Wood Wicks Burning Tips - Know Before You Make

by Kelly Lin

Wooden wicks burn a bit differently than traditional cotton wicks do, and there are a few common issues that cause them to not burn or stay lit. Here are some tips to get the best results from your DIY wood wick soy candles.

1. Double Up Wood Wicks (Skip if you are not using our products)

We have missed to point out in our printed manual that to make an optimal throw for a large 8 oz tin, it's best to cut the wick in half, and layer/stack them together in a wick clip to make one set.

*lack of two layers of wood wicks may cause candle difficult to stay lit*

If you have missed this step, don't worry. Set up a double boiler for your finished candle to melt, and then add in the other half wick. If you happen to have the wicks thrown away, please submit a contact us form. We will gladly help you with a free wick replacement (valid purchase from an approved sales channel only). 

2. Give Enough Time & Wind for The First Burn

The first burn is the most important. If you do it right, it will lead you to the future burning success. Give your candle some gentle breeze to help the ignition. As equally important as the wind is time. Allow your candle to develop a melted wax pool that goes all the way to the edge of the container on the first use. This will take about 3-4 hours.

 

After the first use, you don’t have to let a full wax pool form every single time, but it is ideal if you want to get the most life out of your candle. Just make sure to give your container candles a nice long burn every so often to “reset” the wax memory and prevent any tunneling.

3. Trim Wick Short and Free of Charred Bits

Other than the tunneling problem, if your wood wick candle won’t stay lit it’s probably because the wick is too long, or it needs to be trimmed clean of charred material. For optimal burn, keep your wood wick trimmed to about ⅛”, and clean off any burnt wood from previous use. 

 

For trimming, we’ve found a wick trimmer works best. But you can always find alternatives - scissors, nail clipper, or use a napkin and your fingers to gently break off the burnt parts of the wick when the candle is cooled down. It’s much easier to clean the mess up when the wax is hard and cool!

4. Avoid Tunneling

If you don’t allow your candle enough time to form a full melted pool on the first burn, a little depression or “tunnel” may start to form around the wick - that goes to our Tip #2 Give Enough Time for The First Burn. Eventually the tunnel will become too deep for fresh oxygen to flow in, and your candle will have trouble staying lit for more than short periods of time.

If a tunneling just developed from a short burn interval, you can quickly fix it by giving it a good long burn until all the wax is melted to the edge of the jar. Then, you’ve effectively “reset” the memory of the wax and fixed the tunneling. 

If your candle won’t stay lit because it is “drowning” in a wax pool, try using a paper towel or napkin to soak up some of the excess wax. Then wait for a minute or so, relight your candle, and repeat until your wick has room to breathe and burn well again!

 

Remember, prevention is better than cure - and if you follow these best practices mentioned above, your wood wick candles should burn nicely, especially when they are made with high quality soy wax! 😉

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