# Candle Heat



## NappyRootz

I keep candles in my emergency kit but how can I get the most heat from a candle flame only?


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## residentfetii

Have a tarp around you like a teepee that way it heats the area inside, but make a smoke / air hole at the top  I got a candle thats a foot tall and 5 inches in diameter from good will for a dollar... that should last a long time


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## ldmaster

Candle heat? Well, heat goes up - period. We use storm lanterns indoors for power outages, a bit safer and they generate a lot more heat (they also don't smell the greatest) but in a situation where it's bone-chilling cold, the plan is to set up a tent on the living room floor, and light a candle or lantern in there to retain the heat. I have also switched totally to down filled blankets (duvets), down pillows and sold the synthetic sleeping bags - they are not as efficient as goose down at insulating a person. We all have several loosely fitting caps that keep our heads warm, and snowboard gloves (longer than normal ski gloves). BIG woolen socks work better too. And we all have several sets of long sleeve sports underclothes, I get them at Ross and Marshals in the off season, a slippery thin layer under everything helps body heat get retained. 

But a candle, or candles, alone will not do much for heat in a truly cold place. Insulate yourself, food (fortunately) keeps better in the cold, so you don't have to worry about THAT.


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## JOECOOL

People have tried to take a candle and place it in an empty coffee can for heat and all they really kept warm was their hands.

Please keep in mind that candle of any size large or small will only raise the tempature of a tent even an igloo only about 10 degrees depending how cold the environment is at the present.

For real heat in a small area, you are better off with a Coleman Pack Heater or an Alcohol Fuel Heater to at least kill the chill.


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## ke4sky

*Winter Car or RV Survival Heater Kit*

*You can construct a simple homemade heater that can be used in your vehicle, which could save your life, and is very easy to make. Items needed are as follows:*

• An empty one pound coffee can or a 30 oz. fruit can
• A regular roll of white plain toilet paper not scented,(because of fumes)
• Four 8-ounce bottles of 70 percent isopropyl alcohol - again, plain unscented and do not use a higher percent alcohol
• An empty large popcorn can, I believe it is a 3 gallon size like the ones
that you buy at Christmas
• Two aluminum square cake pans or pie pans ( without holes in the bottom)
• Matches or a lighter

*Start your project by removing the cardboard core from the toilet paper*, (not the cheap loose rolled type) and push the roll into the coffee or fruit can so the roll is below the rim.

The coffee can will have some space above the roll; if you use a fruit can, the roll will be just a little below flush. In either can, the roll should fit firmly without space around the roll. A larger can will allow the paper to burn around the sides, which you don't want; also I found that a plastic lid from a peanut can will fit loosely on the fruit can. This lid is used for storage purposes.

*To use the heater, pour about 2 or 3 ounces of alcohol onto the paper, the saturated paper will act as a wick which can be ignited with a match or lighter*

I suggest keeping both on hand, each stored in separate sealed containers or sandwich bags to prevent fumes from soaking into the matches and lighter which render them useless (this was learned from giving demonstrations).

*Operation: *
Use the heater to warm the vehicle, then put the cake or pie pan over the can to extinguish the flame, as you don't need to run the heater after the vehicle is warm. You can also use the cake or pie pan to melt snow for drinking.

*Do Not Eat Snow*, as it will bring down your body temperature. Four pints of isopropyl alcohol will keep a car at 60 to 70 degrees for 24 hours, so you can carry more if want.

*Safety:* 
Isopropyl alcohol does not produce carbon monoxide, but a window should be cracked open for fresh air while burning. The burner can will become hot at the top, and maybe warm at the bottom so perhaps you might want to put one pan under the burner. This extra pan could be used to water pets.

*Warning:* 
These heaters are safe, but make sure flame has been snuffed out before adding more alcohol. The empty popcorn can be used to store items for a winter survival kit such as the burner, alcohol, pie tins, lighters and matches.

