b-natural Soy Candles

Candle Burning Safety Tips 

1. Never move or leave candles unattended while burning.
2. Keep the wick trimmed to ¼ inch to prevent smoking and carbon mushrooming. Retrim the wick before every use.
3. Burn in a draft free area clear of combustible material such as curtains, books, baskets, etc.
4. Candles should be spaced apart while lit to prevent uneven burning.
5. Keep the burn pool clean; never throw matches into the candle.
6. Keep candles out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources.
7. Always place candles on or in a non-combustible, heat-resistant base set on a level stable surface.
8. Extremes of heat and cold should be avoided. Do not store candles in the freezer and never leave them in a hot car.
9. Candles may be cleaned by washing them gently in cool water. Allow to air dry before use.

Soy candle burning rate 

    Soy Candles have many claimed benefits. Many of these are obvious but others are more difficult to proof. There are no scientific studies comparing the properties of soy wax candles with paraffin candles, except for the one study by K. Rezaei entitled "Combustion Characteristics of Candles Made from Hydrogenated Soybean Oil". This study showed that soy wax candles had a longer burning time and produced less soot than paraffin candles. He found that the untrimmed soy wax candles had a slightly lower burning rate than paraffin candles but that the trimmed soy wax candles had a 30% lower burning rate.

    We compared the burning rate of a soy candle with that of a paraffin candle. We do no not claim that this is a scientific study: it is just a simple experiment! We made container candles using 80 g of wax and 50 mm tea light wicks on a metal foot. The picture shows the candles (paraffin on left, soy wax on right) at different burning times. As you can see, the soy candle actually finished burning a bit earlier. However, this does not proof that the soy candles will always burn faster since the burning rate will depend also on wick size.

    In our experiment, the wick size of the soy candle tended to be larger and more split than that of the paraffin candles, even after trimming the wick every two hours. Soy wax and paraffin have about the same heat of combustion, so why would soy candles burn longer? They do so probably because soy candles burn with a smaller flame. Soy wax contains larger molecules with lower volatility, which results in reduced flow of melted wax through the wick.

    During this experiment, we noticed something particular. After cool down, the surface of the soy wax was convex whereas the surface of the paraffin was concave! Maybe this characteristic can be used to distinguish both types of wax!

For information on candle safety, click this link.