Can Himalayan Salt Dissolve in Candle Wax?

[BioFM]

Great questions here and excellent suggestions too. I have to say that I'm not making candles but I'm borrowing from the candle technology to coat a hygroscopic salt with a wax. Essentially I'm trying to get coated salt granules.

 

[sophiecentaur]

I would probably sound grumpy if I asked you why you didn't start us off with this information. Is this all a big secret? People have been wasting their time dealing with a specific question; how can you expect the best response?

 

[BioFM]

In all fairness I have to protect my trade and I believe that I shared enough info to get the responses I got. If you feel that you wasted your time, I sincerely apologize but still appreciate the your input on this.

 

[sophiecentaur]

In all fairness I have to protect my trade

I appreciate that but asking the wrong question (which you in fact did, in the circumstances) risks getting the wrong answer and missing out on potentially useful input. PF has a large number of 'experts' who are willing to help as long as they realize that you are, in fact, needing their particular expertise. Candlemaking, as a topic would probably not attract the attention of the one possible person who could actually help you.

I think you will realize that, if you want specific commercially sensitive information then you have to ask in a non-public space. The alternative is to ask a very specific question on an academic subject that gives no clue about its application.

Having re-read the question and the context (and consider the details of why candle making works the way it does) I think the answer to your problem would actually involve something much more sophisticated than just stirring one substance into another. You could try spraying / bubbling / agitating to make your process happen on the scale of particles which would then solidify before having the chance to melt in together.

There are some fancy recipes that chefs use to achieve this sort of thing in cooking and baking. Perhaps Heston Blumental's books would have some ideas; he goes in for special effects in his chemical engineering / cooking.

 

[Clayton]

I need to wax a sodium carboxylic salt.

I Thought the explanation of what you are try to do was clear.

My thought would be to lower the temperature of the sodium carboxylic salt (maybe put it in a freezer overnight) then pour the molten wax over it. Just my thoughts, I’m no chemist.

 

[Pratyeka]

1- melt the wax.
2- pour the melted wax into a baking sheet covered with sulfur paper. Make a thin sheet of wax, maybe 3mm thick.
3- while the wax cools, spread the powdered salt over the whole surface. The coarseness of the salt to be determined by experimenting.
4- once the wax is cooled, remove from baking sheet, peel the paper, form your candle by hand, either by rolling the sheet or squeezing into a ball or whatever shape you desire.

warning: I have not done the above procedure so I cannot guaranty that it will give good results.

 

[sophiecentaur]

It could be worth experimenting with grinding the salt and just mixing with the wax. Small crystals (power) lose their colour but the wax could restore it.
Selective seiving could grade the crystals to give a size range that works.

 

[sysprog]

Quick update on this! I melted the wax first at 210C. Note the high temperature was necessary melt the wax and keep molten. I added the 'salt' which also melted. However, since the molten salt is denser than molten wax, the salt settled at the bottom. Mixing with a glass rod could not provide good homogeneity.
I decided to make another go at it this time adding the salt dissolved in water to the molten wax. Each drop added popped off spluttering the wax out. This looked so dangerous.
My guess is that my chosen vegetable wax maybe a bad fit because of the high temperature required to melt. Should I try paraffin wax instead? Any

Salt can of course be dissolved in water, and dissolved or powdered salt can be mixed intimately with molten wax, but salt doesn't melt until its temperature reaches 1,474°F.

 

[sophiecentaur]

What is this Himalayan salt? Seems like it’s already a mix with wax.

 

[sysprog]

What is this Himalayan salt? Seems like it’s already a mix with wax.

It's a light pink (due to naturally occurring non-NaCl constituents) salt.

 

[sophiecentaur]

It's a light pink (due to naturally occurring non-NaCl constituents) salt.

But it melts easily? That doesn’t make sense.

 

[Just Plain Old]

Oh ok well ill try & grind the salt to a powder form & see what happens thank u very much, thank u to every 1 for ur help...

So, years after the question was originally posted, I would suggest an alternate method of combining the salt with the wax for your candle making. Simply pour the melted wax onto a layer of salt. When cool, flip it over and repeat the process. You might try using a shallow flexible silicon cookie sheet with 4 side walls. Place a wick at one end. Then either spread a layer of salt and pour melted and scented wax over it, or, pour the scented wax into the cookie sheet in a thin layer and sprinkle the salt on top. A spatula would be handy to press any floating bits of salt down into the wax. Once it is cool enough to safely handle, but still warm and flexible, starting at the wick end, roll it up as tightly as possible and cut to size. From here, put it into a candle mold and pour more of the melted scented wax over it to fill any voids. You might find that you can use wax with a higher melting point to make a sleeve that can be filled a lower melting point wax, thus saving you some money on Himalayan salt, but still have the novel, trendy, sexy, romantic light of a Himalayan salt lamp. The physics of the process is similar to a butterd slice of bread falling buttered side down, but with a positive outcome...

 

[sophiecentaur]

I notice that this thread has 43 posts now. I look forward to (perhaps I should start) a thread about the frequencies involved in the operation of a Dream Catcher.

 

[oOCRYPTIC_FORTUNEOo]

Thank u for ur reply but I've tried having in the pot while the wax is melting but still nothing i have tried dissolving it in water before adding it to the wax but water & wax won't mix...

Literally crush the salt granules into powder it probably still won't dissolve but it will be more dispersed into the wax.

 

[Pratyeka]

I notice that this thread has 43 posts now. I look forward to (perhaps I should start) a thread about the frequencies involved in the operation of a Dream Catcher.

Various studies shows that the natural frequency of Dream Catchers if inversely proportional to the circumference of the frame but proportional to the number of knots. For better effect, the Dream Catcher must be oriented perpendicular to the direction of the dream to be caught.

 

[sophiecentaur]

Various studies shows that the natural frequency of Dream Catchers if inversely proportional to the circumference of the frame but proportional to the number of knots. For better effect, the Dream Catcher must be oriented perpendicular to the direction of the dream to be caught.

I don't think you're taking me seriously. Lol

 

[DaveC426913]

Various studies shows that the natural frequency of Dream Catchers if inversely proportional to the circumference of the frame but proportional to the number of knots. For better effect, the Dream Catcher must be oriented perpendicular to the direction of the dream to be caught.

Leaves the core question unanswered though, doesn't it?

Can a dreamcatcher, in practice, catch a dream that is moving faster directly downwind than the wind itself?

 

[sophiecentaur]

a dream that is moving faster

I have a lot of them. Everything seems to happen in a very short time, between waking periods; much faster than real time. I often wake up after just over one hour and I'm convinced I've been dreaming all night with great epic sequences. Perhaps I should hang a DC over the bed (and burn some HS candles too).

 

[hutchphd]

Can a dreamcatcher, in fact, catch a dream that is moving faster directly downwind than the wind itself?

I think the technical speed question has been answered

proportional to the number of knots

My spelling is a little weak ...

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