I Changed from One Cotton Wick Supplier to Another and the Flame Became Much Larger — Can Supposedly Similar Wick Sizes Behave Differently?

Why wick size names don't travel between makers

Wick makers number, letter or describe their sizes for their own range: numbers, letter-number codes, "thin" and "thick", a jar diameter, or a wax type. Those labels sort wicks within one maker's range; they don't place them on a shared scale. Two makers' "number 2" are related only by the digit. Even a diameter on a page ("for 2 inch jars") describes the maker's test candle, not yours.

The construction differences that hide under a name

Braid pattern and tightness: flat, square and round braids carry fuel and curl differently, and a tighter weave draws differently from a loose one. Plies and thickness: more or thicker yarns commonly draw more fuel. Core: some wicks have a core (commonly paper or cotton) that stiffens them and changes the burn. Priming and coating: wicks are usually primed with wax; a different priming wax, or an added coating, changes lighting and burn. Fibre treatment: some makers treat fibres to control how the wick burns; pages rarely say. Tab neck and pre-cut length: these change where the flame stops at the end and how much wick stands above the wax at first light. All of these are general tendencies; none can be read off a product listing, ours included.

That is why the question isn't "which of their sizes equals my old one?" but "which of their wicks burns my candle correctly?" The first has no answer; the second has a test. For a deeper look at how nominal sizes compare across wick series, see two series with similar nominal sizes; the full list of what a wick change makes you re-earn is the wick-change hub.

Construction or conditions: the causes ranked

The old-wick controls do the heavy lifting for causes 5 and 1 at once: if your old wick still burns as it always did in today's mix, the formula and the room haven't changed, and the difference is the new wick. If you have no old wicks left, you lose that control; run the bracket anyway and compare against your written records from the original approval. How to log flame height and set an equivalence band for a replacement wick is the subject of the larger-flame-after-a-brand-change post; this post doesn't repeat it.

The bracket: choosing the rungs without a size chart

Your old wick's approved burn is the target: its flame height, pool time and depth, and end-of-life from your records. Pick three rungs from the new range that should straddle it: one you expect to be a little weak, one about right, one a little strong. The new wick's flame is "much larger", so start lower in the new range than its name suggests. In CSI's range that usually means:

Three things to keep in mind. The C1 pair costs ₹2.36 more per candle than one C2, and needs a holder that keeps two wicks at a fixed spacing (the Wick Centering Device has one hole). Cotton Braided is a different construction, positioned by its page for candles "exceeding 8 cm"; it is not a bigger Eco wick. And there is no sized, tabbed wick between C1 and C2 or between C2 and Cotton Braided. If your bracket lands in one of those gaps, tell us on WhatsApp and we will say plainly that we don't stock the step, rather than sell you the nearest rung.

The requalification plan and the approval rule

The full supplier-comparison record (spread within a pack, straightness, crimp, lot codes) is the two-supplier comparison post; use it if you are choosing between suppliers rather than recovering from a switch.

The CSI buy list and the production step

CSI's sized, tabbed wicks are three rungs: C1 → C2 → Cotton Braided. Our other wicks (the Braided Wick Roll, Eco Braided Wicks by the metre, the Eco Candle Wicks Loose) are cut-to-length constructions, not intermediate sizes, and there is one Performance Wooden Wick listing with no width options. That is the whole range. If your old supplier offered ten sizes and your candle sat between two of ours, we may not have your step; we would rather you know that now.

Argued against our own interest: if your old supplier's wick worked and you changed only for price or convenience, compare the cost of a full requalification (candles, weeks, and the risk of a gap in our range) with simply going back. Sometimes the cheapest wick is the one you already approved. And because C1, C2 and Cotton Braided cost the same per wick at every pack size, there is no bulk discount on our side to justify switching before the bracket passes.

The step to production quantity

When a rung passes: production wicks = candles × wicks per candle × (1 + a defect allowance). Worked example, labelled: 400 single-wick candles a month moving to the approved wick, 2% allowance, is 408 wicks. If C2 passed: 4 × 100 + 10 = 410 C2 for ₹3,870.40. If C1 passed: 4 × 100 + 20 = 420 C1 for ₹2,478.00 (with the 10-pack out of stock, the 20-pack is the smallest top-up). Keep ten wicks of the first lot as your reference (why that matters for the next lot), and if you move to wholesale quantities, write down the exact listing and specification you approved (requesting the same specification at 5,000 pieces). CSI publishes no lead times; ask on WhatsApp before you set a reorder point.

What to buy, and what to skip

Four items chosen on page statements, price and stock on 7 October 2026. CSI publishes no wick specifications or burn data, so nothing here is ranked on performance, and each card says when not to buy.

Skip for now: Performance Wooden Wicks as a like-for-like replacement for a cotton wick (a different system with one width; see the wooden-wick post); Cotton Braided in jars under about 8 cm; and any 500- or 1,000-pack until the bracket passes.

Related in this series: the cluster hub for a flame that grows hour by hour; 6904 to confirm an oversized wick after a correct trim; ordering samples from several wick series when size changes alone don't solve it.

Frequently asked questions