palston pots????

[sweetcheeks]

just starting off and found a thread recommending palston pots to use to melt the wax. can anyone tell me how this works as thought you needed water to melt????. also do you add the perfume and colouring to the palston pot, or should it be added at another time. hope this makes sense.

[cinnamonchic]

You only need water if you are using double boiler methods to stop the wax heating too hot too fast. For the palson pot, the heater is underneath the pot and it is controlled by a thermostat to stop it heating up too much so no water needed.

You switch it on, set the temperature and just throw everything you want to in the pot, wax, scent, colour if you wish.

I tend to add colour and scent in the pouring jug, but doing it in the post is perfectly ok. To clean it, just warm it up and wipe it down the inside with kitchen roll.

Fantastic pots.

[candles by lisa]

Got a couple of the palston pots myself and they are fantastic. Got hubby to add a couple of taps to them so I can just pour out the melted wax. Like cinnamonchic says the element is underneath the pot and never comes into contact with the wax.

I mix my scent and colour in a pouring jug just in case.

Cheers.

Lisa

:D

[Oddsox]

As a recent convert to the Palson Pot I agree with all above. Use mine all the time although scent is put in out of the pot (once it has cooled a bit).

Great little tool and much more effective than the double boiler method.

Oddsox:)

[sweetcheeks]

Thank you all for your great advice

[Critchley]

(welcome)niceto see you. Hope you decide to stay.

[tigersumpy]

What is the lowest temp on the thermostat on one of these pots?

I reckon i'm being thick here but what is the difference to putting the wax in a pan and sticking it on the heat or using one of these cos either way the wax isn't in direct contact with the heat?

[candles by lisa]

Thermostat is the difference. As you know wax has a flash point so you walk away from the kitchen to answer the phone if the wax is on the heat "BOOM" if using the pot the thermostat kicks in and keeps the wax at a constant temp.

HTH.

Lisa

[JohnP]

Has anyone ever had a wax fire? I imagine it would be pretty dangerous, like a chip pan fire.

I did a search on the internet to try and find the temperature at which it ignites. I found 199 celcius. Which is pretty hot!

Still, I'm absent minded, so I hardly ever melt wax on the stove. I melt it in a pan resting in boiling water instead.

[cinnamonchic]

Hi John - a wax fire is just like a chip pan fire.

The flash points are all different and although some of them may look high, there can be different problems if fragrance is added on heat as well. Mega boom.

The problem being that the melt point of waxes is quite low but once the wax has melted, the speed at which it gets hot enough to flash is phenomenal - you could pop to the loo when there is still wax in the pot melting and the boom could happen in the minute or two you are gone.

What you are doing, ie pan in pan is much safer as the wax can only get as hot as the temperature of boiling water it is sitting in. The danger here is that if the water boils off and you don't notice - again kaboom.

[tigersumpy]

Thermostat is the difference. As you know wax has a flash point so you walk away from the kitchen to answer the phone if the wax is on the heat "BOOM" if using the pot the thermostat kicks in and keeps the wax at a constant temp.

HTH.

Lisa

Silly question but do you put another pot inside it to save having to wash it out or just use it as is?

Tigersumpy

[girlyracer]

I use mine as is. Just chuck the wax in and I then ladle out the required quantity into a jug, add colour (optional), add fragrance, then stir and pour :D

[tigersumpy]

thanks for that

[JohnP]

Actually that happened to me once (all the water evaporated).

I'm super careful now though.

I would get some Palston pots, but they cost a bomb.

[girlyracer]

Actually that happened to me once (all the water evaporated).

I'm super careful now though.

I would get some Palston pots, but they cost a bomb.

I wouldn't call £33 a bomb especially if you're looking to take it up as a serious hobby or thinking of turning your hobby into a part time biz. Look at it as an investment.

You can get them from here http://www.redumbrella.co.uk/product_detailpage.php?id=1063

and you get free delivery.

[JohnP]

I wouldn't call £33 a bomb especially if you're looking to take it up as a serious hobby or thinking of turning your hobby into a part time biz. Look at it as an investment.

You can get them from here http://www.redumbrella.co.uk/product_detailpage.php?id=1063

and you get free delivery.

Aaaaaaaaaaaah. I thought we were talking about something different - the special 'wax melters'.

http://www.4candles.co.uk/melters/melting_pot.html

£228. :(

[girlyracer]

Aaaaaaaaaaaah. I thought we were talking about something different - the special 'wax melters'.

http://www.4candles.co.uk/melters/melting_pot.html

£228. :(



Now that is a lot of dosh :eek:

[Oddsox]

Whoa - I bought the same pot from redumbrella at the beginning of February for £23....... now that's inflation ..... still they are worth every penny.

Oddsox:)

[docsquid]

I just bought one after looking at this forum because I don't have a bain mairie and I don't really have a large enough saucepan to melt more than a tiny bit of wax at a time. It would have cost almost as much to get a traditional set-up, and I have to say it is really good - very controllable temperature, you get a very smooth and consistent mix.

I put the colour into the pot if I a making all the same colour (I usually am), and then put the fragrance in at the last moment when ready to pour because otherwise it tends to vaporise off.

Plus you can cook your dinner in it too (after cleaning, obviously!)

[Stina]

Seems that all these shops which links are given in this forum, are out of it !? Any other suggestions as to where it could be available (Web-shop).

[Mark]

Hi All,

Are these pots the same as a slow cooker?

I've got a huge soup pot which I was going to keep my glaze in. That way I dont have to keep weighing and melting etc I'll just keep it in the pot and melt when I start a batch of Candles.

[candles by lisa]

Hi Mark,

They're not the same as slow cookers. A slow cooker wont get the wax hot enough.

