Blog - Candleers

A common problem among first-time candle makers is trying to figure out how much candle wax they need to fill a jar. At first, most candle makers assume they need the same amount of wax that the container says it can hold, however, that is not correct. Let's take a closer look at how much wax you need to fill your candle containers and make candles. How much candle wax do I need? Calculate how much candle wax you need by multiplying the number of candles by the amount of wax needed per candle, then divide that number by 20 because the wax is less dense than water. Example, 100 (candles) x 8 oz (container size) = 800 (total ounces) / 20 (by volume) = 40lbs of wax. Per pound of wax, you will get 20 ounces by volume. This is because candle wax is less dense than water. It takes more wax to equal the same amount of weight of water. By volume, wax weighs 20% less than water. The amount containers can hold is measured in water, not wax. So the amount of wax that goes into a container will always be less than the water measurement. However, this is a good deal for candle makers because if you thought you needed 8oz of wax for an 8oz container you are going to make your wax supply last a little longer than you had initially planned. You can make the calculations for measuring wax easy on yourself by getting a candle making kit where everything is pre-measured for you. Click here to view some of the most popular candle making kits on Amazon. Candle Wax Density When dealing with weight vs volume it all comes down to density. What is density? Density is how much space something takes up compared to its weight. If it takes up the same amount of space but weighs less, that means that it has less density. However, if it takes up the same amount of space, but weighs more, that means it has more density. Density is an important part of measuring candle wax and figuring out how much candle wax it takes to fill different size containers. What is the density of candle wax? Candle wax is approximately 20% less dense than water. This means that candle wax has less weight than water for an equal measurement by volume. In addition, this means that wax is not as heavy as water and can float on top of the water. This is what makes floating candles possible. This also means that you need to do some calculations or use a calculator if you want to accurately measure your candle making supplies when making candles. Measuring Wax For Candle Making Making candles is not as easy as dealing with liquid measurements and relying on what we know about water to make candles. However, making candles and measuring your materials does not have to be complicated either. Are candles measured by weight or volume? Candles are measured by weight instead of volume. When making candles calculations are always made based on the weight of the wax and fragrance oil it takes to fill the container. This weight is called net weight because it doesn't include the container weight. It is important to get accurate measurements of materials when making candles, or else you might come up short or use too many materials. How do you measure wax for candle making? Measure wax for candle making by measuring the weight of the wax, not the volume. The weight of wax needed to fill any container will always be less than the weight of the water it takes to fill the same container, this is because water is more dense than wax. Remember to add an extra ounce of wax for the wax that sticks to the sides of your pot and a margin for error in the pouring process. In addition, if you measure the exact amount of wax you calculate needing then you are shorting your candles by the amount you clean out of your melt pot and off your spoon. Check the latest price of my favorite digital scale on Amazon here. Candle Container Volume Your container can hold whatever its list amount is. However, it can also hold more than that. This is known as the overflow amount. Avoid wasting any extra wax by only filling your containers to their fill line. An 8 oz jar can hold more than 8 oz of wax. Most jars have a "fill line" that you are supposed to fill to when pouring wax into the jars. The overflow amount a jar can hold is usually 4-5 oz more than the fill amount. If you go over just a little bit per jar you can short yourself on the back-end. To overcome this you have to either calculate for the overflow amount or make sure you do not over pour any of the candles. I suggest adding a little extra to your batch if you are not sure how consistent you will be pouring when you start out. It might be better to have a few ounces leftover in the pot than have a candle that is only half full of wax. Here are some of my favorite jars on Amazon. How Much Wax Per Candle? Candle Size (By Volume)Amount Of Wax (By Weight)3 oz2.4 oz4 oz3.2 oz6 oz4.8 oz8 oz6.4 oz10 oz8 oz12 oz9.6 oz14 oz11.2 oz16 oz12.8 oz20 oz16 oz Another way to calculate this is to multiply the number of containers by the size of containers in ounces and then multiply that number by .80. For example, 50 containers x 12 ounces x .80 = 480 ounces of wax required to fill the containers. 480 ounces divided by 16 ounces equals 30lbs of wax. Here are some example equations. Container Count X Container Size =Total Ounces / 20 = Amount Of Wax 20 (containers) x 8 oz (per container) = 160 oz / 20 = 8 lbs of wax How Many Candles Will 10 lbs Of Wax Make? Size Of CandlesNumber Of Candles4 oz508 oz2510 oz2014 oz1416 oz12 How Much Wax Do I Need To Make A Mason Jar Candle? For a 4 oz mason jar, you need 3.2 oz of wax, for an 8 oz mason jar you need 6.4 oz of wax, and for a 16 oz mason jar, you need 12.8 ounces of wax. Calculate the size of your jar and multiple that by .80 to get the amount of wax needed. Here is some of my favorite wax on Amazon. How Much Wax To Make Mason Jar Candles Amount of WaxSize of Jar1.5 ozMini Mason Jar3.2 oz4 oz6.4 oz8 oz9.6 oz12 oz12.8 oz16 oz Use Our Free Candle Making Calculator Candle Making Calculator: Free Downloadable Spreadsheet This is a downloadable spreadsheet that does all of the math for you. Just enter container size, number of containers, and desired fragrance load and it automatically tells you what to measure out! Candle.Making.CalculatorDownload How To Use The Candle Making Calculator Enter the container size into the first box.Use the number of containers in the second box.Enter the fragrance load into the third box.Read the total weight measurements in the output at the bottom. Click here to see the online version of our candle making calculator. Follow those simple steps and the calculator will give you the total weight outputs required for making your candles. It will give the total weight, the total weight of required wax, and the total weight of required fragrance oil. Average Density Candle Making Formula An alternative method is the average density candle-making formula. The average density candle-making formula says that the density of wax is 86% of the density of water. This means that 8 ounces of wax by volume will weigh 86% of what the same volume of water will weigh. How To Use The Average Density Formula How To Calculate Wax For Candle Making Using Average Density Formula 1. Measure the water weight of the container. Weigh the container, then fill it with water and weigh it again. Subtract the weight of the container from the weight of the container filled with water. This will give you the water weight. 