One of the most popular questions we get asked is "How long should I burn a candle for?" and we love answering it. There are two things to keep in mind when burning a candle:
How long you should burn a candle to help prevent tunneling:
The minimum amount of time you need to burn a candle so the wax melt pools to the edges of the container. This prevents tunneling, which is when the candle burns down instead of out. If you have a candle that is tunneling and you need to fix it, visit our guide on how to fix a tunneling candle.
The rule of thumb when trying to figure out how long you should burn a candle is one hour per inch in vessel diameter. How do you know what the diameter of a candle vessel is? Grab a ruler and measure across the top of the container. Our glass jars are approximately 2.75" wide, so the ideal amount of time to get a full melt pool is 2.75 hours. Wider containers, like our shallow but wide travel candles are ~3.5" wide, so you'll want to let them burn for 3.5 hours.
How long you should burn a candle for safety:
The maximum amount of time you should burn a candle is the diameter of the container plus one hour. So, back to why knowing the diameter of the container is so important is for safety reasons. Our 7.2oz jars are 2.75" wide, so they should burn for no more than 4 hours at a time. Our mini tumblers are just tiny guys and you'll want to burn them for no more than two hours at a time.
Always remember to keep your lit candle in sight. Keep away from drafts, fabrics, small children and pets. I like setting a timer on my phone when I light a candle so I don't forget. Time flies when you're burning a great candle.