You kids and your newfangled lightbulbs.

fyrstormer

Banned
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
6,617
Location
Maryland, Near DC, USA
I've had it with the devil magic you young'ns call "electricity". I'm taking it old-school -- really old-school.

Seriously though, I've had an idea for years, but it wasn't until last week that I finally figured out how to implement it: A candle with a hollow, vented wick. The hollow wick has a large surface area, producing an exceptionally large flame, and the venting allows fresh air to come up through the candle and enter the combustion zone of the flame, producing an exceptionally smooth burn for such a large flame.



It really produces an exceptional amount of light for a little beeswax candle.



I call it the TurboCandle.
 
Last edited:

light-modder

Enlightened
Joined
Jul 15, 2014
Messages
599
Location
Kansas
Nice! I like it a lot. What's the burn time on one that size? I like to keep my options open for emergency lighting.
 

fyrstormer

Banned
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
6,617
Location
Maryland, Near DC, USA
I have no idea. This is the first one I've ever made. I could test it, but I'd need to come up with a way to avoid setting off the smoke alarm in the process.
 

TEEJ

Flashaholic
Joined
Jan 12, 2012
Messages
7,490
Location
NJ
You might want to add ~ 10% stearin to the wax, it might be brighter and the smoke reduced. If the wick is too fat, it tends to smoke more, and that might help compensate.

BTW - You are a Genius to re-invent the candle!

:thumbsup:
 

AnAppleSnail

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 21, 2009
Messages
4,200
Location
South Hill, VA
I have no idea. This is the first one I've ever made. I could test it, but I'd need to come up with a way to avoid setting off the smoke alarm in the process.

I've done similar things with C-shaped wicks, usually about 3cm wide. I called them "ribbon" candles. It's possible to get BIG fire with big wicks, but I got a lot of smoke too. Be careful of melting the wax, then boiling it. Spilling wax that hot can be dangerous to skin. Very neat project. How did you make the container?
 

Str8stroke

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 27, 2013
Messages
5,032
Location
On The Black Pearl
Now that is cool. Great project for the kids. Last candle I made left black stains on my ceiling. lol I agree, what kinda burn time? Neat project.
 
Joined
Mar 12, 2010
Messages
10,205
Location
Pacific N.W.
There's just as much Devil Magic :devil: in a candle as in electricity. Powdery soot, carbon, vaporizing paraffin, hydrocarbons, probably some eye-of-newt and leg of frog in there somewhere too.

~ Chance

 

fyrstormer

Banned
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
6,617
Location
Maryland, Near DC, USA
You might want to add ~ 10% stearin to the wax, it might be brighter and the smoke reduced. If the wick is too fat, it tends to smoke more, and that might help compensate.

BTW - You are a Genius to re-invent the candle!

:thumbsup:
Thanks for the tip about the stearin. I'll definitely look into that because this thing does produce a noticeable amount of smoke. How does the stearin change the consistency of the beeswax, do you know?

Also, thanks for the compliment. :) The wick needs some optimizing, but the basic concept works just the way I envisioned.
 

nbp

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 16, 2007
Messages
10,970
Location
Wisconsin
Neat! I'm interested to see what improvements and optimizations you come up with. Candles are a pleasant sort of light, I agree. When camping, I still like to use a propane lantern on the picnic table in the evening to illuminate the campsite. I guess it's the same sort of idea.
 
Top