Candle Making Equipment Guide for Beginners
You’ll need some basic supplies to make candles.
As with many trades, good equipment helps craft a better result, but it’s still possible to make amazing candles without investing lots of money into your tools. Did you know you can make candles at home with equipment you already have in your kitchen?
This candle making equipment guide covers the basics of outfitting your workshop, even if you’re just starting out.
There are plenty of alternative tools that craft beautiful candles – you don’t have to buy professional-grade equipment to be successful.
Here’s an overview of basic candle making equipment:
A typical candle kit includes the following:
- Aluminum melting pitcher
- Glass thermometer
- Wick bars/holders
- Wax, fragrance, wicks, etc (“supplies”)
Candle making kits are normally lower-quality and intended for casual hobbyists.
Most kits hover around $60 with a large variety of quality. Some offer better equipment at the expense of low-quality wax or fragrance.
Others have higher quality supplies, but suffer from smaller or poorly made equipment. There isn’t a premium market for candle making kits, likely because hobbyists don’t need the large investment and professionals aren’t buying kits anyways.
Candle making is simple enough for beginners to get by without a kit.
Read through this candle making equipment guide for more insight into each tool to understand what it does, how much it’s worth, and how to get by on less expensive alternatives.
Thermometers
Overview
A thermometer helps control the heating and cooling of wax. Candle making is pretty much a large exercise in managing the “thermal life cycle” of wax:
Solid Wax → Liquid Wax → Liquid Wax + Fragrance → Solid Wax + Fragrance
Each stage of the life cycle is associated with a range of temperatures. A thermometer is the only way to accurately track it.
| Thermometer Type | Typical Price Range |
|---|---|
| Glass Thermometer | $5.00 – $12.00 |
| Meat/Candy/Deep Fryer Thermometer | $5.00 – $20.00 |
| Infrared Thermometer | $25.00 – $60.00 |
| Pyrometer | $60.00 – $170.00 |
Best Overall
If you expect to make a lot of candles, invest in an infrared thermometer.
IR thermometers work by bouncing infrared light off a surface and measuring how much heat it generates. It’s entirely hands-off, consistent, quick, and requires zero cleaning up. Make sure you stir the wax before taking the temperature, and always shoot at the middle.
Recommended Alternative
Glass thermometers are the old standby for a reason.
They sit in the melted wax and need to be cleaned after every batch of candles, but it’s not hard to clean off.
If you invest in one of these, make sure it has a clip to hold it against your melting pot. They are usually reliable, but sometimes break if not made very well.
If you don’t want to invest in a new thermometer, you may already have a meat thermometer in your kitchen.
They are easy to read, generally accurate, but require extra precaution to use since they don’t come with any sort of clip to keep your hands away from hot wax. You can Macgyver some wire or a stand if you want to use it hands-free, otherwise just wear an oven mitt while you measure the temperature.
Pouring Pots
Overview
You’ll need a container to melt wax in.
Depending on what you choose for a heat source, your “wax melting container” may also be your “pouring pitcher”, but it doesn’t have to be.
Professional candle makers are known to melt wax down in a dedicated area then transfer to a pouring pot where the fragrance and dye is mixed in.
The classic “how to make candles” guide usually uses the double boiler method (seen here) which simplifies much of the process at the cost of time and throughput.
| Pouring Pot | Typical Price Range |
|---|---|
| Glass Measuring Cup | $2.00 – $15.00 |
| Aluminum Pour Pot | $15.00 – $25.00 |
| Science Beakers | $5.00 – $15.00 |
Best Overall
Aluminum pour pots are versatile because they can resist high temperatures and hold a fair amount of wax. They’re also easy to transfer liquid wax into if you’re melting in a separate container.
The pour pots fit well in a double boiler system or on a hot plate, and they clean up easy too.
They scale laterally very well as your candle business grows – just add more pour pots to your system as you crank out more and more candles!
Pour pots included with candle making kits are typically smaller than you would see in a more mature workshop. They hold 1 lb – 2 lb which is sufficient for about a couple small candles or one larger candle.
If you’re interested in buying one for larger use, consider getting at least a 4 pound or greater capacity.
Recommended Alternative
A glass measuring cup works really well as an alternative to a traditional pour pot in a lot of cases. Buy a larger size for more candles – standard sizes can hold up to 4 cups (1,000 mL) which works out to roughly 27 ounces of wax.
They also clean up easily with a heat gun, oven, or rubbing alcohol and paper towels.
They should only be used for melting and pouring if using the double boiler method to make candles.
Glass measuring cups shouldn’t be regularly subjected to high heat or abrupt temperature changes.
The double boiler method is a very controlled temperature environment with a low “ceiling” (the temperature of boiling water).
Scales
Overview
Most everything in candle making, from wax to fragrance oil, is measured out by weight. A scale of any sort becomes crucial to building good systems and candle designs with few exceptions.
| Scale | Typical Price Range |
|---|---|
| Food Scale | $10.00 – $30.00 |
There is no “best way” to weigh supplies.
If you’re working from a candle kit you probably have the benefit of your wax coming in pre-measured sizes. If you bought wax at a hobby store they should clearly mark the weight of the material.
For example, if you bought 1 pound of wax at a store… you already know you have a pound and you can split that however it makes sense.
Kits also recommend a blanket “1 ounce of fragrance per pound of wax” which is easy to figure out if your fragrance came in a 1 ounce container to begin with.
There’s no way around this requirement, however, if you become more serious about the craft.
Being able to weight materials is a requirement of candle making.
