Search
CandleWhiz.com 

   More Information   

Print This Book

CANDLE EQUIPMENT

In order to make candles, you will need some basic equipment. Although you can get professional and expensive pieces of equipment, it isn't always necessary.

Some equipment, such as moulds, have already been discussed and so this section will simply talk about pieces of equipment that have not yet been discussed.

Wax needs to be heated to a specific temperature. Although you can buy and use special candle thermometers, you can also use cooking thermometers.

What you need is a thermometer that covers the ranges of 39 - 177º C (100 - 350º F).

Review:

• Thermometer should cover the range of 39 - 177º C (100 - 350º F)

Wax should never be melted over direct heat. As a result, a double boiler is used. A double boiler is essentially one saucepan inside another. In the first saucepan you boil water. In the second saucepan you heat the wax. It's imperative that when using a double boiler that you do not let the water boil dry. Always make sure there is water in the bottom saucepan.

Although you can buy double boilers, you can also make your own by simply using two old saucepans. You can buy these from a thrift store if you want. Ideally you want a stainless steel or aluminum saucepan.

The saucepan you use for melting the wax will eventually get caked in old wax and so you want to use an old saucepan rather than one you actually care about. If the saucepan has a seal in it then wax will get caught there too.

Review:

• Wax should never be melted over direct heat
• You can buy a double boiler or make your own

A wicking needle is used for inserting your wick into your moulds. Wicking needles are available in a variety of sizes.

Review:

• Helps you insert the wick into the mould

This is a little trick that I was taught. What you do is you pour water into your mould. Then you pour the water into a measuring jug. For every 150 mL of water (approximately ¼ pint) you will need approximately 100 grams of solid wax.

Review:

• A measuring jug can help you determine how much solid wax you need

Other useful items include:

• Aluminum foil
• Measuring cups and spoons
• A knife for trimming the wax
• Scissors to cut or trim your wicks
• Old wooden spoon for stirring the wax
• Paper towels for cleaning up your mess
• Bowls large enough to fill with water to cool the candles
• Old milk carton or a similar container for storing excess wax

Kandall Wick Says: One of my favourite tricks, when using the double boiler, is to have an ordinary, albeit old, saucepan as the bottom saucepan. In this saucepan I add the water. Then, what I like to do is I like to use an old coffee percolator... you know, the type you see cowboys using over an open fire. There is nothing fancy about the coffee percolators but what makes them great is they have a really good pouring spout which allows you to pour your wax more easily into the moulds. You can often find these coffee percolators in a thrift store and if you are lucky, you will find a glass one!

Continue

Print This Book

Search
CandleWhiz.com