SOFTCANDLE

🔥 Wick Size Guide

Enter your container diameter and wax type to get a recommended cotton-wick size for a clean, even melt pool — a reliable starting point you then confirm with a test burn.

🧮 Find Your Wick

⚠️ Always test-burn. This guide is a starting point, not a guarantee. Burn a sample candle and watch the melt pool, flame, and glass temperature before making a batch, and always follow candle-safety guidance — never leave a burning candle unattended.

What is the Wick Size Guide?

It matches your candle's diameter to a recommended wick from widely used cotton series (CD and ECO), grouped into practical size bands from small votives up to wide multi-wick vessels. The wax type nudges the suggestion, since soy, paraffin, and beeswax burn differently.

Use it to shortcut the trial-and-error of wicking a new container, avoid tunnelling or an overheated flame, and know when a vessel needs more than one wick. It's deterministic guidance — the real answer always comes from a careful test burn.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

How do I choose the right wick size for my candle?

Wick choice is driven mainly by the candle's diameter — the width of the melt pool the flame has to reach — plus the wax type. Enter your container diameter and wax and this guide suggests a starting wick from popular cotton series (CD and ECO). Always test-burn before committing to a batch.

What happens if the wick is too small or too large?

A wick that's too small tunnels — it burns straight down leaving unmelted wax around the edge. A wick that's too large burns too hot, smokes, mushrooms, and can make the glass dangerously hot. The right size forms a full, even melt pool without excessive flame.

Do I need more than one wick?

For containers wider than about 4 inches, a single wick usually can't melt the whole surface, so you cluster two or more wicks. Multi-wick candles need careful testing to balance the melt pool and keep the flames safe.

Why do I have to test-burn instead of trusting the chart?

Wick performance shifts with fragrance load, dye, wax blend, and container shape, so no chart is exact. A test burn — watching the melt pool, flame height, and glass temperature over a few hours — is the only reliable way to confirm the wick, and it's essential candle-safety practice.