2. Determine your fragrance load. Choose a fragrance load. Fragrance loads are typically between 6% and 10%. If it is your first time making candles you might want to start with 6%. 3. Find the total weight of materials. To find the combined total weight of wax and fragrance oil multiple the water weight you determined earlier by .86%. The number you get will be the total weight of your materials. 4. Calculate Individual Material Weight Divide the combined weight by the sum of 1 + fragrance load. (1+.06) Example. Total Weight = Wax Weight / (1 + F) If your total weight is 10 ounces it will look like this. 10 oz / (1+.06) = 9.4 oz of wax The remaining .6 oz is the fragrance oil required. 5. Multiply this result by the number of containers. If you are making 5 candles you simply multiply the above results of 9.4oz of wax and .6 oz of fragrance oil by 5 for the total amount of material you need to prepare. Filling Common Candle Container Sizes When making candloes you regularly see certain size containers again and again. That is because these containers are popular with customers and you end up making a lot of them. All of these measurements are approxamate, meaning that depending on the specific types of containers you are using, measurements may vary slightly. How Much Wax Do I Need For A 4 oz Candle? You need 3.2 ounces of wax by weight for a 4 oz candle by volume. This will fill the container to its fill line, however, it will not fill the container to its overflow line. It takes approximately 4.7 ounces to fill the container to its overflow line. How Much Wax Do I Need For A 6 oz Candle? You need 4.8 ounces of wax by weight for a 6 oz candle by volume. This will fill the container to its fill line, however, it will not fill the container to its overflow line. It takes approximately 5.2 ounces to fill the container to its overflow line. How Much Wax Do I Need For A 8 oz Candle? You need 6.4 ounces of wax by weight for a 8 oz candle by volume. This will fill the container to its fill line, however, it will not fill the container to its overflow line. It takes approximately 8.5 ounces to fill the container to its overflow line. How Much Wax Do I Need For A 10 oz Candle? You need 8 ounces of wax by weight for a 10 oz candle by volume. This will fill the container to its fill line, however, it will not fill the container to its overflow line. It takes approximately 11 ounces to fill the container to its overflow line. How Much Wax Do I Need For A 12 oz Candle? You need 9.6 ounces of wax by weight for a 12 oz candle by volume. This will fill the container to its fill line, however, it will not fill the container to its overflow line. It takes approximately 13.3 ounces to fill the container to its overflow line. How Much Wax Do I Need For A 14 oz Candle? You need 11.2 ounces of wax by weight for a 14 oz candle by volume. This will fill the container to its fill line, however, it will not fill the container to its overflow line. It takes approximately 15.5 ounces to fill the container to its overflow line. How Much Wax Do I Need For A 16 oz Candle? You need 12.8 ounces of wax by weight for a 16 oz candle by volume. This will fill the container to its fill line, however, it will not fill the container to its overflow line. It takes approximately 17.7 ounces to fill the container to its overflow line. As stated above, these measurements are approximations. The fill line measurement will vary depending on the size and style of your container. However, calculations for wax weight to make a candle are more accurate. Frequently Asked Questions How Many Candles Can I Make With 10lbs Of Wax? 10lbs of wax will make 20 ten ounce candles, 25 eight ounce candles, 33 six ounce candles, or 50 four ounce candles. How Many Candles Can I Make With 5lbs Of Wax? 5lbs of wax will make 10 ten ounce candles, 12 eight ounce candles, 17 six ounce candles, or 25 four ounce candles. How Many Tealights Can I Make Per Pound Of Wax? A pound of wax will make approximately 32 tealights depending on the actual size if the tealight cups you are using it may be slightly less or slightly more. You can expect each tealight cup to hold between 1/3 and 3/5 of an ounce depending on the manufacturer. How Many Candles Can I Make With One Pound Of Wax? One pound of wax can make two 10 oz candles or four 5 oz candles. In addition, depending on the size of your fragrance load you may be able to make even more candles of smaller size because fragrance oil displaces wax when making candles. How many candles will 2 lbs of wax make? 2 lbs of wax will make 4 - 10 oz candles or it can make 8 - 5 oz candles. Depending on the fragrance load, you may be able to make another smaller candle because of the fragrance oil displacing a certain amount of wax. How many candles will 10 pounds of soy wax make? With 10lbs of soy wax ou can make 20 ten oz candles, 25 eight oz candles, 33 six oz candles, or 50 four oz candles. This number also depends on if you fill to the fill line or the overflow line and the design of the container if you are filling to the overflow line. Conclusion In conclusion, the amount that your containers say they can hold is not the amount of wax that will be going into them because the wax is measured by weight and not by volume. Plan ahead the best you can but do not expect everything to work out perfectly on your first try. Add up the amount that all of your containers say they can hold and then divide that by 20, then add about 2 ounces to that for margin of error and you will be close enough. If you are making 10 - 8 oz candles, then that requires 4lbs of wax. Try adding a few extra ounces in case you pour too much wax per candle so that you do not run out of wax and short your last candle. You can also set up an extra jar in case you pour too little per candle, so you are not left with wasted wax. If you are making a large batch of candles but do not factor in the fragrance oil in to the total amount you will be pouring in to your containers you could have enough wax left over to pour one more more candles depending on the size.