I can’t get a hot throw. What am I doing wrong?
I have been making candles for myself for a few months, and now I’m trying to start a small business to sell to coworkers, family, etc. Maybe farmer’s markets one day- if they sell well. Typically when I would make candles for myself, I would make 2 at a time, use a small ~ 7 oz jar with a bamboo lid, an 8% fragrance oil load, wooden wicks and Freedom Soy Wax beads. The only difference is back when I started, I didn’t measure wax temperature (pure ignorance) and just added fragrance oil, stirred and poured. Everything worked fine. Great hot throw, great cold throw. No tunneling, no frosting. Since I’ve decided to make candles for others, I figured I now need to have an actual process with testing and such.
Process Information
All of my FOs are from Bramble Berry and are considered a “strong” scent profile in regard to candle making. I’ve seen glowing reviews about these FO’s performance in candles. I’m using these FOs at 8%.
My “selling“ vessels hold 10 oz of wax, and are straight wall glass jars with a screw on lid.
I’m using a wooden wick that is allegedly appropriate for my wax type and vessel size.
I’m still using Freedom Soy Wax beads. I follow the directions on the bag of the wax. Heat wax to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, immediately add in FO, stir for 2 minutes and pour into vessels. I use an infrared thermometer and make sure the temperature correlates with a candle/candy thermometer. I let them cool for a few hours, then put the lids on, and let them cure for 1-1.5 weeks.
A month ago, I made a 7 oz tester candle of each of my 4 scents I’m planning on selling. I did the process above. I did a 4 hour burn trial. Cold throw? Wonderful. Melt pool? Right to the edges. Hot throw? Nonexistent. Maybe the faintest whiff of a hot throw, but at this point, I’m honestly probably convincing myself that I smell something. I’m even testing these candles in my home office, and in my bathroom, whereas my little 7 oz beginner candles were scenting my entire living room.
2 weeks ago, I made 6 10 oz candles of just one of my scents, honestly in hopes that my tester candles were just flukes. They weren’t. Same exact situation. Nonexistent hot throw.
I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Is there any advice that anyone could give to me about trying to achieve a hot throw? I‘m so early into this testing phase and “candle biz” that I feel like I’m just throwing money away in FOs and wax. On the bright side, I guess I’ll have a lot of candles in case the power goes out.