*Other winter survival items items to always carry in your vehicle*_Winter survival kit should include_: flashlight and extra batteries, winter type clothing (hats,gloves, extra pair of long johns, scarf), first aide kit including any medications needed, extra diapers for little ones, bottled water (allow room for expansion, as it will likely freeze), high energy types of food (candy, nuts, granola bars), small bag of sand or kitty litter for traction, bendable shovel, basic tool kit (leatherman, swiss army knife), paper towels or toilet paper, spare tire, signaling devices (flares), blankets and/or sleeping bags, windshield scraper, booster cables, tow rope or chain, compass and
road maps, cell phone and/or CB or ham radio, and a hand-held NOAA Weather Radio.

*Carry the popcorn can in the back seat rather than the trunk.* 
If you slide in the ditch and end up with the trunk buried in a snowbank, have a frozen trunk lock, or have damage to the trunk; the trunk might not be able to be opened.

*Dress appropriately when traveling in the winter.*
How many times have you seen women driving alone in freezing temperatures dressed in heels, nylons and blouse and hear them say " my car has a good heater, and I have a cell phone"&#8230;teenagers with sneakers, blue jeans, and T-shirts&#8230; men with dress shoes, slacks, shirt and tie - when the fan belt breaks, or the gas line freezes, and it's usually many miles from anywhere?

Last winter I stopped and helped a gelled-up trucker from El Paso, Texas (his first winter in Montana using number two diesel) that was using socks on his hands. After 30 minutes in the pickup he could finally feel his fingers, (his boss in Texas, didn't want to pay the tow fee to get the tractor
pulled to the truck repair service garage and expected the mechanics to work on the truck out on the interstate, he finally relented and paid the $45 towing
fee when the mechanics refused to work on the truck out in the cold).

*So be firm everyone, and demand that your family members dress for the unexpected, you might save their life.*

*Basic Heater concept by:*
Steve Jenkins, Winter Survival Instrucftor/Montana State University
Jeff McLaughlin, Montana Highway Patrol
*Edited by: *Maurice Luke, NWS Storm Spotter/Glendive, MT
*Distributed by: *Tanja Fransen, Warning Coordination Meteorologist/National Weather Service Glasgow, Montana


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## ke4sky

*One Candle = 1 BTU/Sec.*



NappyRootz said:


> I keep candles in my emergency kit but how can I get the most heat from a candle flame only?


If all you have is one candle, the amount of heat generated is limited by the size of the flame and the amount of fuel available. A candle produces about 1BTU per second, or about 3600 BTU per hour.

In a survival situation your action is to contain the candle's heat as best as you can. Most improvised shelters wil be airy enough you won't need to worry about being overcome by carbon monoxide.

An uncle was a WWII veteran who had lost several toes to frostbite during the Battle of the Bulge in December, 1944. He survived by using the heat of a single candle to warm a crude tipi shelter improvised by jamming the fixed bayonet on his M1 rifle into the frozen ground, pulling the hood of his GI poncho over the butt of the rifle to form a chimney, staking the corners down to form a wall and raking up a pile of leaves and pine needle thatch from under the snow to hit on. He wrapped his GI green wool blanket around this shoulders, and sat cross legged and huddled under this makeshift shelter while holding a lit candle in a ration can between his feet. He lived to tell the tale, this method is still being taught to another generation of soldiers and Marines.


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## desert_tom

down sleeping bags and blankets are nice, but dont EVER take them camping if there is any chance that they may get wet. these will kill you faster than you can swipe the card to buy them. synthetic sleeping bags can be "rung out" and most of the water is gone and they can still keep you very reasonably warm. another good sleeper is wool, which will keep you warm even when soaking wet.


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## EvilTOJ

ke4sky I'm having trouble visualizing your car heater. Do you have any photos or diagrams anywhere?


