The guide
Getting the best melt from your candle warmer lamp
An amber crystal lamp gives the warmest glow — here is how to set it for an even melt.
Set the gap
Centre the candle under the bulb and bring the lower edge of the shade to roughly 2 to 3 cm above the jar rim (this lamp sits at a fixed height). The shade should not touch the glass anywhere.
Read the melt pool
Switch on at full brightness and look at the wax after twenty minutes. You want a shallow, even pool right out to the glass, three or four millimetres deep. A solid ring at the edge means lower the shade a little; a deep well or a burnt smell means raise it.
Then settle it
Once the pool has formed, drop to about half brightness — a low setting holds a pool far more easily than it creates one. Use the timer (2, 4 or 8 hours) so a session never outlasts your attention.