How many candles? testing 1-2-3

[bettersafethansorry]

Ok so i got to thinking i have 24 stick candles, 14 pillar candles and about 100 tea lights.... how long would these actuall last during the winter im wondering??

tonight i may do a burn test on each candle from nightfall till burn out or 11:pm which ever comes first and see what lasted and for how long. hopefully this will give me Times and cost efficiency of types of candles.

also with glow sticks i found out a really good hint. Keep glow sticks in the freezer. The cool temperature in your freezer will slow the rate of reaction in the glow stick and make it last for 4-5 days instead of one or two.

Will report results tommorrow...

-M

[nickdutch]

IMHO

candles produce some light, but an olive oil lamp produces more. Tea light candles burn for about 2 hours or so. If you are relatively immobile, just sitting and waiting listening to your wind up radio, then you wont need that many candles, but you will need to use your torch to get up, walk around and get to the kettle to boil up more water for the hot water bottles. You will need to use your head torch for any activities such as cooking or pouring water into your hot water bottles.

If you are just using candle light, the chances are you wont be able to see the floor and will be more likely to trip up unless you have a torch to fill in the lower areas with illumination.

Its good to have a few locations where you always keep your torches. I keep two in a known area near the bathroom, one on a key chain on my keys in the keyhole and another two in my desk draw to the right so that I know where they are. The desk draw ones are wind ups, the others have good batteries in them.

The plan is to use the torches until candles and oil lamps are going and then turn them off to conserve battery power until needed again.

[Plymtom]

Candles especially tea lights are something I've used a fair bit, they give a little heat and as until last year down here central heating was a 4 hours a day thing at most and often for little more than the worst month, tea lights take the edge off but they burn very irregularly in terms of time, pillar candles too need attending to so as the wick doesn't get too long, simply not a fire and forget thing, Nick's point about not being able to see the floor is a fair one ( we have black cats) I'd say you don't have enough if you have to rely on them to see by, worse for heat too, I'd think in terms of 1000s of tea lights for 3 months without power.

[Yorkshire Andy]

How many candles?

4






was in makro the other week nearly got another 100 tea lights that were graded at 4 hours burn time they had some other larger ones think they were 8 hours


http://store.makro.co.uk/p-38084-h-line ... f-100.aspx

[bettersafethansorry]

I do keep torches but i like to have a back up to all forms of electrical items including battery powered.

Idea i had about heating is one that came from American civil war reenacting. Often i would put a candel in the tent (in lantern) 1-2 hours before i went to bed. this singular flame in this confined heavy canvas space made it toasty and warm. so true SHTF i may be setting up my tent in a room within house to benefit from this technique.

i have seen the bags of large tea lights in these. not had a makro card for 8 years now so i may just grab a load of these.

Cheers gents.

-M

[Yorkshire Andy]

lidl have laarge candle lanterns in at the moment btw

[bettersafethansorry]

TY ^ will have a look if any left weekend

[damaralenoire]

I buy pillar candles from Poundstretcher that have a 30 hour burn time on them, Been using them for years , very reliable

[grenfell]

I've got loads of candles of various types from big church jobbies to little tea lights.I've also got oil and paraffin lamps and have made rush lights in the past. I suppose the obvious answer to the length of time that any candle will last is to go to bed earlier . In the past candles , either wax or tallow , we're expensive and people wouldn't stay up burning them much past the start of night time but would organise their days around natural light. We are nowadays so used to 24hr living but maybe we just need to rethink a little.

[Quercus-robur]

Was actually looking at candles in Asda today. They had a box of 50 tea lights for £2.75 advertised as 2/3 hour burn time each. From experience most burn out nearer 2 hours than 3. They also had large pillar candles for £3 each advertised as 90 hour burn time. And they also had a box of 10 stick candles for £2 advertised as 6 hour burn time each.

I have not tested the pillar or stick candles but it seems like tea lights are best value for money and several of them would probably output more light and heat than one pillar or stick candle.

Qr