# Beeswax Candle Question(s)



## Nomad (Dec 19, 2002)

I have made a lot of soy wax jar candles, but I have a call for some beeswax candles. I have no clue about making them. I need to make them about 6" tall and maybe 3/4" or under in diameter at the base. All I've seen so far is the cost of the wax is pretty high. I think it said it was because of something causing the bees to die off. Can anyone direct me to a source of supplies and information? And about how much could I sell a candle of those dimensions for? Would they have to be hand dipped or are there molds for such candles? Thanks very much.

Nomad


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

There are molds for them...any candle mold will do, but hand dipped candles will sell for more in most areas than molded candles.

prices on beeswax varies WIDELY. Most craft stores will sell it for $8.00 a lb or more. When I have to buy it, I buy from Dadant and sons. (western Illinois) in 100lb packages. It's gone up to $4.40 a lb I see. At 25lbs (smallest slab) it's $4.76/lb. In the 1lb cakes it's only $5.06 a lb. (plus shipping, of course) I haven't bought any for a couple years now. (shipping is usually nasty on anything that heavy tho.)

You can get dark wax for less, yellow for mid price, and the white is usually the most expensive. (white is either the capping wax or it's been bleached)

Beeswax candles can, by law, be up to 50% petroleum based wax and still be called beeswax. It lowers the melt point a bit, but not enough to be real noticeable. I do 100% beeswax mainly because I have the wax. 

check around for local apiaries. There should be quite a number in NE Ohio, as I recall. They will often be willing to sell unfiltered wax for less than the craft stores sell it. You will have to melt and filter it tho. (not a hard job. just melt, filter thru cheese cloth to get the bee bits out)

You could also post a question in Beekeeping forum on HT to see if anyone in Ohio can help you out


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

btw, you can dip a couple dozen sets of candles in the time it takes to make ONE pair of molded candles. You just keep dipping for an hour and get bunches of candles, instead of pouring ONE set and going off to do something else while you wait for the candles to cool in the mold. 

quite a few online "how to"s about dipping candles.


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## Nomad (Dec 19, 2002)

Wisconsin Ann said:


> btw, you can dip a couple dozen sets of candles in the time it takes to make ONE pair of molded candles. You just keep dipping for an hour and get bunches of candles, instead of pouring ONE set and going off to do something else while you wait for the candles to cool in the mold.
> 
> quite a few online "how to"s about dipping candles.


I wasn't aware that you could dip candles that quickly. I figured the time involved would make volume production impossible. Looks like I learned something today...as with most days. Thanks for all of the information. I'll need to look into this more deeply. I have a market if I can figure out a way to sell them cheap enough. Now I have one more question and it's probably a dumb one, but if I made a taper about 6" tall with a base of 5/8"-3/4", about how much wax by weight would that be? Thanks.


Nomad


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

If you figure approximately 3.5oz per pair (1.75oz per candle) you'll be in the ball park.

When you dip candles, you need extra wax for the pot so you can dip the 6 inches. You don't USE more wax than if you mold them, but you need more for the pot itself to give you enough to dip in.

You can dip candles using just a wick that is (for a 6inch pair) 14inches long, held over a 1"wide lathe/stick, and a weight of some sort (like a steel nut) tied on the bottom of each wick end to hold the wick straight. When giving demos I use a lathe with a slot cut into each end to keep the wicks apart, and yet I can take the finished pair out without cutting the wick. (after a few dips, so the wick is stiff and won't curl up, you cut off the weights)

dip in your hot wax, hang on a holder of some sort (a dowel works well, or some form of hook) to cool a bit, while you dip the next pair. 

You can make multi candle dippers, or buy them. Start off doing a single pair dip at a time and see how it goes for you. All you need is a deep, narrow pot for the wax, (at least 8" deep to make 6" candles...electric hot pots work or the old style coffee pots for electric heating); a thermometer (keeping the wax at temp is important); wick; and wax. 

heat source should NOT be a flame. electric hot plate works well. I use a deep fat fryer to heat water and put my tall cans (you could use tall cans from spaghetti sauce perhaps or similar) into the water to heat up. I can control the temp in the deep fat fryer easily, and can put different waxes in at the same time in their own cans.

It DOES take time. Dipping is something you don't walk away from. Dip pair 1. hang it up. dip pair 2. hang it up. dip pair 3, hang it up......dip pair 6, hang it up. Go back to pair 1 and do it all over.

dip until it's the diameter you want. Maybe 12 dips? I've never really counted. At the end, you roll the bottom and flatten it. If you need to straighten the candle, that's the time to do it. They stay warm through out the process...it's important that they not cool TOO much before the next layer goes on or the wax won't adhere to the candle.

After the last layer, you can dip in ice water ifyou want to get a super shine. Polishing beeswax candles is done with an old nylon. Like buffing silver sort of.

I have a couple of 6 candle dippers that I use when I want to go quickly. 

If you want a cylindrical candle, instead of a taper, you need to dip from both ends. so....the wick is locked together on each end and you dip holding end 1 for the first dip, then end 2 for the 2nd dip, and so on.


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## Nomad (Dec 19, 2002)

I think I have something I can use to melt the wax. I have an aluminum pitcher that I use to melt the soy wax on top of the stove. I also have a deep fryer/crock pot. Maybe I can put water in the crock pot and melt the wax in the pitcher. That sounds sort of like what you mentioned, and a good way to control the heat. So now all I have to do is find wax and some kind of wick. The wicks I use for my jars are a certain length and are already inserted in a metal piece on one end which is glued on the bottom of the jar. Obviously the wicks for tapers are different. Thanks again.

Nomad


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## twohunnyz (Apr 27, 2006)

I found that it takes around 30 dips for a 3/4 inch diameter candle. Yes, I actually counted.  A nice tip for helping the wick stay straight from the beginning is to dip the wick in the melted wax to prime it. I hold it in the wax until the bubbles stop (you'll see what I mean). Dipped tapers develop a natural taper, but to increase it you can gently roll the candle while it is still warm. 

Aluminum can discolor beeswax, so just be aware. I found online directions to make a wax melter. DH made it for me and it works wonderfully! Sorry, I can't find the link in my bookmarks.  A Google search should bring it up for you. I tried the slow-cooker, but it took forever to melt the wax. One thing that does help is to break smaller chunks off the block of wax.

Pure beeswax is expensive, but as a candle it also burns hours longer than any other natural wax. The cost balances out even for the customer. Plus, you can't compare the health benefits! My favorite source for candle making supplies, including lovely bulk wax, is Betterbee.


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