How Long Does a Wax Melt Last?

One cube scents for 8-12 hours; one snap bar for roughly 48-96. Here is the arithmetic, weight by weight.

A standard snap bar weighs 50-65 g and is scored to break into 6-8 cubes of 7-12 g. The cube is the unit of burn: one piece, dropped into the dish, is a single dose of fragrance.

In an electric warmer holding the usual 60-75 °C, one cube gives roughly 8-12 hours of noticeable throw before it fades. The wax does not vanish — nothing burns at 75 °C — but the fragrance oil evaporates off the surface until the dish smells of nothing.

Multiplied out, a full bar is worth about 48-96 scent hours: six light cubes at the short end, eight heavy ones at the long end. Where a given bar lands depends on cube size and on how hot the warmer runs.

Warmer type is the biggest lever. A hot plate at 60-75 °C evaporates oil steadily, while a full-size tealight pushes the dish past 80 °C and bakes the scent off, cutting the hours a cube can give. A 25 W bulb warmer, drawing 0.025 kWh per hour, sits at the gentle end of the electric range.

The practical routine follows from the numbers: run a cube until the throw fades, let the dish cool, and remove the spent wax before snapping off the next piece. Bars waiting their turn keep best sealed, cool and out of the sun — storage above about 30 °C softens them and shortens their 12-24 month shelf window.

• Cube: 7-12 g, one dish, 8-12 scent hours
• Bar: 50-65 g, 6-8 cubes, roughly 48-96 scent hours
• Electric plate at 60-75 °C: the full 8-12 hours per cube
• Tea-light past 80 °C: fewer hours from the same cube
• Shelf life sealed: 12-24 months, shorter above about 30 °C

Further reading

• Wax Melting Points and Warmer Temperatures
• How to Make Scented Wax Melts