Wood Wicks are sought after because of the crackling sounds and flickering flame! The wood wick truly enhances the relaxing and soothing ambiance that comes from burning candles
Quick Start Instructions for Wood Wicks (Included in Packaging)
First, the initial burn is the most important! Always give enough time to get a full pool of wax. This can take 1 or 2 hours to get to pool, never burn for longer than 4 hours at a time.
Second, keep your wick trimmed! For the initial burn start with a wick that is 1/8” tall. For subsequent burns between 1/16” & 1/8” Tall, and free of charred wood. This sounds too short, but this is optimum for wood wick candles.
Third, do not burn any candles for short time frames, as a tunnel will start to form. Tunneling robs your candle of much needed oxygen.
You will find more complete instructions and troubleshooting tips on our website.
Why Your Wood Wick Candle Won’t Stay Lit (And How to Fix It)
The gentle crackle and unique flicker of wood wick candles make for a super cozy ambience, but they can be a little tricky to burn if you are not used to them.
Wooden wicks burn a bit differently than traditional cotton wicks do, and there are a few common issues that cause them to not stay lit.
But don’t worry!
If you remember just a few best practices, it should be smooth sailing and long clean burns from here on out!
Here are our top 3 tips to get the best results from your wood wick candles:
1) The first burn is the most important - how to do it right
Give your candle enough burning time to develop a melted wax pool that goes all the way to the edge of the container on the first use - this can take up to a few hours, depending on candle size.
Believe it or not, your jar candles have a kind of “wax-memory,” and once a burning pattern has been established, it can be hard to change.
You can see the wax pool on this Arizona Fine Candle has not yet reached the edge of the jar]
If you don’t allow your candle enough time to form a full melt pool on the first burn, a little depression or “tunnel” may start to form around the wick.
This will make it more difficult for the wax around the edges of the jar to melt, causing the tunneling effect to continue with each burn.
Eventually the tunnel will become too deep for fresh oxygen to flow in, and your candle will have trouble staying lit for more than short periods of time.
Look at that nice full pool of melted wax. Now this is a healthy candle!
To prevent this issue, make sure to give your candle enough time to develop a melted wax pool that goes all the way to the edge of the container the first time you use it.
This is a good practice for all jar candles, not just those with wooden wicks!
This melt pool can take 2 hours or more to form, depending on the candle size, so wait to light up your new candle until you have some time to “burn”!
After the first use, you don’t have to let a full wax pool form every single time, but it is ideal if you want to get the most life out of your candle. Just make sure give your jar candles a nice long burn every so often to “reset” the wax memory and prevent any tunneling.
This will keep your candle looking great, smelling great, burning evenly, and all the other great things you want!
* If you’re experiencing the dreaded “tunneling” problem already, you may be able to fix it - see tip #2 below.
Tip #1
Keep your wood wick trimmed short and free of charred bits. For optimal burn, keep your wood wick trimmed to about ⅛”, and clean off any burnt wood from previous use.
Wire cutters or nail clippers work great for trimming wooden wicks]
Other than the tunneling problem, if your wood wick candle won’t stay lit it’s probably because the wick is too long, or it needs to be trimmed clean of charred material.
Remember it’s not the wood fueling your candle’s flame, it’s the wax. The flame is drawing the wax upwards through the wick, so if it’s not trimmed short and clean, the wax can’t make it to the flame.
For optimal burn, keep your wood wick trimmed to about ⅛” - this is shorter than you might think the wick should be - around the width of the metal part of a USB drive. You’ll also want to clean off any charred bits.
For trimming, we’ve always found an old set of nail clippers or wire cutters to work great. In a pinch, you can always use a napkin and your fingers to gently break off the burnt parts of the wick.
Just make sure to let your candle cool before trimming, as you don’t want any bits of ash or wick material left in the wax when you’re done. It’s much easier to clean this up when the wax is hard and cool!
Tip #2
How to fix a candle that’s tunneling:
If your wood wick or jar candle has developed some tunneling from shorter burns, you can usually fix it - here’s how:
First and best option: if your candle will stay lit, give it a good long burn until all the wax is melted to the edge of the jar, and you’ve effectively “reset” the memory of the wax.
The flame height may vary when you do this, but as long as there is still a burn, it should continue to create a melt pool, just be patient.
This Arizona Fine Candle is not really tunneling, but you can see the different stages of melt
If your candle won’t stay lit because it is “drowning” in a wax pool, try using a paper towel or napkin to soak up some of the excess wax.
Then wait for a minute or so, relight your candle, and repeat until your wick has room to breathe!
If the above two won’t work, we’ve heard of people scraping out the wax near the edge of the jar, or even creating a little dome of aluminum foil around the rim of the container to help melt the hard wax at the edges.
Those are both last resort options though - so no guarantees!
This candle is not ‘Tunneling’ but is a good picture. excess wax can be removed with a paper towel. (Extinguish the Candle before using Paper towel or anything else flammable near any candle)
Remember, prevention is better than cure - and if you follow the best practices mentioned on the best practice card that comes with all Arizona Fine Candles with wood wicks; your wood wick candles should burn nicely!
Especially since Arizona Fine Candles are made with high quality soy wax
Other quick tips for wood wick candles:
How to light a wood wick candle like a pro
You’ll want to light these differently from cotton wicks, but it’s very simple:
When lighting a wood wick candle, the best technique is to tilt it on an angle and let the flame draw across the length of the wick (kind of like how you tilt a match after lighting).
It may also take several tries to get it lit! The heat from the flame needs to draw the wax through the wick before it will really start burning nicely. When in doubt, give it another try - once you get it going once, it should light up more easily. Use a long g necked candle lighter to help melt wax around the wood wick.
Your wick shouldn’t produce any soot or smoke
We use extremely high quality and thoroughly tested wood wicks in Arizona Fine Candles. Combined with the soy wax our candles should burn extremely clean with no soot or smoke.
If you are experiencing any smoke from a wood wick candle it’s usually because the wick needs to be trimmed and the burnt parts cleared out, or there is a draft interfering with the burn.
If burning your candle for more than a couple hours sounds like a long time, consider a different style like tealights, votives, or smaller jar candles.
As we mentioned before, it is a best practice to burn jar candles until the melt pool reaches the edge of the container, which can take 2 or 3 hours. That is not always practical - so most candle lovers keep some other styles handy for shorter burns.
Arizona Fine Candles offer smaller Tin & Hex Jar Candles for shorter burn times
Are wood wick candles eco friendly?
In addition to their eye pleasing look Arizona Fine Candles are one of the most eco-friendly candles you can find.
Arizona Fine Candles are Vegan and materials are NEVER tested on animals!