The Burning Question
“How many candles will I make from a kg of wax? “
Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is a question even a person with the monumental intelligence of Marie Curie or Hannah Arendt would have found impossible to answer.
Why, you ask?
Well, ladies and gentlemen, because we need to know the weight of the candles you intend to make before we – or preferably you – can perform the calculation. Does that make sense? If not, keep reading.
And Now, The Answer!
1 kg wax = 1,000 grams wax
If the candle you want to make weighs 310 g (310 grams) then you can calculate the number of candles you’ll make from 1 kg wax like this:
1,000 grams of wax (i.e. 1 kg wax) divided by a 310 gram candle = number of candles you could make. In this case it would be 3.
The problem with this of course is that you need to know how much the candle weighs before you can figure out how far your wax will go.
“How Many Container Candles Can I make From 1 kg Soy Wax?”
This is a next level question. You may wonder why. Well, it’s a next level question because you need to convert volume to mass in order to get an answer.
Huh? Say what?
What we mean is that unfortunately 1 kg soy wax does NOT equal 1 litre soy wax.
And why would that be? The long answer is that soy wax has a density of approx 0.86. The formula for mass/volume conversions is:
Mass = volume multipied by density
Volume = mass divided by density
Apply this formula to calculate how many container candles you would make from 1kg soy wax.
But how can I know the volume of my containers?
Volume means how much liquid your glass container holds.
How on earth would I ever know that?! you ask. Simple, my dear Watson.
Fill the glass container with water. Pour the water into a measuring jug and take the reading. Now you know.
If your container has a volume of 250 ml, you would divide 1.1628 L of wax by 250 ml to get the number of containers you could fill … and the answer is 4 with some wax spare.
The Short Answer
1 kg soy wax = 1.1628 L soy wax
1 L soy wax = 860g soy wax
“I want to make x number of soy candles, how much wax do I need ?”
You will need ingenuity, the formula above and a calculator in order to find the answer. Take the container you wish to use and fill it with water. Pour the water into a measuring jug and take the reading, i.e. how much water in your measuring jug ? Write it down.
Now whip out your calculator and multiply the number above by 0.86. The answer will be the amount of wax you need in grams.
If your container takes 375 ml of water, then do this :
375 x 0.86 = 322.5
That means you will need 322.5 g of wax to fill your container.