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.

Thermometer! 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).

Double Boiler or Crock-pot. 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.

Measuring Cup or Container. This is a little trick that I was taught. What you do is you pour water into your mold. Then you pour the water into a measuring utensil. For every ¼ pint you will need approximately 100 grams of solid wax.

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

 While making your candles, always keep your thermometer in the wax to ensure you don't go past the proper pouring temperature. Once your wax reaches it pouring temperature, remove it from the heat.

Although pouring temperatures may vary slightly from wax to wax and from project to project, there are some general rules you can follow when pouring wax. When pouring wax into containers such as jam jars, the wax should be poured at 71º to 82º C (160º to 180º F).

Before pouring the hot wax into the glass jar or any jar, you should perform some tests to make sure the jar can withstand the heat. This is an extremely important safety precaution.

To ensure the jar can withstand the heat, first place the jar in a sink and fill with hot tap water. If the jar survives, then try filling the jar with near boiling water. If the jar does not break then chances are it should be safe for pouring hot wax into it. However, you must still proceed with caution whenever pouring hot wax into any jar or mold.

In most situations, wax is poured at 71º C (160º F) into glass jars.