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The double-boiler method for melting wax isn’t as scary as it’s name’s diphthong would have you believe. All it means is your wax, safely in the measuring glass, will sit in a pot of boiling water instead of directly on the heat.
Fire is hot (duh). Wax has a melt point under 150 °F and really doesn’t have any business being above 200 °F for any period of time. Stove tops are easily capable of reaching well over 200 °F not to mention the danger with flash points.
It’s not impossible to heat wax directly on the stove top, but there are three main reasons you shouldn’t:
Temperature management
This is the most critical component to successful candle making. You’re operating carefully in the range of 120 °F to 190 °F most times and you want the most possible control over that. Trying to tame the stove top that always wants to be hot will complicate your ability to easily tune your temperatures.
Not everything you heat wax in is tolerant of high temperatures
If your stove got away from you or you exceeded too high of a temperature, it could damage or even break the melting-container your wax is in.
Safety
This is especially true for open-flame stove tops, but at higher temperatures the fragrance oils used in candle making start emitting more vapor. This vapor is flammable and will ignite in contact with an open flame. Controlling the melting-container in a double boiler is a necessary layer of protection against a fire hazard.
(Other wax melting methods, like Presto Pots, limit these risks though they aren’t entirely gone. Always keep a fire extinguisher nearby.)
Creating a double boiler is as easy as filling a pot with water, placing the measuring glass with wax in it, and boiling the water:
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