Hi!

My current favorite candles are Tuscany 3-wicks (these always burn great and pool out really fast) and WoodWicks, especially their HearthWick Ellipse candles. These have such a beautiful flame and is like a real fireplace or woodstove, especially in the fireside and evening bonfire scents.

However, tonight I noticed how my candle was burning and I am wondering how these normally behave. I always let my candles fully pool out and trim the wick with every use. (Some one wick candles need foil to pool out, so I usually burn 3 wicks).

Tonight I am burning my evening bonfire. I trimmed off the burnt parts of the wick which left a small part of the wood sticking up from the wax, with a small amount of burnt part still on it.

When I light it, the flame travels across the wick and begins producing a large flickering flame, with a good amount of black smoke. After about 30-40 minutes, the flame is finally starting to die down to a more appropriate level (louder crackle, less intense flame, no black smoke, and very little wisps of smoke). I am just wondering with people's experiences, how these typically burn. I am curious why the flame is so large and strong at first, then starts to die back. I usually only burn these an hour or two so I can't speak for longer burns.

With my fireside one, after lighting the flame is strong for a few minutes and after maybe 5 minutes starts to dial back to a more normal level (again no black smoke, etc.) and sometimes dies down to a very small flame after maybe 30-40 mins and then picks back up, but never usually gets extreme like it does when you light it at first. So I am just curious why some of these candles behave a little different and what your experiences are with them :)