Soy candles burn much, much longer than regular candles and burn cleaner. You can get them any number of places. A woman I know in my neighborhoos makes them, and I have also seen them at the farmer's market and on line from various vendors.

Also when I used to go camping, they had those 12 hour votive candles in the camping section, so you could have a small amount of light all night long.

Great advice from Spring about the soy candles. Hobby Lobby votive candles, as inexpensive as they are, also have a long burn time.

I am sure you know this, but regardless of the way the candles burn, you should never burn them for more than 2-3 hours at a time.

Thanks les! Holy cow, the only Hobby Lobby in AZ looks to be 26 miles away. Now why should you not burn candles for more than 2-3 hours at a time?

I also read many years ago that beeswax candles burn a long time but it has been many years since I read that so not sure if that holds true to today's measure.

I read somewhere to always burn your candle the first time at least one hour to make it burn more evenly, burn the wax out from the wick, and burn all the way down the wick.

Les, why should you not burn candles longer than 2-3 hours at one time - due to fire hazard or something?

I buy partylite votives and tea lights, the tea lights last 4/5 hours, the votives around 8. I don't go to parties, I just buy them directly from the candle lady.

Maybe I can help! I owned my candle making business for 5 years. I just sold it last month to my Sister-in-law.

For container candles, it is best to let the wax melt all the way to the edges on the first burn. If not, you will have a tunneling effect with the outer edges of wax never melting down. A candle with a cotton core wick will burn faster than a zinc core wick (whether it be parafin or soy). Always trim your wick to 1/4" before lighting. I have always burned my candles for longer than 2-3 hours at a time. Sometimes I will notice that the wick will start putting off a little smoke after 3 hours, so I simply extinguish the flame with a wick dipper, trim it to 1/4", and then relight. The wick dipper is a little tool that is used to bend the burning wick over into the melted wax to extinguish the fire. Not only does it eliminate the smoking but it also re-waxes the wick making it easier to light the next time you burn your candle.

I have found that the softer the wax, the more scent it will hold. To test this before buying, use your finger to gently push on the top of the candle (container candles only). If you leave a fingerprint, then it is a soft wax and can handle more scent. This doesn't ensure that the candlemaker put as much scent as the wax will hold, however!

I don't have any experience in making the votive candles. That is a completely different kind of wax. I do decorate with votives and pillars, but rarely ever light them.

HTH,
Necia

I just discovered Root candles on a visit to Ross. Found a few travel tins for 99� each. They retail for about $7. I burned one for almost 9 hours one day. I couldn't believe how it just kept going. And it smelled so good! Not like a lot of cheap candles do.

Here is a link that might be useful: Root candles

The candle and fire safety sites recommend that you burn no longer than 1 hour for every inch of candle width. So, a 3" pillar candle should be burned no longer than 3 hours. I believe it does have to do with the amount of pooled wax.

I agree with the soy votive recommendation - they last a lot longer than regular votives and they hold scent better, too. Try Greenhouse Soy Company (www.greenhousesoycompany.com). They are parrafin-free and they have some really unique fragrances.

Here is a link that might be useful: Greenhouse Soy Company Votives

I bought battery operated vanilla sented candles at hobby lobby a couple of weeks ago and they smell wonderful. Do not know how long the scent will last but I don't have to worry about an open flame and I can leave them on and not burn the house down! I got them at 50% off and they were about $7 half price.

I burn candles every day and one thing I have noticed is that candles contained completely in glass burn much slower than candles that aren't enclosed.