Discussion Can candles be melted down and reused?

[Indus]

So I was cleaning and came across a couple of boxes of large candles.

Can I melt them down via heat. say a bbq grill so they melts inside of a glass container.. insert a wick and it basically gets converted into a glass candle which would be much safer to use inside of the house?

Edit: OMG sorry I thought I posted this in OT. Maybe a mod can move.

Moved from P&N.
admin allisolm

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

So I was cleaning and came across a couple of boxes of large candles.

Can I melt them down via heat. say a bbq grill so they melts inside of a glass container.. insert a wick and it basically gets converted into a glass candle which would be much safer to use inside of the house?

Yes, I regularly do that with scraps of candles we burn (scented types). Just get a metal can or metal candle holder of roughly the same volume as a full glass candle, use it as a crucible. Put it over a flame (I use the stove burner at minimum heat) and just dump candle remnants in. Get glued wicks, throw into a cleaned-out glass bottle, and pour the crucible contents in.

Takes some practice but works like a champ.

 

[Indus]

Thank you sir for confirming the idea works.

I was originally thinking of reusing the wicks from the candles but the new glued wicks might be better!

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Thank you sir for confirming the idea works.

I was originally thinking of reusing the wicks from the candles but the new glued wicks might be better!

Yeah definitely get some glue base wicks off amazon, and make sure you CLEAN the inside base where it'll stick. They do not stick well to wax (it melts and you lose binding to the base). Also, make sure you do not heat up a glass container, as it will explode and you will have glass and hot wax everywhere

 

[Indus]

Yeah definitely get some glue base wicks off amazon, and make sure you CLEAN the inside base where it'll stick. They do not stick well to wax (it melts and you lose binding to the base). Also, make sure you do not heat up a glass container, as it will explode and you will have glass and hot wax everywhere

Holy shit I didn't know that.

I routinely every morning microwave and heat up some water inside a glass mug into which I put my lipton tea bags for my morning tea.

Had no idea it could go boom!

 

[WilliamM2]

You can heat glass. Ever seen a lava lamp? That's wax and oil, in normal pop bottle glass.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

You can heat glass. Ever seen a lava lamp? That's wax and oil, in normal pop bottle glass.

You can heat glass evenly. Ask anyone who's gotten pyrex too close to a broiler, it can melt, then as it cools it cracks and explodes. Citation: a few thanksgivings ago when my MIL thought it was a good idea.

Plopping a glass jar on top of a flame to act as a crucible is a recipe for glass and wax pancakes.

 

[lxskllr]

Double boiler is the safe way to melt wax. I do it on the woodstove on top of bricks, but I don't recommend it unless you're sure you can trust yourself to monitor it.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Holy shit I didn't know that.

I routinely every morning microwave and heat up some water inside a glass mug into which I put my lipton tea bags for my morning tea.

Had no idea it could go boom!

Actually you're at double risk. One from the uneven heat of the glass. Two, from the potential superheated water. Water in a microwave can heat very evenly to the point where it is at boiling temperature but in equilibrium with the atmosphere. A small disturbance - like putting a spoon or teabag in - disturbs the surface and causes spontaneous nucleation of water vapor bubbles (since the water is at boiling temperature) - resulting in a massive spray of boiling water and steam, which can also destroy the mug in the process.

Science is cool (and terrifying) like that

 

[biostud]

Holy shit I didn't know that.

I routinely every morning microwave and heat up some water inside a glass mug into which I put my lipton tea bags for my morning tea.

Had no idea it could go boom!

If it is made for boiling water and contains water it won't. Wax will get hotter than water so there may be some problems with that.

To OP

3 Ways to Melt Candles - wikiHow

You might have some old candles lying around the house that look dirty and have sat in the one place for far too long. Instead of throwing these candles away, you can melt the wax and use the new wax liquid to make new candles. Follow the...

www.wikihow.com

 

[bbhaag]

I would think so. No reason it should be a problem. I know a lot of members here despise YT but this youtuber melted down every candle from Bath and Bodyworks then added new wicks.

They burned just like normal candles. Candles ain't exactly new tech so it kinda makes sense.

 

[lxskllr]

My homemade candle experiments leave a lot to be desired. The wax isn't the issue, it's the wicks. I've been trying to make my own wicks, using both wood, and cotton butchers twine. Wood's weird. I get widely varying results, and it doesn't take much trimming to go from a decent burning wick to garbage. That's on par with the store bought wood wicks I've had, so I don't feel too bad. My cord wicks just don't burn well, and I can't get them to stand nice. I've tried bare cord, and I've tried soaking them in a salt bath. Neither has worked great. I haven't given up though, and will read more on it, and try some different things when the mood strikes me. As bbhaag noted, it's primitive tech. It shouldn't require a degree to get something working.

 

[Muse]

I know about glass breaking when it is heated unevenly. You can get glass hot but don't do it by pouring hot whatever into it. Heat it all first in a covered pan with water on the bottom).

When it comes to glass what makes me nervous is unscrewing the top from a jar when it's on tight, e.g. from home canning or a new jar from the market. I have some industrial gloves that I got on a job decades ago that I put on when I get nervous opening a jar. People say there's no risk but all that force concerns me. If the glass shattered, what would happen to my hands? I do this usually with a strap-wrench, the kind plumbers use (my hands have been problematical recently).