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Burn time calculator

How long will your candle actually burn? Wax weight and wick setup in, an honest range out, plus the number you can safely put on the label.

Wax plus fragrance, the weight actually poured. Not the vessel size printed on the label.
Estimated burn time
45 hrs
Likely range: 40 to 50 hours
Safe Label Claim
40+ hrs
4-Hour Sessions
~11

How burn time is estimated

A container candle consumes wax at a fairly steady rate for its wax type and wick setup: soy burns slowest of the common container waxes, paraffin fastest, coconut blends in between, and every additional wick consumes wax nearly in proportion. This calculator divides your poured weight by a typical consumption rate for your setup and shows the honest range around it, because fragrance load, wick size, drafts, and session length all move the number.

The label claim, done right

Overstating burn time is one of the fastest ways to earn a bad review, because it's the one claim every customer eventually tests. The safe move is to advertise the bottom of the range, rounded down, as a plus figure: a candle estimating 40 to 50 hours gets labeled "40+ hours." Customers who beat the number feel good about you. The reverse never happens.

Verifying with a real burn

For candles you sell, confirm the estimate once per formula: weigh the candle, burn it in 4-hour sessions with the wick trimmed each time (the same protocol as safety testing), and weigh it again at the end. Total weight consumed divided by hours gives your true burn rate, and that number is also a quiet quality check: a rate far above the estimate usually means the wick is too large.

Getting the wick right comes first; the wick size calculator will get you to the right test set. And since burn hours per dollar is a selling point, the pricing calculator helps you decide what those hours should cost.

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