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're not used to them.
While wooden wicks bring another level of cozy to your space, they might be harder to maintain if you're not used to them. There are a few common issues you might experience the first time you use a wooden wick candle. Not to worry, we've got some tips for you so that you can fully experience your candle.
Here are some reasons why your wooden wick candle keeps going out:
The wick was trimmed too short
Candle tip #1:
Trimming your wick is important for so many reasons - the most important being that your candle will burn properly. You can trim your SM candle using a wick trimmer, scissors or nail cutter. In a pinch, you can always use a napkin and your fingers to gently break off the burnt parts of the wick.
Your candle has tunneled
Tunneling means that the wick is burning straight down the centre of the candle without creating a full melt pool within 2 - 4 hours of being lit.
Allow your candle enough time to develop a wax pool that goes all the way to the edge of the jar - this should take less than an hour even with our 16 oz jars. If you don’t give your candle enough time to form a full melt pool (especially) 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 tunnelling effect to continue with each burn. Eventually the tunnel can become too deep for fresh oxygen to flow in, and your candle will have trouble staying lit for more than short periods of time. It can even go off within minutes of lighting - however because coconut wax is a softer wax and the burn time is shorter to get a full melt pool for the most part this is rarely as much of a issue as it is more common with soy wax.
Candle tip #2:
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.
There is too much debris in melted wax
The wax is what fuels your candle's flame, not the wick. The flame draws the wax upwards through the wick, so if it’s not clean, the wax can’t make it to the flame. When there is too much debris floating in the wax, it may be hard for the flame to stay put. After trimming your wick, turn it upside down to remove any chopped bits of burnt wick before lighting.
Candle is drowning in wax pool
Sometimes, the candle burns hot and too quickly, resulting in a wax pool that can extinguish the flame. If this happens, try using a paper towel or napkin to soak up some of the excess wax. Then wait until the wax has solidified a little, relight your candle, and repeat until your wick has room to breathe.
If the above won’t work, you can scrape out the top wax with a spoon until the wick it tall enough to stay lit. You can also wrap the candle with aluminum foil to help melt the hard wax at the edges. Just keep going back to check on it so it doesn't burn for too long.
Need more candle care tips: Check out our full guide here.
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