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Work out the burn time of your candles
Customers often ask me how long their candles will burn for, and I will tell them that it is not an exact science! We can provide people with an *estimated* or approximate burn time, but many different factors will affect even two identical candles made from the same batch and the same supplies. You need to think about whether the candle is being burned in a draft, whether the wick is being trimmed etc. All of these factors and more can and will affect how long (and how well!) the candle burns!
Step 1
Start by weighing your candle.
Step 2
Burn it for 3 hours (assuming 3" diameter) and then weigh the candle again.
Step 3
You work out the burn rate per ounce/gram (whichever weight you are using) by dividing the difference in weight by the number of hours burned. This will tell you how much wax burns away per hour.
Step 4
Repeat this step several times so that you have a good average hourly burn rate figure.
Step 5
Take your original weight and divide that by your hourly burn time. This should give you the approximate burn time of the candle.
REMEMBER that lots of variables affect burn time including wick size, length of time the candle is lit each burn etc so you should only use these figures as "AVERAGE" burn times. The very best method is to actually BURN your test candles all the way down to the bottom and simply keep a note of how long they are lit for each time and add it up! A piece of paper under your pillar holder or container with the info on is all you need.
The more you burn your test candle, the more accurate your figures will be, so don't just rely on ONE burn of 3 hours - do it a few times.
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