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## ke4sky

*Montana NWS Web Site*



EvilTOJ said:


> ke4sky I'm having trouble visualizing your car heater. Do you have any photos or diagrams anywhere?


The National Weather Service site in Montana where the article came from may have it. I'd contact them.


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## JeepHammer

NappyRootz said:


> I keep candles in my emergency kit but how can I get the most heat from a candle flame only?


In a closed vehicle, a single candle will keep you from freezing to death with an outside temp of 32°F (0°C).

Two candles will keep you alive down to 0°F (-18°C)

Bees Wax or Paraffin wax candles put out very little Carbon Monoxide, so risk of poisoning is slim.

Putting the candle under something, like a can with sand in it (like you are cooking sand) will disperse the heat more evenly and give you longer heat retention.

Some people say to put a can of water over the candle, and that is fine for making warm drinking water that will help keep your core temprature up, but DO NOT let that water sit on top that can for long periods of time!
It will release water vapor and water vapor will saturate your cloths making the insulation less effective.

In the winter, I keep a gallon or two of that 'Kitty Litter' clay or sand in the vehicle and that sand makes a very good 'Thermal Mass' to radiate the heat down low.


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## mona

Look up candle heater on You Tube. I have built one, but have not used it yeat.


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## HalfwaySane

mona said:


> Look up candle heater on You Tube. I have built one, but have not used it yeat.


I built one of these, I dont notice a huge improvement but atleast it keeps the heat from going straight up and allows it to radiate out a little more.


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## JayJay

EvilTOJ said:


> ke4sky I'm having trouble visualizing your car heater. Do you have any photos or diagrams anywhere?


Just 12 cotton balls soaked with alcohol burned for 16 minutes with a 4 inche high flame....So the tp roll and 4 bottles of alcohol could burn a long time..

However, I noticed, when my cotton balls did begin to stop burning, I had lots of soot/smoke and took them outside.


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## IrritatedWithUS

I want to make one of these out of the terracotta pots


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## Jason

When I was a kid in Scouts the campfire torches were rolls of TP soaked in kerosene or something and attached to long sticks. They burned for a LONG time with the actual TP not igniting until the fuel was burned away. They were smoky-no good for close quarters heating but they were really bright. 

I mention this just to back up the idea that using tp in this manner is a sound idea, if done carefully as the other posters called out.


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## JayJay

Jason said:


> When I was a kid in Scouts the campfire torches were rolls of TP soaked in kerosene or something and attached to long sticks. They burned for a LONG time with the actual TP not igniting until the fuel was burned away. They were smoky-no good for close quarters heating but they were really bright.
> 
> I mention this just to back up the idea that using tp in this manner is a sound idea, if done carefully as the other posters called out.


So, Jason, if I use a TP roll (instead of the cotton balls )soaked in alcohol, it's a clean burn....and if 12 cotton balls burned for 16 minutes, that TP roll soaked with alcohol should burn clean for quite a while??


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## siafulinux

IrritatedWithUS said:


> I want to make one of these out of the terracotta pots


Okay so this is pretty ingenious but has anyone actually bought or made one? How well does it heat? How much space would this actually heat up? Certain it would be good for really small places (camper, tent, etc), but are there any specs on how much space in the real world?

From the videos on Youtube a guy said the inner pot heats up to around 500 degrees, but the actual output (from the outer pot) is around 160 degrees or so.

Loving it, but wondering how useful this really is.


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## Tanner

If you fill one of those large tin cans similar to canned food just bigger with regular candle wax mixed with saw small wood chips, when you light it the candles heat could radiate throughout a small room in a house. I have used one during a power outage and it worked remarkably well, it just has a big flame so keep it clear of anything flammable.


