$7.15
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----> Go here to see the other temperature range paraffins: <----
https://www.etsy.com/shop/NorthernWestStuff?ref=hdr_shop_menu&search_query=straight+paraffin
Each shape weight will be at least the lowest weight given. 90% of the time it will higher than that. Most are in the upper range (at or even above the highest weight given). There is also an irregular shape that's not shown, which is made of broken up pieces of flat sheet of varying thicknesses. There is only 1 weight given for it since we can alter it by varying the sheet sizes.
Please forgive the mottling, cracking, high shrinkage, and other wax pouring defects in the pictures. We had a lot to get through and speed overrode keeping tight pouring temperature and mold temperature controls in effect!
This is a 150 F melting point (MP) straight paraffin. Straight paraffin has a low oil content (less than 0.5%). Most straight paraffin bought from candle suppliers is generic, the "store brand", and the manufacturer is not given. This is one of those, store brand, no manufacturer given. For candles, a straight paraffin usually serves as a starting point for making "blended" candle wax. Additives are used to encourage certain effects or properties (such as "mottling" or "snowflaking", or allowing a candle to have a greater amount of fragrance added, for a stronger scent), or to discourage certain properties (such as cooling too quickly or shrinking too much).
But paraffin has other uses and some require a consistent melting point and the simple alkane, carbon "backbone" with only single bonds between carbon atoms that a straight paraffin with no branching has.
The art or science of determining melting point can be simple (and less accurate), or complex (and accurate) requiring laboratory equipment including a microscope and capillary tubing to determine the exact point when crystals begin to form. Go here for details if you're interested: { https://www.quora.com/How-is-the-melting-point-of-wax-determined }. We lack the facility to measure MPs ourselves, other than getting a fairly correct MP range using an infrared thermometer.
The given melting point in our wax listings is what the vendor we bought it from says it is.
We have it in 7 MP temperatures ranging from 123 F to 160 F. We carry it in relatively small sizes for the beginning or experienced candle maker who would like to test different melts themselves either for use alone or as bases for custom wax blends. It is difficult to find small testing quantities of specific MPs. There are plenty of 1 pound blocks of generic
paraffins online, but they are for general household use (for canning, etc) and no exact MP is given.
The usual "small" quantity for a straight, specific MP paraffin is a 10 or 11 pound slab which will cost you about $30 to $50 with shipping. Our standard sizes are 350 gr to 50 gr. We have it in several shapes: little "ingots", "muffin bottoms", and irregularly broken up sheets. We have a limited number of 1 lb blocks (we only have 1 mold for that size, so we only pour 1 of those per "melt session").
Paraffin is almost universally known. It's used in candles, in canning jellies (vegetables not so much anymore), in crayons, as a household lubricant for sliding doors, drawers, windows, zippers, and anything else that squeaks, as a wax for almost anything that slides in snow, like snowboards or skis, as a non-stick waterproofing coating, in polishes, to coat steel or iron to prevent rust. It's used as a thickener, binder, stabilizer, and strengthener in a variety of cosmetics, bath and beauty (such as foot and hand baths) and food products. Food grade paraffin is melted with chocolate to make it stronger or less expensive, and in many other food uses like chewing gum, cheese wrapping, fruit polish, drinks, sausages, and candy. You can buy food grade paraffin in most grocery stores. Gulf Wax is a commonly available food grade wax (detailed information on Gulf Wax is here): https://lotsofeverything.wordpress.com/2008/08/11/more-on-gulf-wax/
A little more technical, Merriam-Webster dictionary defines paraffin as:
"a waxy crystalline flammable substance obtained especially from distillates of wood, coal, petroleum, or shale oil that is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons and is used chiefly in coating and sealing, in candles, in rubber compounding, and in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics."
Collins English dictionary:
Paraffin is "a white insoluble odourless wax-like solid consisting mainly of alkane hydrocarbons with melting points in the range of [120 F to 140 F], used in candles, waterproof paper, and as a sealing agent." Most sources say paraffin BEGINS to melt at 99 F.
What are "alkane hydrocarbons"? Hydrocarbons is an easy one: molecules consisting of only hydrogen and oxygen. Alkanes are easy too: the simplest kind of hydrocarbons, having only single bonds between their carbon atoms. This makes them "Saturated", and therefore stable and non-reactive. The simplest alkanes form straight chains of single bond carbon atoms (the carbon "backbone") with no branching. Paraffins fall into this category. In order to be solids paraffins must have 16 or more straight chain carbon atoms. Most commonly the number of carbon atoms is between 18 and 30. Strictly speaking paraffin is a broad term which includes "Macro-Crystalline" and "Micro-Crystalline" paraffin waxes {Mustafa Versan Kok, in Handbook of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, 2008}. Usually, however, Microcrystalline wax is categorized separately from Paraffin.
