For beginners or small/medium-sized manufacturers, this wax melter is a great investment-- and at this price point, it's less of an "investment" and more of a no-brainer.
Before getting this wax melter, I had used two other melters: a tiny, generic Made-in-China "wax melting pot" that only had two heat level settings and took forever to heat up, and a small double boiler. The double boiler was much faster, but it still could only handle around 1 pound of wax at a time, and having to dry the water condensation along the bottom of the boiler before pouring added a frustrating (and somewhat dangerous) step to my workflow.
This wax melting pot has solved all those issues. I can melt wax for multiple candles all at once. It heats up quickly enough for my use (around 30-45 minutes for 5 pounds). Dispensing the wax is much cleaner, with less risk of spillage. There are no leaks or drips from the valve. It works as intended and is overall a great product.
However, I do have a few minor gripes about this melter. They don't diminish it's overall usefulness or usability, but they are things you may want to know before buying:
1. This melter has a minimum fill line, and it's higher than you might expect. Based on my use with IGI 6006 soy/paraffin blend, it takes around 3 pounds to reach the minimum line. So, if you're regularly working with lower volumes than that, this may not be the right melter for you.
2. The temperature control knob has a little bit of give in its rotation, so it doesn't seem like it's ultra precise. The temperature of the wax also generally tends to be a few degrees lower than what the knob is set to; for instance, I had to set the knob around 194 to get my wax to 180.
3. The temperature markings around the knob also don't make a lot of sense. They're listed in 18-degree increments, from 122 up to 212, with 3 dots in between each number that theoretically correspond to 4.5-degree adjustments. This would make sense if the numbers corresponded to common candlemaking temps (e.g. 180, 130), but they don't; instead, you have a knob with some really bizarre and arbitrary temperatures listed. For candles, be prepared to set your knob somewhere between "176" and "194."
4. Perhaps the biggest issue: The spout is placed several inches up the side of the basin, meaning that you have to tilt the melter to get wax to come out once you've gotten down to the end of a batch. This isn't just the last few drops, either-- I'd say this is around 1.5-2 pounds of wax, total. Once it drains past this point, then any wax in the spout will cool and solidify, having to be re-melted by the liquid wax when you tilt it to pour. Tilting your melter is probably not something CandleScience officially condones, but if you're using this melter "correctly," there is no way to dispense the final few inches/pounds of wax.