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## The_Blob

siafulinux said:


> Okay so this is pretty ingenious but has anyone actually bought or made one? How well does it heat? How much space would this actually heat up? Certain it would be good for really small places (camper, tent, etc), but are there any specs on how much space in the real world?
> 
> From the videos on Youtube a guy said the inner pot heats up to around 500 degrees, but the actual output (from the outer pot) is around 160 degrees or so.
> 
> Loving it, but wondering how useful this really is.


probably about as useful as trying to HEAT A ROOM with a candle...   :lolsmash:

so far we haven't managed to do any end-runs around thermodynamics


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## Tirediron

IF the inner pot heats to 500 degrees then the outer pots should be left off because the hotter an object is the more efficient it is at heat transfer.


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## The_Exorcist

Sure, it's just a little bit.
However, there are a lot of situations where a little is the difference you need to get by.

I wish there was something this cheap and simple that would make a small room just a little _cooler_...


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## HozayBuck

NappyRootz said:


> I keep candles in my emergency kit but how can I get the most heat from a candle flame only?


I swear some folks make drinking a beer a NASA project.... Yes in a small shelter a candle will help keep you alive, comfortable? maybe not but that depends on what your sitting on and how out of the wind you are...

Some of the toughest men to ever travel this land were the Apache , they built what they called a belly fire, they built a small fire and sat down with their blanket around them and over their head and wrapped around the small flame and during the night would add small twigs...

I'm sure all tribes did that as well as the old Mtn men but the Apache gets the nod with this one, in the desert there is a plant, called grease wood which burns hot for a brief time it works... I've done it... little flame no smoke and the heat stays inside the blanket with you...so... a candle would do the same..

The main thing was the Belly fire wasn't showing the whole US Cavalry where they was bedded down...

If your like me and sat that way all night you'd need a crew to get you up on your feet just to make it to the Ambulance !!


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## The_Exorcist

HozayBuck said:


> If your like me and sat that way all night you'd need a crew to get you up on your feet just to make it to the Ambulance !!


Indeed, but what would happen to one of those guys trying to sleep in a waterbed? :help:

Excellent quote, btw.


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## The_Blob

The_Exorcist said:


> Sure, it's just a little bit.
> However, there are a lot of situations where a little is the difference you need to get by.
> 
> I wish there was something this cheap and simple that would make a small room just a little _cooler_...


look up 'evaporative cooler' or 'swamp cooler'


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## Meerkat

This is a great thread . its the little things that will save us in a shtf situation.


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## IrritatedWithUS

siafulinux said:


> Okay so this is pretty ingenious but has anyone actually bought or made one? How well does it heat? How much space would this actually heat up? Certain it would be good for really small places (camper, tent, etc), but are there any specs on how much space in the real world?
> 
> From the videos on Youtube a guy said the inner pot heats up to around 500 degrees, but the actual output (from the outer pot) is around 160 degrees or so.
> 
> Loving it, but wondering how useful this really is.


I made one of these. I completely forgot to post my results.
I made one but I didn't have the nifty stand so I made one out of wire.
It actually generated small amounts of heat! I put it in my bathroom in the bathtub and shut the door (hey, i gotta be a little safe) and walked back in after an hour and it was definitely warmer in there  I guess it depends on what size room it is. I say if you have an average size living room, 10 of these things with big candles might warm up the room a bit


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## Tirediron

Try it with only one of the terra cotta caps , the heat transfers a lot faster from a hotter object, ie a 150 degree object may release 50 btu/ hour where as at 300 degree it should release 400btu/hour (these numbers are not exact, I cant find the chart)


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## weedygarden

*off topic--evaporative coolers*



The_Blob said:


> look up 'evaporative cooler' or 'swamp cooler'


Evaporative coolers are absolutely amazing in how well they work. I have one that is my only source of cooling in the summer, and without it, I would just be a blob on hot summer days.

I know people who live in humid areas have no idea that they can work. I have had people tell me that they can't work because when it is hot and humid they are miserable.

I have had people ask for a sweater when they were at my house and the swamp cooler was running. They are effective and use the energy it takes to run a fan (which is what it is) and the water consumption.


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