These pots are like a deep fat fryer, they have a thermostat but the element is on the base of the pot and never comes into contact with the wax.

HTH.

Lisa

:D

[phoebe_novice]

Hi I really need some help! I need something other than a double boiler to melt wax with as I'm a poor student and cannot afford a professional wax melter or the gas bills for the double boiler method!
I can't find palson pots anywhere and I don't know what type of multi cooker people are using as an alternative.
What can I pick up to use as an electric wax melter? would a slow cooker work instead or is that dangerous? I don't need huge amount of wax just more than a tin cans worth would be brilliant as it's restricting me a lot.
Thanks
Phoebe

[Oddsox]

Hi Phoebe,

I have three palson pots and they are fantastic. The place I got them from no longer stocks them though !!!! I check around and see if i can spot them in a few other places.

The most important factor I feel is that the element does not directly touch the wax and the palson pots have a circuar element run underneath the base.

Slow cookers - I've tried them (long ago) and they are just too slow !! and do not reach a high enough temp.

HTH

David

[Harribo]

Hi,

I would be interested in a palston pot too but can't seem to find them anywhere?

[Spencer101]

I always thought it was "Palson" rather than "Palston"... Might be wrong though.... ;)

[Harribo]

You are right Spencer :D it is palson, still can't find it, on amazon it just states currently unavailable. At the moment I use a batix pot, it is good but gets hot very quickly and the pot can be fiddly as it has a handle over the top of pot

[Spencer101]

And here's me with my aluminium jugs in pans of bubbling water... ;)

[Harribo]

I was going to do the jugs in water thing originally but we picked this batix pot up at a bootsale so have been using this.

I am quite clumsy and I would prob end up getting water in the wax somehow if I used the double boiler method ;)

[Spencer101]

Water in your wax is a pain in the posterior, but easily avoided if you have a tall enough melting pot...

[Harribo]

Going to make a couple of melts now and see if I can post pic;)

[Spencer101]

I shall look forward to seeing them. :)


I've just made 10 highly scented "Very Berry" votives for a friend. The smell was so strong it woke the missus up and she can sleep through practically anything!! ;)

Now.... what to make next??????

[Harribo]

Wow they sound nice, how much % when you say highly scented?

[Spencer101]

They're 12% FO (with the aid of Vybar) and hopefully wont sweat.. ;)

[Harribo]

What do you do with all your creations? Do you burn them all yourself?;)

[Spencer101]

I sell to friends and family... give them away as gifts.... burn a LOT of them myself :)
If I burnt every one I made I would never have to turn my heating on!!

But soon they will be up for sale online and I'm in contact with a few local shops with a view to them stocking them too...

[Harribo]

Wow that's really good. There's a couple of shops local to me that I have thought about asking if they would like to stock my candles (obviously not yet, infact probably not for the next 2-3 years)' I want to make sure I have everything perfect and tested before I would even think of selling my stuff.

Can't want for them to go online, I want to buy a candle so I can see what I need to do to make mine super good!;)

[Spencer101]

:) I shall definitely let you know when they're up for sale then... I'll sort you out a big discount :)

[Harribo]

Hahaha, I want to buy a honey jar candle so I can compare. I am very critical of my candles, they never smell strong enough, they never look right and I just don't know if it's just me being too critical, so to have something to compare against would be great ;)

Done the melts just waiting for them too set

[SilverGems]

I agree, hurry up and get them online Spencer, we all want to buy one (or two...or five :))

[Spencer101]

If I could put them on there today I would! But have a few more things needed to set up shop properly... and that all takes money! Hopefully 2 weeks and they'll be released to the world... well the UK anyway :)

[spyderuk]

Hahaha, I want to buy a honey jar candle so I can compare. I am very critical of my candles, they never smell strong enough,

Beware of falling into this trap. We have been working with some strong FO's and couldn't detect any hot throw from a batch of clean cotton. Test burners have commented on how strong it has been for them. Sometimes it's hard to sniff them when your working with so many FO's and have batches of different frag votives sitting on the dining table.

Back on topic, I want some of these pots. Anyone?

[Harribo]

Do you already have a list of established fragrances? I have loads of scents and I don't know how I would whittle it down

[Harribo]

Yes very true spyder. I was burning a gardenia melt yesterday and by the end of evening could not smell it anymore. Thought I would try again this morning and now can smell it again ;)

[Harribo]

Spyder, if you go to amazon and type in palson multi cooker it brings it up but says currently unavailable. It will suggest other items though, not sure if these would be the same?

[Spencer101]

Do you already have a list of established fragrances? I have loads of scents and I don't know how I would whittle it down

I have about 20 that I use as standard, all the usual stuff, chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, summer berries etc... But I offer a 'bespoke' service so if someone wants lime and ginger smelling candles in baby blue and brown stripes then I'll do that too, so it's handy to have a stock of other FOs to call on...

[spyderuk]

The other half takes orders for 2 off random frag in weird colour. We now have a minimum of 5 units for custom orders. We found a lot do like them in just plain old white'ish so may consider 10 off batches of straight white on established frags.

Looks like I'll stick to 2 big metal melting jugs for now. :(

[Tartan Witch]

Hi folks,
I haven't actually made any candles yet, it's a long story! However I am doing lots of research including reading through the forum. During my research I found a German candle site that sells electric water baths that hold 8.5 litres (also bigger sizes) I can't post the link but if you google kerzenkiste de, When you get on the site click on candle makers tools on left hand menu and then click on electric tanks.
I also had a look at Buffalo soup kettles, they can be bought in UK and heat soup up to 98C... I'm thinking they would possibly heat wax up too!
Cheers
Sheila