this week in preps

[Anonymous]

bee's wax does burn longer and cleaner and gives off a wonderful flame, very comforting

bee's wax can only be shipped during cooler months.

it is very expensive, though, and with the bee problem it is hard to come by

if you have interested, I think I got an email from a candle supplier that has some on special.  do you want me to look and see if I still have it?



I only make candles (mostly votives) specifically for use for light, warmth, etc.  I do use fragrance and sometimes coloring, but my votives are made to be used... and therefore aren't fancy or decorative

[beast]

a few years back i saw  some 24 packs of voltive candles for sale for something like a buck at ocean state job lot so i bought a few packs and put them in the hutch. i'm glad i did because candles have gotten too expensive now. i also have some wax sitting in the bottom of my refridgerator i got to make some candles myself,but i propbably won't unless it's a real emergency.

[Anonymous]

why do you have wax in the refrigerator?


votives are a specialty candle, they are a free standing pillar  candle when you purchase them, but they are specifically designed and formulated to be ONLY used in a tight fiting container.  Do NOT burn a votive without being in an appropriate container.  they will 'pool' and make a mess.

and some idiot I know started a fire with one by setting it in and burning it a plastic cool whip bowl

[Anonymous]

candles are horribly expensive now because parafin has doubled DOUBLED in price in the last year and so has soy wax and palm wax.

candles coming out of china in the last couple of years are basically worth less.  Family members buy them and then realize they don't burn properly and end up giving them to me to use for firestarters.

look at the grocery store for those 'novena candles'.  they used to be 79 cents forever, now they are $1.49 at the cheap store.  they don't fill them to the top anymore, the last bunch I saw in my last shopping trip were only filled about 60%

however, the containers are usually strong and even though most of them use the china poopy wax, they will burn fairly well.  even though they aren't filling the containers, you can still get a good 50-60 hours of burn time out of them if you burn them this way: burn for 2-5 hours, extinguish flame, burn again for a few hours the next day.  it will last you a week to 10 days that way.

[Shadow]

I've got a few suppliers that I use on occasion on ebay that
I get smaller batches for my store, Mostly lots of one ounce
bars for easier repackaging for sale in smaller lots. And yes,
it is pricey but worth it IMO. At roughly .50 cents an ounce
I can afford it on occasion.

But I have little use for 25 pounds of it at one shot. 

I have a small pot of softened bee's wax I use for polishing
and protecting some of my knife handles and stuff after I
finish them. It took me a long time to get the mineral oil
to wax ratio right. LOL Originally I read it was 1:1 but found
that it was still too stiff and had to up it to 2:1 (2 parts oil
to 1 part wax).

And there is something I read on a survival forum you both
might be interested in if you don't already know about it....

A little item named a "Tuna Candle", as the name implies it
is a home made candle in a tuna can but I figure any small
can will do. Just set four or five wicks in the can and pour your
wax into the can and let it cool. It provides not only light and heat
but it also offers an easily portable candle in it's own container.

I have a buttload of candles myself. We got caught during an
icestorm one year and that was the last time I was ever going
to be caught without enough of the little buggers. I bought some
tea candles (a big pack of 50) a few years ago to sell in my stores
but decided to hang onto them instead.



sorry for the long post, I'm rambling on today it seems....

[Anonymous]

yeah, tuna cans will work fine... just burn them on a plate or something similar for safety sake

I'd only use two or three wicks at most, though, you don't want it to pool too quickly.

if I used three wicks, I would put them in a triangle shape 1" apart

you can get wicking though that is rated for 2-3 inch containers and in that case only one wick would be needed

[Anonymous]

I have a buttload of candles myself.

one can never have too many candles

 

I always try to keep a case of wax in storage because if need be, I can melt the wax on top of the woodstove and still make votives when the power goes out.

I do give many away, but if necessary, they will make a good barter item

[Shadow]

I've made wicking out of cotton twine and string before. It burns
a little fast but since you can buy a big honking roll for a dollar...

[Anonymous]

just a hint:  Before you use that for wicking,  melt some wax, soak the twine in the melted wax for several minutes, take it out, lay it on some waxed paper, let it prime or sit for a few days, then cut it into the length you need for your wick and you will have a better burn.  Us old candle makers call that priming the wick.  I do it with all my wicking.

[Shadow]

Thanks for the tip. 

That might explain why the times I used it it burned quicker
than I figured it should've.

[Anonymous]

wicking is basically various forms of twine, some with added zinc cores

just let me add, leave that twine soaking in the melted wax (and keep a heat source under the wax) for a good 10-15 minutes so that it will soak up a good deal of the wax.  and let it sit for a few days or longer before you use it as wicking.

and let your candles 'set' for at least three days before you use them.  I let mine 'cure' as we call it, for weeks or months, if I have a good stash saved up and don't need to use them right away.

also, store candles in a cardboard box.  people often put them in baggies or plastic containers and then wonder why their baggies and containers smell wonderful but the candles have no scent left... the only plastic that will NOT absorb the fragrance is polyprophelene.

I use the dollar store shoe boxes for storage.  They do not absorb the scent.  I can get 48 votives in each box.  I think they have a number 5 on them.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the tip. 

That might explain why the times I used it it burned quicker
than I figured it should've.

oh, and make sure there is no plastic added to the twine. use the cottom

do you have any hemp twine?  Some people say you can prime that and cure it up nicely.

do you  know there are over 200 types and sizes of wicking?