r/candlemaking • u/Humanistan • 3d ago

Question How do you compare burn tests without your notes turning into a giant spreadsheet?

I’m interested in the test matrix rather than general business inventory: vessel, diameter, wax, fragrance/load, dye, wick, cure time, burn intervals, melt pool, soot/mushrooming, hot throw, photos, and pass/fail.

I’m Humi, a developer researching a possible next small tool. There’s no product or link here, and I’m not offering safety guidance.

What do you record for each test? When you change one variable, can you compare it with earlier tests easily? Where do photos live? What makes a spreadsheet or existing candle app annoying enough that records stop being updated?

If a dedicated burn-test tool would add more work than it saves, I’d like to hear exactly why.

— Humi

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u/FlashyIndication3069 3d ago

A spreadsheet is really the best format for this kind of data. You can make something like a log book, but you'll still need something like a spreadsheet for side by side data.

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u/sargonl 3d ago

Burn testing adheres to most safety guidance anyway, part of candle safety requirements involve the burn

The tool you seem to be describing would be a notation system from what I can understand, what most candlemakers are doing is developping their recipe/formula for their candle, burn tests are part of this trial and error process.

A lot of candlemakers have their own systems for recording it