DIY - 100 Hour 'Candles'

[daddysuperfly]

I can't take credit for this, because i read about it here.

I thought it was a good idea, realized i didn't have any emergency lighting beyond a couple of hours with the candles we has around the house, and figured i'd give it a shot. I bought the same wick as mentioned on her site, same jars, some extra lids and regular lamp oil.

I couldn't find any of the liquid parafin wax she used, so i just picked up a bottle of the indoor/outdoor lamp oil. I assume that it should be ok for indoor use, as far as carbon monoxide is concerned. Any input on that? my father seemed to be concerned that since it's a fossil fuel, that i'll be overcome by CO.

with a little tweaking, here's my end result. i decided to go for two wicks because the one large one burns too much and is constantly putting off a stream of soot. the two smaller ones seem to burn a little better/controlled.


I'm looking for ideas and suggestions since this group usually has valuable input, so please let me know what you think.

I'm doing a burn test right now to see how long a jar would last. I probably will let it go for an hour or two and see how far down the oil goes.

 

[[cerberus]]

My parents have actual lamps set up in their house with wall hangers. We never had a problem with anything growing up. Just crack a window to be safe.

 

[daddysuperfly]

My parents have actual lamps set up in their house with wall hangers. We never had a problem with anything growing up. Just crack a window to be safe.

yeah, i have my smoke/CO alarm laying on the table next to the lamps. it hasn't gone off yet.

 

[Almostelmo]

I keep a Dietz No. 1 filled and ready to go...in fact I've been using it since yesterday since my power is out. I ran it from around 5-11pm at a medium flame and when I checked the fluid level this afternoon, it was still filled to the cap.

What you've built is basically the same thing, just without a wick control or a contained flame. Those look like they'll work well in a controlled environment, and they'll probably last a long time.

 

[MisterHappy]

There are two types of "lamp oil" I've seen around: Lamp oil, and "ultra pure lamp oil". The latter works in oil candles that have no chimney without smoke. That's the stuff that it looks like was used.

While this is a nice trick to know....oil lamps have been around for 5,000 years or so. They reached their zenith in the late 1800s/ early 1900s. This is what I think is best in terms of lamp tech.

Unless it's a true emergency, go find a nice, vintage oil lamp at a yard sale. Safer, brighter, cleaner, and more adjustable.

 

[Hiltonizer]

The cheapest candle light I've been able to figure has been the unscented votives at the Christmas tree shop. The white, unscented ones that run like $2.50 seem to go for a good 50 hours at least (sounds like an experiment is in order). Sometimes BigLots has similar ones for about the same money... I looked up buying them in bulk rather than dealing with the Christmas tree shop and I can't touch that price.

 

[MisterHappy]

Check estate and moving sales.

plenty of cheap candles there.

 

[xtry51]

Buy a couple cheap lanterns. Even Deitz clones work. No they're not as bright as the original, but they work, which is better than nothing.

 

[Chris]

These work nice:

About $8 on Amazon. Strong plastic container and resealable cap. pack nicely into a kit.