The Recycapple Candle

[HomesteaderWife]

Some time back I was given a bunch of nearly empty candles from family in order to try my hand at recycling candles. I used one of the candle wicks found unopened from a thrift store and placed it in the bottom of one of my old half-pint mason jars. I lit one of the almost empty candles until the wax had melted, then poured it in the jar. Let it set as I lit the next candle, poured that wax on top. Continued to do this until the jar was nearly full and left some head space to it and trimmed the wick. Just lit it for the first time this morning, and the apple scent is wonderful. I referred to it as the "recycapple" candle due to the apple scents of all the candles that went into it.

 

[HomesteaderWife]

@wyoDreamer - It is! The majority of the scents were apple, but there are layers of bright red, dark red, a purple-tint, and white/yellow from a vanilla/sugar cookie candle. My hope is that as it burns down, the different scents will make themselves known.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Nicely done. My asthma doesn't tolerate candles. I miss having them around. When power goes out, we do use them occasionally. I've heard that the soy based candles burn very well and are not as problematic for respiratory issues.

 

[Nifty]

to be sure they were soaked in wax before pouring the candle.

All the wicks I've been using have been from existing candles. In fact, I thought the easiest / most reliable thing to do would be to use an existing candle (tall skinny one) and put it in the middle of a jar, then pour melted candles around it... but this hasn't work in all the different ways I've tried it... and I have NO idea why.

I'm going to re-melt a few candles right now and see if I can get things to work. Any other tips / suggestions?

I have a MILLION candles of different sizes and shapes, so if there's a wick / candle type I can use for combining all into one, that would be awesome!

(melting on my wood stove in a pan of water)

 

[Nifty]

I've been experimenting. I took a "Taper Candle" (box from IKEA) and broke it in half, put the halves in a jar and poured in the melted candles.

Seems to be working well.

... the other experiments... not so much.

 

[baymule]

I am enjoying this recycle candles thread. I used to burn candles, but can't use any scented anything due to chemical issues. I always had plenty of candles, especially for hurricane season. I think y'all are brilliant for finding ways to reuse the leftover wax in the candle.

 

[Britesea]

...Real bayberry is hard to get and expensive. Pale green.

That's because real bayberry only has an extremely thin waxy coating on each berry. You have to cook the berries and then carefully skim the wax off the top- don't want any of the actual berry liquid in there or it won't work right in a candle. You need a LOT of bayberries to make even one candle.

Back in the days of candle light only, you used tallow candles in the kitchen and other out-of-the-way places, and saved your beeswax and bayberry candles for the parlor, or for special occasions.

 

[Hinotori]

Usually if it's too hot, the glass breaks and spills wax out which could become a fire hazard as it's paraffin. There isn't usually an explosion unless it's those crappy gel candles they had back in the 90s - 00s. Those things burned extremely hot and had a habit of shattering and throwing shards and flaming gel a few feet from the candle.

I have a ceramic plate for under my candles. I had a glass taper holder break in two when the wick got down to it. That one would have started a fire but we heard the pop and saw the tapper butt fall out and tip over.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

You can use just about anything as a form for your candle. An easy one would be an empty cardboard cream container. Or a plastic container that is wider at the top. Perhaps a sour cream container? The wax should not be hot enough to melt the plastic when it is poured. You can then slide the cooled candle out of the form.

I would opt for pouring the wax into a previously used candle jar, and then set that jar into a container that would contain any spills if the glass DID break. Candles should never be used unless you are present anyways. A bit of caution is always prudent, but I'd not worry overly much.

You could go to the Salvation Army, or any similar place and buy some used cookware to cast your candles in.

If you wanted to get artsy, you could do some sand casted candles.

 

[Britesea]

We have power outages frequently enough that I've got a few things in place: I hate trying to cook in the dark, with just a lantern at my elbow- you can't see INTO the pot easily. So I have two inexpensive hanging oil lamps on the ceiling. Works a treat!