A big thanks to all of you who responed to my mail.  RE: Flame goes out.
 
I went to the local "Arts and Crafts" store and purchased several
different sizes of wick.  I found that even the thickest wick
would not burn properly.   So a bought some bucther's cord
and although it burns better, it is still unsatisfactory.
I'm going to try braiding several smaller wicks into one
larger and experiment.