Paraffin has a number of unique properties:
1). It is a good Phase Change Material (PCM). It has a high "heat of fusion" (from a solid to a liquid) and equally high "heat of solidification" (from a liquid to a solid), which makes it capable of storing and releasing large amounts of energy. This makes it potential new age energy-saving material. Here is an article describing how a mixture of sand and paraffin can store heat captured from the sun in daylight for release during the night:
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/presspacs/2013/acs-presspac-march-13-2013/paraffin-encapsulated-in-beach-sand-material-as-a-new-way-to-store-heat-from-the-sun.html
2). Paraffin wax is an excellent electrical insulator, better than nearly all other materials except some plastics (notably Teflon).
3). Paraffin expands considerably when it melts which makes it a good candidate for industrial and automotive thermostats. Of course, it conversely shrinks significantly when solidifying, not so good for candle makers, but good for companies which make paraffin additives and blends to reduce this shrinkage.
4). It has properties which make it useful for the solid phase of the propellant for hybrid rocket engines, which use liquids as the oxidizer and solids as the fuel in contrast to liquid-propellant rockets and solid-propellant rockets.
Although paraffin wax originates from organic plant material (including algae and plankton), it is not considered a "natural" wax. It can be made from petroleum, coal, shale oil, or even wood. Each of those materials is "natural" since they were not made artificially by mankind. Most paraffin is made from petroleum. It could be argued that petroleum or crude oil itself is a "natural" material since it was not created by people. But, something that starts out as "natural" becomes "artificial" when altered by man which is exactly happens to petroleum at petroleum refineries.
National Geographic has a wonderful, easy to understand article on petroleum { https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/petroleum/ }
"Petroleum (also known as crude oil or simply oil) is a fossil fuel that was formed from the remains of ancient marine organisms.
Millions of years ago, algae and plants lived in shallow seas. After dying and sinking to the seafloor, the organic material mixed with other sediments and was buried. Over millions of years under high pressure and high temperature, the remains of these organisms transformed into what we know today as fossil fuels. Coal, natural gas, and petroleum are all fossil fuels that formed under similar conditions."
So, although paraffin is ultimately derived from organic material, "natural" waxes have come to mean those from plants, insects, and animals. While there are advantages to using these “green” waxes, they cannot be used interchangeably with paraffin. { https://blendedwaxes.com/paraffin-vs-natural-waxes/ }. Paraffin has unique properties that no other wax possesses.-
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1-2 business days
I'll do my best to meet these shipping estimates, but can't guarantee them. Actual delivery time will depend on the shipping method you choose.
Buyers are responsible for any customs and import taxes that may apply. I'm not responsible for delays due to customs.
But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
We're sorry, but at this time we do not ship internationally.
If you would like a smaller or larger quantity of a raw material, click the "Request a custom order" button and tell us how much you would like. Or just contact us and let us know what you'd like. We'll get back to you ASAP.
This problem usually occurs with multiple items. We have free shipping on many of our items. In your cart items will have the sum of all embedded shipping costs. If you place an order for 3 or more "FreeShip" items, you will receive a "rebate" for the excess shipping. The more items you have the greater the shipping refund will be. You can also message us to ask what the total cost of your order will be when excess shipping is refunded before you purchase.
Or, if you see "Request a Custom Order" or "Message Seller", you can request a custom order and your items will be put in a custom listing with the correct shipping. You would purchase it like any other listing.
If you have a technical question about an item we've listed, please don't hesitate to ask. We enjoy helping people out with a material or a process.
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Sep 17, 2023
I haven’t used the product just yet but everything came as seen and on time.
Lynn Julceus
Aug 11, 2023
manorman0811
Sep 8, 2021
Shipped very quickly and packaged carefully.
squareknotstudio
Oct 20, 2020
EXACTLY what I was looking for! I have wooden drawers in an old vanity that were sticking and I wanted the old-fashioned simple solution of rubbing the runners with paraffin! I chose the ingot shape and it fits in my hand perfectly. It's the right size (not too big) and was packaged very nicely. Very timely delivery. And my drawers are sliding smoothly once again!
nancy barbata
