i read that someone was getting his wifes old candles for flux. i asked my wife for hers but all of them are soy candles. i havent read anything about anyone using soy candle wax. i just wanted to make sure it was ok to use as flux.

I have never used soy candles only oil/wax candles and bees wax so I don't know if that will work. Only way to find out is try it. What should happen is after the candle burns off you should get slag and all other impurities that will burn and float to the top. The color of this stuff is dark brown to black. The correct way to flux lead in a pot is like this.

 

#1 If you have a Lee IV pot, make sure you have a full pot of lead and make sure you have about 3/4 to 1" of ledd below the top of the opening.

#2 You want to light the smoke, and not make smoke.

      A.How this is accomplished, is put in a small chunk of wax (about the size of a dime or smaller) into a heated pot. The wax will start smoking.

      B. Immediately throw a lit match into the pot. What will happen is, you will get a flame about 4 to 6" tall that will fill flare up and then fill the pot.

            a. When you light the match do not look over the pot, as you will burn your face.

            b. Also when you light the match, make sure there is nothing above the pot, that will catch fire.

     C. As the flame is burning, make sure you have leather gloves on, and slowly stir the lead in the pot with a long steel spoon.

     D. The flame will slowly burn out as the wax is used up, to the point you will only have brown crusted garbage floating on the top of your lead.

     E. Spoon all this stuff off and put into an empty dry can (to be disposed of at a later date when full)

#3 You should now have clean silvery lead ready for pouring.

 

PS: PLease do this with caution so you don't start a fire or burn yourself. Kids do not try this at home:

 

Finally for your own sake, make sure you are not distracted. Keep kids, pets and wife away from your work area and tell them not to bother you. Lead is hot and it can burn you severely if you are not paying attention.

 

Stay safe for the New Year

I just read up on soy candles, and it looks like it will work fine.  Advantages and disadvantages of regular and soy candles.

 

Soy candles burn cleaner, slower and are soy based and produce less soot, cost more to make.

Wax candles burn hotter, have more soot and are parrafin based, which emits more carcinogens into the air.

 

Either way you are good to go.

 

My wife burns a lot of Yankee Candles, and I have so much candle wax left over, I can start making bmy own candles.

my wife got hooked on prize candles. they have the rings inside them. she gave me a bunch i figured it would work just wanted some imput from the pros. i have used some wax melts that i cut up but i have been doing part of it wrong. when it is on fire i havent stirred it yet i just let it burn. i will now stir while there is a flame. thank you for the quick reply.

Just stir slowly to avoid splashing and spills until the flame goes out..