1029 Third Street S.E.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401 USA
Phone: (319) 213-2051
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- At what temperature should soy wax be poured?
- How do you control the hardening of SoyaWax? Are additives required such as stearic acid as is used with paraffin wax? Are additives such as Vybar or other such polymers, which are usually required for color and scent integration in paraffin wax, necessary with the SoyaWax?
- Can SoyaWax use the same coloring or dyes that are used in paraffin candle waxes?
- Do we need to change our wax-melting tanks, molds or any other part of our candle manufacturing equipment and process systems to change from petroleum-based paraffin waxes to SoyaWax?
- Since SoyaWax is a natural vegetable product and not a petrochemical product like paraffin, how long is its shelf life?
- How much longer does SoyaWax burn than paraffin wax?
- Because soy is a crop, what kind of price fluctuation and supply variation is SoyaWax subject to? Can we be assured of the availability of this wax if there are crop fluctuations?
- How consistent is SoyaWax from batch to batch in terms of color, hardness, texture?
- Is your C1 container wax user friendly?
- Is C1 soywax single pour?
- What is curing and how long does a soywax candle need to cure?
- I will be using 1 lb capacity, glass wide mouth jars by hocking as containers. What are your wicking suggestions?
Q. At what temperature should soy wax be poured?
Answer: Our Container Blend should be poured at 140 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Our Pillar and Votive Mold Blend should be poured at 150 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. As a general practice, soy wax should be processed at a lower temperature than paraffin. The melting point of the container blend Phytowax C-1 is 130 degrees Fahrenheit. The melting point of Pillar and Votive Mold Blend Phytowax P/V is 155 degrees Fahrenheit.
Q. How do you control the hardening of SoyaWax? Are additives required such as stearic acid as is used with paraffin wax? Are additives such as Vybar or other such polymers, which are usually required for color and scent integration in paraffin wax, necessary with the SoyaWax?
Answer: Our soy wax blends Phytowax C-1 and Phytowax P/V-1 are complete candle wax formulas. No additives are required, except for the scent oils and color dyes of your choice. The pillar/votive mold blend P/V -1 is a hard wax formulated for easy mold release. Color will fade in soy wax the same as in paraffin wax if colored candles are exposed to light for long periods of time on retail shelves. Use UV stabilizer the same as in paraffin wax to prevent color fade. (Cytec Corp., West Patterson, NJ 07424 for Cyasorb 5411 for this purpose)
Q. Can SoyaWax use the same coloring or dyes that are used in paraffin candle waxes?
Answer: Yes, the same dyes used in paraffin wax can be used in the SoyaWax. Both oil-base liquid dyes and powder dyes can be used in SoyaWax. Mix your dye or coloring agent in a small blending batch of melted soy wax, then blend in the small blending patch to the large production batch. Our SoyaWax blends Phytowax C-1 and Phytowax P/V-1 are specially formulated for easy and even color integration for a lustrous quality candle finish.
Q. Do we need to change our wax-melting tanks, molds or any other part of our candle manufacturing equipment and process systems to change from petroleum-base paraffin waxes to SoyaWax?
Answer: No changes are required in equipment. Process SoyaWax in the same systems as paraffin, just maintain your heat source at the lower temperatures recommended above.
Q. Since SoyaWax is a natural vegetable product and not a petrochemical product like paraffin, how long is its shelf life?
Answer: Phytowax C-1 and Phytowax P/V-1 are processed and refined to be a stable product. The shelf life is one year from the date of purchase. Use your stock in the time sequence of shipment, first shipped-first used. Our wax is all vegetable, with no chemical or petroleum.
Q. How much longer does SoyaWax burn than paraffin wax?
Answer: You can expect SoyaWax to burn 25% longer than paraffin. There are many grades of paraffin wax used in the candle industry that provide various burn times. Also, conditions specific to the location of the candle use, such as draft and air flow patterns, will cause variations. These variable factors make it impossible to state an exact burn time comparison. In our own internal tests of burn time, soy wax burns 25% to 30% longer than paraffin in a similar candle.
Q. Because soy is a crop, what kind of price fluctuation and supply variation is SoyaWax subject to? Can we be assured of the availability of this wax if there are crop fluctuations?
Answer: The major ingredient of our 100% vegetable wax formulas is derived from soy beans. We use other vegetable ingredients to provide such performance characteristics as color blending, mold release and desirable surface texture. Soybeans are one of the most abundant crops grown in the U.S. American farmers produce over 18 billion pounds of soybean oil each year. The entire U.S. candle industry uses about 1 billion pounds of petroleum wax at present.
The very abundant production of soybeans as a U.S. crop ensures that adequate supplies of your new soybean base candle waxes will always be available. Various market forces cause price fluctuation in all products whether from agricultural, industrial or petroleum sources. The soybean components used in the production of our waxes have however traditionally not had wide price fluctuations.
We expect the price of soy wax to be stable. The quantity of soy wax can always be plentiful because of the sheer volume of soybean production of the U.S. agricultural sector.
Q. How consistent is SoyaWax from batch to batch in terms of color, hardness, texture?
Answer: Phytowax is processed by one of the largest and most experienced soybean oil refiners in the world. The quality control standards are very consistent. You can expect consistency in each of these characteristics of color, hardness, melt point and texture. These are quality waxes for the professional candle manufacturer.
Q. Is your C1 container wax user friendly?
Answer: Our soywax has the reputation of being easier to work with than paraffin.
Q. Is C1 soywax single pour?
Answer: Unlike paraffin, there is no shrinkage with our soywax. But, when wax is poured into a container there is only one way for air and heat to escape - through the top of candle - which typically leaves a small indent in a candle. To get a perfect surface, we allow the newly poured candle to cure and then top it off with a 1/8 inch layer of new wax.
Q. What is curing and how long does a soywax candle need to cure?
Answer: Curing is a kind of hardening process. There are two kinds of curing we think about, production cycle cure and end use cure. We use a production cycle curing guideline of 1 hour for every ounce. For example, a 2 oz candle should cure for about two hours and then you can top it off with a 1/8 inch layer of new wax to get a perfect surface. End use cure for all candles is about 72 hours total. By the end of 72 hours, the fragrance, wax hardness, etc., are optimum for burning your candle.
In our own candle production we typically pour one day, then top off the morning of the next for that nice, smooth surface. The top of layer of wax dries very quickly, so we can send the candle right to packaging without much delay.
Q. I will be using 1 lb capacity, glass wide mouth jars by hocking as containers. What are your wicking suggestions?
Answer: The best wicks in the industry are produced by Heinz Verhaegh (http://www.heinzverhaegh.com/index.html). For a container candle the size you are making you should get the largest tabbed wick he has.
Need wax now?
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Our Phytowax™ C-1 Container Wax blend has a melt point of 130 degrees.
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Our Phytowax™ PV-1 Votive Mold Wax is ideal for molded candle products, including votives and pillars.