# Beeswax candles - wick size?



## Fla_Hammock_Gal

Hi, I have been trying to make my own candles, I do both hand-dipped and poured pillars. These aren't for sale, they are for us to use, so perfection is not what I am after.

I know that when using beeswax that the wick needs to be a little larger, and that square braid is recommended (at least that is what the books and online forums say that I've searched). 

Yet, none tell you... you need _this_ size. So, could someone possibly have pity on me, it is getting tiring experimenting and still not getting it right.

Pillars - I use both 2" and 3" rounds. As for hand-dipped, I use the same size wick as pillars, am thinking that may not be the best thing to do.

I have a roll of 2/0 square braid wick. Supposedly that will work for rolled, tapers or pillars up to 3". For my hand-dipped, it seems to burn too fast, for my 3" pillars, it burns a hole down the middle, leaving the outside. As for the 2" it is a guessing game. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Very frustrating.

So, what do you all use?

And... does anyone use the beeswax/water method? Where water is put into the vat/kettle and wax put on top and then you dip? Am told that it saves having to use so much wax, but was not told specifics, just to keep adding wax and water. I tried this method, concept was great, but my execution, well, it lacked. It got the point when I finished that I had about 1" thickness of wax left in vat and the rest was water. Needless to say, bubbles galore that love to spit when we use them.

:help:

Thanks in advance!


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## Wisconsin Ann

In my experience, a 2/0 is too large for dipped tapers. Most tapers are 3/4inch at the base. I use a 1. You can also use a flat braid for your types of candles. In general...use a 1 for candles up to 1" diameter. Size 2wick for 1"-2" candles. and a size 3 for single wicked 3"candles. After 3"diameter, you'll want to use 2 or 3 wicks per candle....evenly spaced. 

One thing you can do is cut the beeswax with a lower melt wax..regular candle wax. A 60/40 blend of beeswax/lower should give you a good 3" pillar using a 2/0 wick. Do a test candle or 2. You can always remelt and try again. Remember to let your fresh candles age at least 24 hours..couple days is better..before burning. They need to harden off all the way through and that takes time.

Beeswax melts at a higher temp that other waxes, so you need a slightly larger flame for the same sized candle than you do with other waxes...as in: 1.5" diameter candle in paraffin can use a #1wick, but with beeswax, you NEED the #2. 

The water thing...you will need less wax to make the candles...which is good if you're running out of wax at the end of the day. BUT you run the risk of the water creating bubbles. The idea is to use just a thin layer of wax on the top of the water. The other problem you have is the possibility of the water boiling and spraying hot wax all over the place. It's just never been worth the trouble for me. I have tall skinny tubes that I use to dip candles. The tubes are aluminum, 4" diameter.


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## Fla_Hammock_Gal

Thank you.


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