Rock and Flame Shop
Handmade with heartfelt passion and meticulous attention to detail, no two candles are alike.
We spent countless hours testing and troubleshooting our candles. But, a handmade object of an unusual shape, made of natural materials with a very special wick may require a little bit of extra care.
Here are some tips for a great burn and tips on how to fix issues that may come up.
Place your candle on even, heat-resistant surface away from anything flammable. Always keep your burning candle in sight and out of reach of small children and pets. Keep it away from drafts.
We recommend using long matches to light up your candle for the first time. Using a gas lighter will produce a large flame and may melt the mountain ahead of time. It will also make it easier to get to the wooden wick. You can use your gas or electric lighter on any subsequent burns.
A beautiful wax mountaintop makes for one stunning candle, but, its irregular shape adds some unpredictability.
Allow the mountain to melt fully on the first burn. This should take about 1-2 hours. Then extinguish the candle and leave it to cool and level.
The mountain almost melted but the flame is struggling to stay lit. As the extra wax from the mountain fills up the jar, the wick may look like it's "drowning." Extinguish the flame. Use a paper towel to soak up a little bit of excess wax. This will give the wick some space to "breathe." If your mountain didn’t level yet - trim your wick by removing all the charred bits of wood with wick trimmers or a napkin. Light up again. If the mountain leveled - set the candle aside. As it cools down, the wax will level leaving enough wood wick exposed (about 3 mm) for the next burn.
The wick created a tunnel inside the mountain... or something else is going on...You can make a video or snap a photo and send it to me at hello@rockandflame.com for some advice. If the issue is hard to fix, you may try to carefully remove some of the mountain of wax with a spoon.
Trim the wick to remove all the charred bits of wood. You can do this with wick trimmers, or simply pinch the top off with your fingertips and a napkin.
The melted mountaintop added a significant amount of extra wax to the jar, so you'll need to trim the wick almost to the level of the wax.
This may seem way too short, but when you light up the wick, it will expose more and eventually work itself out. The flame may start a little small, so please give it some time.
Keep your candle lit for long enough so that the wax melts almost all the way to the edge of the jar. At 4 hours, you may have about 5 mm of wax on the sides of the jar, and this is perfectly fine as it will catch up later. Extinguish your candle at this point.
The wick is producing a small flame.When the flame is too small, it may be hard for the candle to form a full melt pool. At the second burn though, keep it lit for over 30 minutes and it usually works itself out.
The flame is still small.Gently pick up the candle and give it a little swirl. The wax will flow away from the wick and give it more space to burn.
The candle extinguished itself. If the candle is struggling to stay lit – extinguish it. When it cools a little, use a paper towel to soak a bit of excess wax. This will give the wick more room to “breathe.” Make sure that the wick is clean by trimming the charred wood and light it up again.
Trim the wick to 3 mm now and before every other burn. It is one of the most important things to remember in any candle burning experience. This may seem short, but it will help to avoid smoke and soot and will give you a beautiful flame.
Ideally, the flame height should be about 1,5 cm. It may go up to 3 cm, but if the flame becomes too high (over 5 cm) or the candle smokes repeatedly – extinguish it and let it cool. Trim your wick and start the next burn.
The flame is too large.Trimming the wick to 3 mm should fix this.
The candle is tunneling. If you burn your candle for less than 3-4 hours at a time, it may start tunneling. Allow the candle to burn longer until the wax melted to the edge of the jar. If the wick seems to be "drowning" in the wax, extinguish it and wait for a few minutes. Then use a paper towel to soak up a little of excess wax and relight. You may need to repeat this process a few times.
Like little crackling fireplaces, wooden wick candles create an alluring ambience. I hope that you have a good experience burning your mountain candle.
If you have any questions, please reach out at hello@rockandflame.com
With gratitude,
Elena
