Sciencey types and other smarties- If

[amyrose2712]

If I want something(wax) to cool more slowly in a colder room than usual, do I pour it at a hotter temp or lower temp? I'm thinking that if I pour too hot the colder ambient temp will make it cool too quickly? What say you?

[Kali]

1. if you want it to cool slowly

insulate it from the cold ambient environment

pouring hot or warm - how/why are you getting to that temp? if it has to get hot to function then pour hot, if it only has to get warm pour at warm, no point getting hot if only need warm

[amyrose2712]

2. Fragrance and dye chips need to be mixed at 180ish F...

and it is usually poured at 115 or so. But last year when I did this I kept the house at 75. The house is now at 65. If the wax cools too quickly then it creates air and sink holes. So I am trying to change the pour temp accordingly. Maybe I will just put them under a box. Which is feasible when only making a few candles, but once I start making more at once I am not so sure.

[Kali]

3. I doubt it will matter much for only 10 degrees, but I would try it on a small batch

to check before doing a pile of them. Disclaimer: I have no real candle making experience!

seems to be quite a bit of info from the google - I searched cooling candles ambient temperature

http://www.google.com/search?q=cooling+candles+ambient+temperature

[amyrose2712]

4. Yes there is LOTS of info and everyone has there own method.

You would think that 10 degrees doesn't matter but every little thing matters when making candles. Thanks for your help. Sometimes I over think things. I just made 2 so we shall see. Sometime cooling too quickly makes holes.

[Kali]

5. my experience is more with cooking food

and I have noticed the more there are a million ways to do something the more likely it will work however you do it. let us know how it goes.

[amyrose2712]

6. This post is the 3rd result in Google!nt

[Kali]

7. ha!

:crazy:

[krispos42]

10. Will the wax pour at 105°F?

If you want to maintain the cooling rate, you have to maintain the same difference between the wax and the air.

You were doing it at 40° above ambient, so you should try to do the same at all times.

That should maintain the same cooling curve. Whether the cooling curve intersects the phase diagram in the same place at the higher temp... :shrug:

[amyrose2712]

16. I think that is the lowest I can pour before solidification begins

again. I will try that. thanks!

[kentauros]

8. Open your oven and heat up your kitchen

Raise the ambient temperature in there, and use the counters if you have the room.

I understand about the little stuff that might seem inconsequential. Doing any kind of pulled-sugar work can't be done on even a mildly humid day. It just doesn't set up right. You'd think a solid like sugar wouldn't be so easily affected, yet it is.

Good luck, whatever you choose to do :hi:

[mike_c]

9. three things influence the rate of cooling....

1) The magnitude of the temperature gradient, so the greater the difference between the wax and it's surroundings, the faster it will cool. Of course, even if it cools faster, it'll still stay above your target temperature for longer if it starts out hotter. Also, you can adjust the gradient by warming the room, or setting the container of wax into a larger container of warm water.

2) The temperature conductivity of the container. Insulate it if you want to slow the rate of cooling. Wrap at towel around it, for example.

3) The area of the container, i.e. the area of the boundary between the wax and its surroundings. I presume the container will be a mold of some sort, so you probably don't have much control over variable #3, but for example a compact shape will cool more slowly than a long, flat shape with lots of surface area (think wax in a drinking glass rather than the same amount of wax poured into a thin layer in a large flat baking pan).

[amyrose2712]

11. Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for...

There is really no desired temp per se, the change just can't be drastic. And these are jar candles, so yea not much control over #3. About #2 I tried to put them in an overturned box but it did not help much. Last night I poured the wax at 130F and got huge holes around the wick. I did consider the larger temperature gradient but I thought the higher temp would still make it take longer. In a 72-75F room, I usually pour at 115F I can maybe allow it to cool -another 10F before it starts to solidify again. I may just have to be less Scroogy with the heat. Just trying to save $ and energy. THANKS AGAIN. What field are you in?

[mike_c]

13. I'm a biologist and ecologist...

...and I just gave you my mini-lecture on heat flux in small animals, LOL. Heat is heat, though, no matter where it resides!

[amyrose2712]

14. Awesome...

Actually I have learned that in some distant past of mine. I have 110 credits towards a BS in Environmental Studies. But I think I learned that part in 1997 in the one ecology class I had. My gear was more toward hydrology and soil science. Thank again. Adding you to my buddy list if you don't mind! Where do you work, if you don't mind me asking? I am really hoping to go back to school soon to finish my degree, but I am afraid I may have to retake some classes, like GIS and DEFIANTLY statistics!

[mike_c]

17. I'm in the pacific northwest...

...in the Department of Biological Sciences at Humboldt State University in Arcata, CA. We have an AWESOME undergraduate ecology program!

[amyrose2712]

18. Oh my sounds like heaven.

I'm in southern NJ. I went to a a state college, The Richard Stockton College of NJ. Which is where I hope to return soon. If I don't get back soon I fear it will never happen, I'm no spring chicken.

[krispos42]

19. If you could pre-warm the mold to, say, 105 degrees...

...that would help. Maybe a bit of time in the toaster oven, or with a hairdryer.

If you could put the mold in a pot of warm water, say, 120 degrees, pour in the hot wax, and let the whole shebang cool off, that might be best.

[LynneSin]

12. You doing BDSM in a Freezer or something

:rofl:

[amyrose2712]

15. HA...if only

:evilgrin:

[FloridaJudy]

20. Put it on top of the fridge

It's close to body heat up there. That's where I grew my urine cultures, and my grandmother cultured yogurt - though not at the same time, thank God!