (Jan 6, 2008)

so far everything i have read says 190 for metal molds and that has worked for the last three years.
The ones that do pop out are random no particular order.

I just did some silicone molds those are poured at 160-165. The smaller ones seem to set ok, the larger one seems to pull away at the top and that is good. I will not be able to see the results until morning though because it needs to cool inorder to get it out without damage to the design.
The last few times the bottom broke off in the mold..see what happens in the AM.

I made some votives with different wax (white instead of yellow) after my bender. No mold release pellets, but i sprayed mold realease from mann lake n the votive cups. Hubby and i put the dehumidifier on RH was at 70 and when they were ready to come out RH was at 60
Out of 14 ten made it alright. 3 of the others would have been fine too if i had not cracked them in the center ...my fault.
Tomoorow i will try with the yellow wax without the humidity so high and without the pellets.

I have to say i realy like the mann lake spray mold release. I have used many a can. but there are now postal regulations that prohibit aresol cans from coming over in freight. So i am SOL. That is why I am using these pellets. They worked fine until i openned the new bag.

uggg...
more trying to figure tomorrow.


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## HVH (Feb 20, 2008)

Sounds like you are on the right path. 
Maybe pre-warming your metal molds would reduce the number of times the bottom cracks off your candles. If wax cools as soon as it hits the metal, then more wax pours onto this layer, a fissure would form and possibly crack. 
Again, I am not into candles but find problems like yours interesting. We hand dip candles each year to sell at the Farmer's Market which makes us novices. 
In one of Richard Taylor's books he discusses candle making and made a point about letting the wax cool slowly to prevent excessive shrinkage. 
I wonder if votive molds all have the same incline on their edges or are some steeper? If a slightly more obtuse angle was available it may pop out of the mold more easily.
Just thinking out loud.


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

honeyshack said:


> I have to say i realy like the mann lake spray mold release. I have used many a can. but there are now postal regulations that prohibit aresol cans from coming over in freight. So i am SOL. That is why I am using these pellets. They worked fine until i openned the new bag.
> 
> uggg...
> more trying to figure tomorrow.


Perhaps you've got the answer there, as they worked fine until you openned the new bag. Perhaps there's a defective bag of release pellets huh?


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

BTW, Putz is my new name, I used to be RayMarler but now i'm just a Putz!


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## honeyshack (Jan 6, 2008)

I think that too. But when i called the supplier, they have had no complaints, and it comes from a 45 gallon drum that they have used from and so have others.
They also called their supplier of these pellets, (i think the parent company) and their advice was dirty wax.

Anyhow, I woke up at this unearthly hour and decided to try and get the large candle out of the silcone mold. Minor damage to the design. That might have happened when i pried abit earlier on. There however was a bit of sticking at the bottom of the mold, no severe damage, nothing a soft cloth will not smooth out.

Putz...funny...welcome...





Putz said:


> Perhaps you've got the answer there, as they worked fine until you openned the new bag. Perhaps there's a defective bag of release pellets huh?


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## honeyshack (Jan 6, 2008)

After much searching, I think i know what the mold release powder/pellet is.
"Kemamide"
It is canola oil based from what i can tell, and what my supplier says it is. On the bag it says mold release.

Wax Additives
Mold Release : use approx 1/2 - 1 TSP per 400 grams of Paraffin wax. Use up to 3 times more for beeswax. Mixes into wax and dissolves.

Product # Description 50g 

Mold Release
522945 Pellets - Hydrogenated Canola
Oil added to wax
helps release 
candle from mold Anyone tried "Pam" cooking spray as a mold release?
Any adverse affects on silcone molds?


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

I've not made any candles in years, and never made very many either. I was just wondering if PAM would work, I dunno tho. Maybe you'll give it a try on the next mold you pour?


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## GaSteve (Apr 28, 2004)

When I used metal molds for tapers, I poured 165 degree wax into room temperature molds. There were always a few that wouldn't come out until I put them in the freezer for a couple hours. After that they fell out.

I have since gone totally to flexible rubber-type molds from Mann Lake and/or Betterbee. The ability to continuously feed the wick off a spool with no wick sealer or mold release is a huge time saver.


