What Temperature to Pour Soy Wax

The right soy pour temperature is the one on your wax maker's sheet, and the sheets disagree with each other because "soy wax" is many different products. The five sheets I opened run from about 113 F to 160 F. Pour somewhere in your wax's range, check the result in the jar, and change the temperature in small steps.

What do the sheets say?

Same wax name in the first three rows, three different pairs of numbers. The Golden Wax 464 rows are from three suppliers of one AAK wax. CandleScience gets 135 F and says to adjust to your conditions. Voyageur gives a range and says to check it against the season and container size. California Candle Supply uses 140 F and a lower add temperature. Lone Star's general guide gives wide spans for soy: 90 to 160 F in its table, usually 125 to 160 F in its text, and 90 to 170 F across brands. That shows how far soy runs, and Lone Star itself says to use each wax's own range.

Why do the numbers differ?

Waxes are blends with different additives. Voyageur says Golden Wax 464's additives let it be poured hotter, which reduces frosting. A technical data sheet for another soy container wax (version 5.0, revised 26 August 2020; the supplier is not named in the text I read) says pour temperature depends on mold type and size, the fragrance and dye, and the effect you want. It says pouring at about 45 to 55 C (113 to 131 F), which it describes as close to the congealing point, gives better adhesion to the container. Its own table lists the congealing point as 34 to 42 C, so that sheet is not tidy, which is another reason to test. It also says to try a lower or higher temperature in steps of 5 to 10 C if you have trouble.

Voyageur adds that different containers cool at different rates, and that cooling too quickly or too slowly can cause concaving or frosting.

Worked example: a pour-temperature test

Say your sheet gives 125 to 145 F with a 135 F start. You pour three identical jars at 125, 135 and 145 F, which is a 10 F step either side. Each jar takes 7 oz (198 g) of wax at a 7 percent load of the wax. All numbers are examples.

• Wax: 3 x 7 = 21 oz (595 g)
• Oil per jar: 7 x 0.07 = 0.49 oz (14 g)
• Oil for all three: 21 x 0.07 = 1.47 oz (42 g). Check: 0.49 x 3 = 1.47 oz
• Convert the range: 125 F is (125 - 32) / 1.8 = 51.7 C, and 145 F is 62.8 C

Same jar, wick, wax lot and room, and write down the temperature on each jar's base. After the cure, compare tops, wet spots at the glass and scent. A 5 to 10 C step is 9 to 18 F, so a 10 F step is a fair size. Do the test again when the season changes, because Voyageur says to recheck pour temperatures with the seasons.

Common mistakes

• Copying one blog's number for a different soy wax.
• Pouring without a thermometer in the wax.
• Changing the pour temperature and the wick at the same time.
• Forgetting that jar size, room temperature and drafts change how fast the candle cools.
• Reading a flash point as a pour temperature. They are different things (see our flash point guide).

Questions

Is hotter or cooler better for a smooth top?

It depends on the wax. The soy data sheet above says pouring near the congealing point helps the wax stick to the glass, while Voyageur says Golden Wax 464 is formulated to be poured hotter. Test your own.

Do I need to warm the jars?

CandleScience's Golden Wax 464 page does not mention it. Voyageur says jars should be clean, at room temperature, and need no preheating. The soy data sheet says containers should be at least room temperature and that preheating to about 45 to 50 C (113 to 122 F) can help. Lone Star says to preheat glass to roughly 125 to 149 F. Try your jar both ways.

What if I pour a second layer?

The same data sheet says some large containers need a top-up, poured slightly warmer than the first pour and before the candle is fully cool.