A food scale costs less than $20 and will last plenty long if taken care of, and almost any will suffice.
Heat Sources
Overview
Making candles is essentially just melting wax, adding fragrance and color, then letting it harden again in some container, mold, or on a wick (for taper candles).
There are lots of ways to melt the wax – here are just a few.
| Heat Source | Typical Price Range |
Top Pros |
Worst Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stove Top (double boiler) |
free | Free, Low-risk to scorch wax |
Takes time to heat wax |
| Presto Pot/ Deep Fryer |
$25.00 – $330.00 | Affordable, Holds a few pounds of wax, Can be outfitted with a spigot |
Spigot can be difficult to clean, Expensive if you want a spigot and don’t want to install yourself, Potential overheat risk |
| Hot Plate | $20.00 – $40.00 | Easy to use, Heats quickly, No wax has to be transferred from it |
Can’t (shouldn’t) use a measuring glass with it, Potential overheat risk, Hot & open top can be a workplace hazard |
| Crock Pot | $30.00 – $50.00 | Holds a lot of wax | Transferring from the crock pot can be tedious and difficult |
| Turkey Roaster (double boiler) |
$50.00 – $60.00 | Can be used as a water bath for double boiling, Holds a lot of wax |
Can be expensive/bulky, Requires a lot of electricity |
Best Overall
A Presto Pot or deep fryer offers the most flexibility at a reasonable price point.
Lots of candle makers choose to install a spigot on their Presto Pots (or buy it with one already installed) to make it easy to transfer liquid candle wax into a pouring pitcher (or glass measuring cup).
Some Makers never struggle with clogs, but if your spigot does jam up with wax you can always heat it with a heat gun or hot wax to clean it out.
If you forgo the spigot altogether, you can use a ladle to transfer wax from the pot.
If you’re really hardcore you can pour it from the deep fryer to a pouring pitcher, and if you’re a psychopath you can pour from the Presto Pot into your containers or molds.
Recommended Alternative
The double boiler method via stove top is hard to argue against.
It’s affordable, safe, simple, and accommodating. Just about anything that can hold wax and resist a bit of heat can sit inside the boiling water to melt wax in.
A popular combination for starting out is to melt wax in a measuring glass in the double boiler, and also use that to mix fragrance and dye if your candle calls for it.
It’s an all-in-one solution versus melting the wax in a pot and transferring to a separate place to mix fragrance and pour from.
Wick Holders
Overview
An off-center wick is the first sign of candle carelessness.
Building a system for holding the wick in place while you pour wax into the container is absolutely critical for ensuring the candle looks good and burns well.
Most kits include some form of a wick-centering device, but there are a lot of ways to accomplish this basic, but important, task.
| Wick Holder | Typical Price Range |
|---|---|
| Wick Bar | $0.25 – $0.50 (each) |
| Bow Tie clips (Popsicle sticks with hole) |
$0.04 – $0.10 (each) |
| Clothespin | $0.16 – $0.40 |
| Pencils (wick in the middle) |
free |
Best Overall
Clothespins are very reliable methods of securing single wick candles.
They can be creatively moved around for multi-wick applications or wide-diameter containers where the clothespin doesn’t span the entire length.
Clothespins main drawback is they still require a certain level of eyeballing to make sure the wick is centered because nothing inherently centers the wick except for careful balance and a little gravity.
Their low cost and flexibility in how you use them make them a significantly worth-it investment for beginners. Popsicle sticks are almost just as flexible and they tend to span larger diameters too.
Recommended Alternative
A metal wick bar works really well for centering wicks.
If your candle making kit included them, don’t be tempted by the allure of clothespins because these work fantastic.
The main drawbacks are they aren’t as disposable if you pour wax all over them and you’re pretty much paying for something you can substitute for a lot cheaper.
Don’t pass these up if you have the opportunity to add them to your toolbox for a good price though, as they perform really well and save a few seconds per candle.
Notable Mention: Heat Gun
A heat gun is perhaps the most used tool by candle makers everywhere.
Starting out, you might try and use a hair dryer to accomplish the same things a heat gun can do, but it just isn’t the same thing.
Consider that a heat gun allows you to efficiently accomplish:
- Pre-heating containers
- Removing candle surface abnormalities
- Patch soy wax frosting (albeit, temporarily)
- Cleaning wax off equipment
- Re-melt tops to fill relief holes
- Remove wax from old candles
They aren’t necessary to make incredible candles – just as a handy side-piece to tackle miscellaneous “candle-y” tasks.
While not a critical component if you’re just dabbling in the craft, it’s a worthwhile investment if you plan to stick around.
Read our in-depth guide to getting started with a heat gun here!
Conclusion
While not all the top picks are extremely in sight of true beginners, this article is targeted for those who want to get into candle making, the craft.
Not just for creating one candle, one time.
If you’re truly starting from nothing and you bought all the recommended items above, it would cost roughly $100:
- Infrared thermometer
- Aluminum pour pot
- Food scale
- Presto Pot
- Clothespins
You can get away with a much lower price by using some of the alternatives to the tune of about $40:
- Glass thermometer or meat thermometer
- Glass measuring cup
- Food scale
- Double boiler on a stove top
- Clothespins
Good candle makers have stellar equipment, but the best candle makers understand how to be consistent and careful, regardless of what equipment they’re using.
Don’t believe the lie that you “have to buy such and such” to make good candles – the skill, and frankly for some the entertainment, is in getting to know your personal working conditions and equipment.
Some of the greatest candles come from “sloppy” tools. Just remember to be consistent, take good notes, learn from your mistakes, and enjoy the ride!
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