Wax Inventory
In the last blog installment I described how we prepare the recycled beeswax by melting, filtering, and pouring it into molds. The objective is to clean the wax without excessive handling or heating, and to make it easy to store and reuse.
These are the blocks I've created in the past 3 weeks. I count 64 blocks.
How much wax is in a block? My cooking scale says 2 ounces each.
Rather than piling up enough bricks to compete with Lego, we intend to make candles from this reclaimed wax. How many candles do you think we can create from our inventory of blocks?
How Many Candles?
We did a test - here are some sample candles about 6-7 inches long. We can make three from the 2-ounce block shown above.
In addition to the blocks of wax, we made all these candles in our first test "dipping" session.
We have 64 blocks from which we can make another 192 candles (you can do the math). Not bad for 4 weeks of recycling.
CANDLE PRODUCTION OPTIONS
Now - how do we make the wax into candles? There are two main technologies for making candles, pouring and dipping.
Pouring Candles
Pouring involves the use of a mold, either discardable or reusable. Here are some conventional candles made in paper molds (whisky bottle packaging which I get free from the store - free cartons, not whisky).
These are referred to in the candle trade as Pillar candles. They're mainly good for burning for the smell, as little light is given off once the flame burns down into the candle. I like these 3-cornered shapes; thanks Glenfiddich.
You can also pour wax into molds to make tapers, or tall candles for candlesticks and devotional use. Nowadays the molds are made of polyurethane rubber. The candles can be quickly removed and a new candle poured. The main drawback is the molds cost about $25 each. It's impractical to melt and pour one candle at a time, so lots of molds make for productive and happy (but poor) candlemakers.
Here are some pillar and taper candles in use with our icons.
We chose to dip candles for our first few production efforts. I did try making one poured, pillar candle but I don't have adequate wicks - you must have a large, open-weave wick for beeswax, due to its low melting point and viscous (thick) melted state. Otherwise the wick drowns in melted wax.
Unlike poured candles, which just require enough wax to fill the mold, for dipping you must have a large container filled with melted wax - more than enough to dip the full length of the candle. So for a 10-inch candle, you need about 12 inches of melted wax. That requires some technology!
