Establishing Burn Time
Establishing Burn Times
When making any type of candle that is intended for the consumer to burn, it is important to establish a burn time for your candle. Establishing a burn time will assist to ensure the quality of the candle is upheld and when used properly can be a very effective marketing tool. The burn time should coincide with your burning instructions, so when a consumer questions your burn time, it is important that you have data to support the burning rate.
While there is not a “true” regulation on how to determine a burn time the generally recognized standard is to light the candle, burn for 4 hours and blow out. You then wait a minimum of 1 hour and relight the candle. This procedure should be followed until the entire candle is consumed. Notes should also be recorded along the way indicating the extent of smoking, possibly mushrooming or other key characteristics. Using this method also will be of great assistance in determining if you have the proper wick size for your candle. Here are some tips:
- If when you complete the burning cycle and there is wax on the sides of the container, it probably means the wick used was too small and you should go up a wick size and start the process again.
- If all the wax was consumed and you had excessive smoking and sooting you should try a smaller wick.
- If the wick “drowns out” during the burning cycle your wick was too small.
- If your candle burns much faster than other candles you have recorded burn time notes for, your wick may have been too large.
These points are just some general suggestions on selecting the proper wick. Selecting your wick is one of the most important components of your candle and using this method will help ensure that you are using the proper size. If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact us.
For more information, or to order wicks and wick assemblies, go to Candle Wicks for Candle Making