Candle Wicks Blowing Up

[The15thMember]

I had a weird thing happen with some of the candles I made for Christmas this year.  As the candles burned down, instead of the wicks burning away, they would just char but still be there.  They would get longer and longer until the flame was really high from the long wick and the candle was no longer burning correctly.  On some of them, the wick even blew up, not like a bomb, but like a balloon.  I have a picture attached of the worst offender.  I'm really confused why this happened because this is the exact same wick I used last year for Christmas candles, it's even the same batch of wick.  Anyone have any ideas why this would be happening?   

[animal]

blowing up, but not in a fun way 

sounds like a nylon or polyester blend rather than natural fibers. Wicks from china perhaps ?
do they produce a black string-like trail of soot?
 

[The15thMember]

No on all counts.  I had no soot or smoke, and I purchase cotton square braid wicking from a place in LA called Waxing Moonshine.  I contacted them about it as well, since they are typically very helpful, so we'll see what they have to say.  Here's the link to their Etsy store if anyone is interested; I highly recommend them.  I've been using their wicking for several years and have never had a problem before.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/WaxingMoonshine?ref=usf_2020

[Lesgold]

Hi Reagan,

The mushrooming effect is usually caused by using a wick that is too large for the candle.  More wax is sent up the wick than it can burn and carbon starts to build up as a result.

[The15thMember]

Thanks, Les.  I heard back from the company, and they said the same thing, but the thing that was different this year must have been my wax, because it was much yellower than last year's, which was more tan.  Here is what they told me.

That balloon or mushroom shape formed at the end of a candle wick is typically the result of carbon buildup; Basically, there's more wax being pulled up the wick than can be fully burned off. So it basically means your wick is a bit too big and you'll likely have a better burn with a wick size (or two?) down. At least, that's usually what this means.

If your candles last year were exactly the same size, then it's likely that your current batch of beeswax is simply burning differently (I find any given batch of beeswax may be quite a bit different from the last).

Feel free to let me know the wax type, candle width, and wick type you're using and I can let you know my opinions on the wick sizing.

I'll just need to keep the color of the wax in mind in the future. 

[animal]

cool ... learned something ... Thanks !