Does a heater using candles and flower pots really work?

[Mangetout]

Four candles?

[Chimera]

Last I checked, candles were not free.

Besides the entire ‘massively unsafe’ thing.

[Mangetout]

@Charlie_Wayne

I would guess that it’s probably just a very small number of people who get many free email accounts. They only need a few friends or relatives to appear on the youtube videos. But in many cases, one person could promote something by using many diff email accounts.

I’m still largely undecided.

All I want this thing for is to produce enough heat when there is a power outage that I could stay in my apartment dressed in several layers of winter clothing.

I still can’t figure out just how much heat they will produce in my apartment when there is no electric heat. I guess I will have to do an experiment in my smallest room - either a bedroom or a large closet.

My biggest problem in the power outage was that I would just get too cold at night when sleeping. But if I could figure out a way to place one in my largest closet and do it without any risk of fire, I would be happy to spend 10 hours a day sleeping in the closet if it was not too cold.

I’d probably use another two during the day. But the good thing is that I would only need to use one set at a time.

The cost is not a big concern for me. I just want to know that I could stay in my apartment and prepare some kind of meals and last through a power failure.

Why did you even start this thread?

[engineer_comp_geek]

@Charlie_Wayne

If you construct one of these heaters and it uses 4 tealights that burn for 4 hours, that means that in a 24 hour period you would need to burn 24 tealights.

Yes, and you would generate enough heat to adequately heat a room that is about 2’ x 2.5’ and about 6’ tall, or basically, a small closet.

You won’t provide anywhere near enough heat for a room large enough for a human to live in.

If you really want emergency heating, get a small propane or kerosene heater.

If you refuse to believe the math and what everyone is telling you in this thread, then I suggest buying extra blankets, because you will be too cold. Don’t believe everything you see on youtube.

[Magiver]

@si_blakely

No. The science video is correct. There is just not enough energy in the Tea lights to do much heating, and such low- temperature burning is inefficient anyhow. Plus the whole thing is unsafe.

This probably sprung out of the emergency use of tea candles and tin cans as a source of heat in winter for stranded motorists.

[johnpost]

test the cooking power of a tealight candle.

they are used to keep a hot tea pot or hot fondue pot warm longer.

take a teapot or fondue pot designed for this use and put cold water in it. see if you can make water hot enough for instant coffee or tea. see if you can boil water and then cook noodles.

[aruvqan]

@Charlie_Wayne

I would guess that it’s probably just a very small number of people who get many free email accounts. They only need a few friends or relatives to appear on the youtube videos. But in many cases, one person could promote something by using many diff email accounts.

I’m still largely undecided.

All I want this thing for is to produce enough heat when there is a power outage that I could stay in my apartment dressed in several layers of winter clothing.

I still can’t figure out just how much heat they will produce in my apartment when there is no electric heat. I guess I will have to do an experiment in my smallest room - either a bedroom or a large closet.

My biggest problem in the power outage was that I would just get too cold at night when sleeping. But if I could figure out a way to place one in my largest closet and do it without any risk of fire, I would be happy to spend 10 hours a day sleeping in the closet if it was not too cold.

I’d probably use another two during the day. But the good thing is that I would only need to use one set at a time.

The cost is not a big concern for me. I just want to know that I could stay in my apartment and prepare some kind of meals and last through a power failure.

The I would get an old school Coleman type propane or kerosene lantern for lighting, which will kick out a bit of heat, a small ‘coleman fuel’, butane or propane burner for heating up food, and one of the ventfree propane space heaters. Realize that ventfree does mean you will need to be careful to not be in a totally sealed room, but you do not need a chimney.

Typically, as long as the breeze is not whistling through the walls and windows, you can be fairly comfortable if you bundle up and hang out in a sleeping bag on the sofa reading.

[I know that back in the early 80s I was actually fairly comfortable when the storm knocked out the power, my waterbed was gently radiating a bit of warm into my bedroom and was comfortable for the 2 days the power was actually out. Of course the room it was in was barely larger than the kingsized water bed … my roomie of the time set up her little 2 man round nylon coleman tent and managed to warm it up with body heat in her room. Ah, the fun of being young college students :p]

[aruvqan]

@johnpost

test the cooking power of a tealight candle.

they are used to keep a hot tea pot or hot fondue pot warm longer.

take a teapot or fondue pot designed for this use and put cold water in it. see if you can make water hot enough for instant coffee or tea. see if you can boil water and then cook noodles.

