CANDLES FOR EMERGENCY
I have spent years living without mains power and with only a very small solar array about 45 watts.
The solar electric system was great but I had to always ration my usage to what was most important
phone, computer, reading light, radio and convience of on off lighting that meant that I had to utilise
candles for the bulk of my home lighting.I have made them by dipping pouring into moulds purchased from
cheapo dollar stores and improvised when necessary.
So I think I am bit of a candle "expert" and have a few ideas that may be of use in case the power
goes out for whatever reason (we regularily lose mains now during the winter months)
FIRST SAFETY IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO THINK FOR YOURSELF IF YOU THINK OTHER PEOPLE SHOULD
WATCH OUT FOR YOUR SAFETY DONT MAKE A CANDLE DONT LIGHT A CANDLE BECAUSE THEY ARE A MAJOR
FIRE HAZZARD.YOUNG PEOPLE PLEASE TALK TO ADULT BEFORE TRYING ANYTHING WITH REGARD TO CANDLES
OR CANDLE MAKING.ANY IMPROVISED CANDLES YOU MAY MAKE IN AN EMERGENCY ARE PROBABLY
MORE DANGEROUS THAN WHAT YOU WOULD BUY.
1 Never leave a candle burning unattended and always have candle burning on a solid non flamable surface (cant fall over)
2 Trim wick and keep candle free of debris as this can cause excesive flame
3 Keep burning candles away from all flammables
5 Never throw water on hot,boiling or burning wax,oil or grease as this will cause a explosion.If you do not know how to
extinguish a grease fire dont try making candles.
Cheapo dollar store candles may not be a good choice for emergency usage I have had many with non centered wick or wrong size/poor
quality wicks which melt way to fast and spill wax everwhere they are also a greater fire hazzard.
Many candles you buy are only meant to be used for ornaments not light these are a wast of time and money.
Test your candles prior to needing them to make sure they will work in an emergency.
On the left is your standard emergency stick candle recommend you buy or make lots of these.
In the middle is a improvised cooking oil lamp cotton cord for wick with a wire running through to keep
wick supported in oil will burn for many hours.I guess olive oil is about the best for this but any cooking
oil will work.
On the right is a grease candle made from any animal grease/rendered fat normally I used lard but
crisco also works well
Drippings from your parafin stick candles can be added to your grease candle using a double
boiler(pot of boiling water with inner grease pot to prevent over heating)this can also be used
to purify your wax or grease.parrafin added to your grease candle will make a better candle
but you may no longer be able to simply push wick into solidified grease.
Toilet roll candles (toilet paper rolls used to mould candles)Left lard/25%parafin candle
middle Beeswax Right Parafin
Lard candle burned/melted very quickly 50%parafin or beeswax would be a better choice
Betty oil lamps make a good choice for emergency use.