Refilling tea lights

vivw_2

I seem to have loads of bits of wax around where the wick has been burnt but the wax remains. I wondered if I could use the wax to refill tea lights ...has anyone done this? How do you do it?

craft-a-holic

Hi vivw,

I don't refill tea lights but use all the spare bits of wax from my scented candles in a tart burner. When you light a tea light under them, the wax melts and fragrances your room. When the wax goes cold, it sets again and you have a new 'tart' to burn next time :j

However when I was in Hobbycraft today I noticed that they sold wicks for candles among their candle making stuff (surprisingly!) but not sure how you would melt the 'plain' wax and insert a wick without being scalded Perhaps someone with candle making experience could help?

All the best!

vivw_2

I also burn the scented wax like that but I have bits of unscented wax that I thought would make good tea lights to burn under my 'tarts'

Zazen999

Hi there
Wax melts at about 40-45 degrees C, depending on the type, so you don't get scalded; that's how we can be 'waxed' to remove hairs.

Anyhow; you can chuck it in an old pan, melt it on the lowest heat and pour it in; I wouldn't use the pan for anything else afterwards as you can never get it not to smell of wax again. With small tealight containers, use an old spoon to fill it. Or, drop little bits of wax into the container, unmelted [possibly chopped up if too big], and leave the containers in a baking tray, with some paper underneath to catch any spills, in a low oven. It'll soon melt down.

If you do spill some on clothes etc; don't panic. Put these either in a hot bowl of water and the wax will melt and float to the top; or use an iron to heat it up with plain white paper in between; preferably do both to remove it all.

vivw_2

Thanks for that...lots of tips there but how do I get a new wick in the tea light so that I can light it?

Murtle

I melt wax in a *bain marie* type set up, put a pan of water on the stove, and heat it up, then put a bowl balanced on top of the pan and put the wax in there to melt it, then pour (with a spoon and if necessary a funnel) it into the tea light cases with a wick held in place

HTH!

How to put a wick in, I usually use cardboard cut out that sit on top of the candle mold that has a small hole for the wick to be held by...does that make sense??

vivw_2

thanks .......not sure i understand about the cardboard though

mary43

I kept all the remains of my scented candles the other year then couldn't work out quite how to put melted wax in the empty tea light holders so in the end I chucked them................in the meantime, while I was all keen on the idea I picked up a candle making set from one of the charity shops.......still feel a bit 'timid' about doing anything with it.........expect I'll end up sticking it on the freecycle site...........it all looked a bit complicated to me

wicknwax

You need to put the wick in when the candle has a skin over it and is just about set, then it will sit straight in it

Seakay

Use a cleaned out food tin to put the wax in and put that in a pan of simmering water - that way you don't have to worry about contaminating food utensils.
I use the cardboard method as well - cut a circle or other shape which will rest on your candle mould (or tea light container) without falling in. Push your wick through a small hole in the centre and let the end dangle into the wax. The hole should be small enough to hold the wick in place - a fat darning needle or a skewer work well - until the wax sets.

Tim_Deegan

Please, please, please make sure that if you must use tea lights then they are in a holder.

Normally the aluminium case on a tea light won't get hot. However there is a 1 in a 1000 chance that either due to a manufacturing defect, or a foriegn object dropped into the wax, that you can get what is called a double wicking effect. This can cause the aluminium casing to heat up enough to burn the surface underneath it, possibly causing a fire.

By trying to remanufacture old tea lights you could also cause a double wicking effect. They are only cheap, so it is far safer to buy new ones.