When picking the wick for your candle jar, it can get quite confusing as there are so many different types. How do you know which is the best for what you need, what do all the different names mean, and what happens when you pick the wrong candle wick for your jar? Does the wax I use matter when choosing the wick? We’re here to answer all those questions!
Measuring your Candle Jar
To pick the right size wick, you first need to measure the diameter of your candle jar. Get a ruler and measure the across the top of your jar, like in the picture below. From this, you’ll need the millimetres and then you can determine which is the correct wick size based on the wicks burning diameter. Each wick has a different burning diameter and you want to ensure that the wick you select has the correct burning diameter for the size of your jar.
What do all the different wick names mean?
There are a lot of different names for wicks, mostly it indicates different brands which are then coded into different sizes, indicating their burning diameter. Our range of 100% Cotton M series wicks start at M25 100% cotton wicks and go through to M75 100% cotton wicks. We’ve coded ours so that the smaller the number, the smaller the burning diameter. For easy reference, we’ve put the burning diameters of our wicks below.
- M25 Tea Light Wicks: 40mm – tealight use only
- M25 wicks: 40mm
- M35 wicks: 42mm – 59mm
- M45 wicks: 55mm – 75mm
- M55 wicks: 71mm – 82mm
- M65 wicks: 82mm – 100mm
- M75 wicks: 90mm – 105mm
What happens when you pick the wrong size.
If the wick you select for your candle is too small, your candle will tunnel. This is where the candle hasn’t been able to achieve a full melt pool, leaving unmelted wax around the outside of the candle jar. This leaves a lot of wasted wax and your candle will burn out, without fully being able to burn to the bottom of the candle.
If your wick is too big, your melt pool will be much larger, burn through your candle much faster and have a stunted fragrance throw. While picking the right candle wick size is important, it also easy as long as you know your candle jar dimensions.
Does the wax I’m using change the recommended wick?
If you are using candle soy wax, you can confidently select the M series wicks based on their burning diameters. All our M series wicks burning diameters have been tested using soy wax. If you are using a stronger candle wax, like bees wax, you’ll need to go the wick size up. This is because bees wax is a harder wax so to achieve the full melt pool, you’ll need to go for a wick which has a larger burning diameter than what the recommendations are for soy wax.
Now you know how to measure your container, you can start browsing the wicks to select the correct size you need, confidently shopping for all your candle making supplies. If you still are unsure, get in touch with us because we’d love to help you out.