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## beekeeper_sd (Oct 30, 2008)

I have been making candles for about 4 years now. Hope I can help you. Sounds to me like you are pouring your candles a little too hot. I usually keep my wax at about 160 degrees. I use metal votive molds with wick pins. I have found that if I fill the molds completely to the top, they are harder to remove however, I usually don't have too much trouble with them. I also use ordinary 100% silicone spray that I get from the local hardware store as a wax release. I usually don't spray my molds every time, usually about every 5-6 uses. My candle room temp is usually about 70-75 degrees. You can also try putting the molds in the freezer, that usually works. Guess that's all the advice I have, good luck!

Carol
www.SimplyBeeLightful.com
--------------------------------------
Have you hugged a bee today?


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## berkshire bee (Jan 28, 2007)

I'm waiting for a batch of candles to cool at the moment. I use metal molds for all of my large votives as well as 8 and 10" tapers. I never pour as hot as you mentioned. 160 to 175 or 180 max. There have been a few times when candles have stuck in tapered metal votive molds and this is what I did. Clean out as much wax as you can but don't scratch the insides of the mold. Invert them on an old cookie sheet. Place popsicle sticks or anything you have to raise them off the surface of the cookie sheet. Put them in the oven at 165 to 170 degrees and let the wax melt. Wipe out with a clean paper towel or old rag, then put them back in for another 5 minutes or so and wipe again with a clean cloth. Take outside (don't spray in the kitchen) while they are still warm and spray with release spray or silicone and they should work like new.

The other thing I would mention is filter,filter,filter when it comes to your wax. No matter how clean my wax looks, I filter again through 68 and 100 mesh cloth as it goes from the melter to the pouring pot. Keep us posted as to how you make out


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## HarovonMogel (Nov 13, 2007)

*Metal is frustrating*

We tried using the metal votive molds for a while without very much success. Same issue that you are having with the candles getting stuck in the metal cups, and getting split while cooling. We bought a silicone votive mold and never went back to metal. The silicone mold is upside-down so the tops of your votives will always be smooth and pretty, and you just need to trim the random little bits off the bottom with an X-Acto knife when you pull them out.

We have also had very mixed luck with polycarbonate plastic molds. One mold, a skep hive, always comes out perfect, but cylinders and other shapes have been very troublesome, losing a percentage of the candles and having to re-pour convinced us to scrap those as well. We took one good candle from a troublesome polycarbonate mold and made our own silicone mold from it that works better than anything sold by the manufacturers - we don't even need to spray it! That's OOMOO silicone for your information.

It is a good idea to systematically test out your variables. You mentioned that 190 degrees was your pour temperature. Try 185, 180, 175, etc, and see if there are any differences. Try pre-warming the mold or immersing it in water (we hear this is good for metal molds but have no direct experience with it). We had some hair-pulling polyurethane taper molds, but after testing things out we figured out the exact optimum pour temperature and hardly lose another candle.

Good luck!


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## honeyshack (Jan 6, 2008)

Thanks guys,

I am ready to try again today. I will pour at several differnt temps to see what happens
As well I have the slab melter off incase it is putting extra humidity in the air.
Just to let you know I filtre filtre filtre. I have the 100 mesh straining cloth for honey that has been cleaned, fold it so that there are about 10 layers and pour it through. Do that a couple of times actually. So hopefully it is clean.
Someone told me klenex, but i went through a pile and it slowed things up considerable

What is OOMOO silicone?

Tammy


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## honeyshack (Jan 6, 2008)

*new developement!!!!*

Okay so i used my squarre votives, poured a round and squarre at the same time....the squarre worked the round did not.
same wax
temps the same
humidity and house temp the same
poured side by side

now what!


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## berkshire bee (Jan 28, 2007)

did you give my advice a try?


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## honeyshack (Jan 6, 2008)

Oh Mr. Berkshire yes i did. I tried all advice given. I even found a sign that said "bang head here"
I did mention after i read you post that i do filter alot.

Well I'm not sure what worked, maybe i was out of practice, 
Maybe God was teaching me patience...i missed that in my genetic make up...
I dunno what...it is working.
They are not perfect in my small world but my husband says they look good.

Now i have to label a pile of candles for tommorrows 10 hour sale. I was hoping to be in bed now but you just can never tell with candles

...the "bang head here" hurts!


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