Why Does My Wick Keep Drowning or Going Out?

A wick drowns when the pool of melted wax rises around it faster than the flame can burn it away. Lone Star Candle Supply lists the symptom as a flame that is too small and drowning in wax, with the cause as a wick that is too small, so melted wax floods the flame. A wick trimmed too short, or one clogged by a heavy fragrance and dye load, can put a flame out too. Fixing it means finding out which of these you have.

What should I do with a candle that is drowning?

1. Put the flame out.
2. Look at the wick and the melt pool. Lone Star says to make sure it is trimmed to a proper length, and to remove wax from the melt pool after extinguishing. The wax is hot, so take care.
3. Let the candle cool, then check the length. Lone Star says to keep the wick trimmed to about 1/4 inch (6 mm). House of Scent says a wick trimmed too short can be freed by gently melting the wax around it and lifting it with tweezers.
4. Relight and watch the flame. Stay with it.
5. If it drowns again, size the wick up one step in the same series and test again. Lone Star lists sizing up as the fix for a drowning flame.

What are the causes?

• A wick that is too small. House of Scent and Lone Star both list it. CandleScience says an under-wicked candle will not burn out to the container's edge, and its flame may extinguish itself before all the wax is burned. See our guide on signs your wick is too small for the other signs.
• A wick trimmed too short. House of Scent lists it. CandleScience's wicking page says a flame that is too small can need the wick left longer before lighting, about 5/8 inch (16 mm), and aims for a flame about 1 inch (2.5 cm) tall.
• Too much fragrance oil or dye. House of Scent says a heavy load can clog the wick. CandleScience's wicking page ties the size to the load: go up one or two sizes if you use more than 1 oz of fragrance per pound of wax, a dense fragrance, or a lot of dye.
• A candle that was burned too soon. House of Scent says a candle that dies out within seconds or minutes may need a cure of at least 24 to 48 hours first so the oil can bind. CandleScience also says to wait at least 24 hours before starting a burn test.

The trim advice differs. Lone Star and the National Candle Association (NCA) say 1/4 inch, and CandleScience's soy guide says between 1/4 and 1/2 inch (6 to 13 mm). CandleScience's wicking page says to leave it longer, 5/8 inch, if the flame is small. Start at 1/4 inch and change the length only as a test.

How long should I burn before I decide?

Long enough for the pool to reach the edge of the jar. CandleScience's soy guide says a full melt pool takes about 1 hour per inch of container diameter. Lone Star says the same. CandleScience's wicking page says that if the pool does not reach the edge, burn for 3 to 4 hours in one lighting. The NCA says in general no more than 4 hours at a time. A wick that looks like it is drowning at the one-hour mark may just be early, which is why the test has to reach the edge of the jar.

Worked example: a wick series in one jar

Your jar is 3.25 inches (8.3 cm) wide. At 1 hour per inch, the first burn is 3.25 x 60 = 195 minutes, which is 3 hours 15 minutes, under the NCA's 4 hour limit. Pour three candles that differ only in wick size: N, one step up (N+1) and two steps up (N+2). Stay with each and note the flame at 1 hour, at 2 hours and at the end. The readings below are examples.

N is the one that drowned: its flame shrank and went out before the end. N+1 held about 1 inch, which matches the flame height CandleScience aims for, so it is the one to repeat. N+2 grew, which is a sign to watch for the opposite problem. Change only the wick between the candles. CandleScience says not to swap wicks mid-test, because the wick has to soak up its own wax, fragrance and dye.

Common mistakes

• Trimming the wick to nothing, so the flame cannot melt wax.
• Judging the wick after a one-hour burn.
• Raising the fragrance load to fix a weak scent, then wondering why the wick clogs.
• Switching wick series in the middle of a test.
• Burning a candle before it has cured.

Questions

Can I just pour out some of the melted wax?

Lone Star says to remove wax from the melt pool after extinguishing. It lists this next to sizing the wick up. If the wick drowns every time, size it up.

Is a drowning wick the same as tunneling?

They are related, since both can come from a wick that is too small, but they look different. In tunneling the melt pool never reaches the edge. Read our tunneling guide.

My flame keeps going out only near the end. Why?

I did not find a page in the sources I read that answers this directly. CandleScience says a too-small wick's flame may extinguish itself before all the wax is burned. Test a wick one step up in your own jar with your own wax.