You can if you use sterno - I got lazy and last power outage I made coffee and a pho bowl of instant noodles using sterno to heat the water. Took probably 10 minutes to get the water to boil in this fondue set. [out of alcohol for the burner, but we always seem to have sterno around the house.]

[kayaker]

@Mangetout

Why did you even start this thread?

His root canal made him do it.

[Charlie_Wayne]

@MandaJo

The heater he linked to runs on propane, not electricity.

There is a row of heaters at the top of the page and the first one I looked at is named the, “Optimus Electric Portable Oil-filled”. It requires electricity.

I failed to realize there was one large heater in the center of the page which indeed is safe for indoor use.

These propane fueled heaters are indeed ideal for my purpose.

Thank you.

[Charlie_Wayne]

@aruvqan

The I would get an old school Coleman type propane or kerosene lantern for lighting, which will kick out a bit of heat, a small ‘coleman fuel’, butane or propane burner for heating up food, and one of the ventfree propane space heaters. Realize that ventfree does mean you will need to be careful to not be in a totally sealed room, but you do not need a chimney.

Typically, as long as the breeze is not whistling through the walls and windows, you can be fairly comfortable if you bundle up and hang out in a sleeping bag on the sofa reading.

[I know that back in the early 80s I was actually fairly comfortable when the storm knocked out the power, my waterbed was gently radiating a bit of warm into my bedroom and was comfortable for the 2 days the power was actually out. Of course the room it was in was barely larger than the kingsized water bed … my roomie of the time set up her little 2 man round nylon coleman tent and managed to warm it up with body heat in her room. Ah, the fun of being young college students :p]

I have used a kerosene lantern and found they produce quite a bit of soot. I remember that one of them blackened a portion of my ceiling.

But a butane or propane based heater would be perfect for my needs.

So thanks very much.

[drewtwo99]

I got a small Mr. Heater brand propane heater and it works great, and is self igniting to boot. It needs to be well ventilated or it will shut off automatically (which is actually a good thing). It was able to keep my tent warm on a very cold camping trip within minutes of being turned on high.

You’ll need a standard sized propane tank and hose attachment if you want it to last for days. But its really made to fit the small portable disposable Coleman propane tanks, and on high it will last about 4-6 hours I think.

[ZenBeam]

@pulykamell

but I do remember this fake 6v hack video from a few years ago.

There was another one where they opened a 12 volt car battery, and dumped like a thousand AAs out.

[Matt1075]

Charlie, I have owned and used all of the Mr Heater portable propane heaters. They work well and do not require any electricity. They are portable and can be easily moved from room to room as necessary. The largest one (MH18B) has a fan built in, but its use is optional, and will work on batteries if you wish. The mid-size unit (MH9BX at Amazon) puts out enough heat to warm a moderate size room and the propane cylinders they use are easy to find and safe to store. Kerosene heaters involve a liquid fuel you probably would not want to store in an apartment, and may produce some unpleasant odor. Propane burns clean and odorless in the Mr Heater units. As others have said, just keep a window cracked open somewhere to let in some fresh air. And one mistake you don’t want to make is to buy a 20 lb propane cylinder and a tank-top heater. It is not safe to use a 20 lb cylinder inside, and the tank-top heaters all use a metel screen mesh to create the infrared glow. They do NOT burn clean and produce dangerous amounts of carbon monoxide.
The Mr Heater Portable Buddy MH9BX would make a great emergency heater. They eat the fuel cylinders pretty quickly, so keep 8 - 10 spares at least and be prepared to pick up more if the emergency will be prolonged. One more suggestion for your emergency supplies is a battery operated fan to circulate the heat and even out the temperatures in the room.

[Charlie_Wayne]

Matt1075,

Thank you so much for taking the time to provide this great info. It is exactly what I needed because, …

I was all prepared to go to Walmart and buy one together with a 20 lb cylinder. I’m certainly glad to have avoided that.

I don’t know where to find a battery operated fan. But the Mr. Heater unit you recommend with the fan inside sounds like a perfect solution. I have always kept many, many batteries around in case of an emergency and I like buying them in large packages when they go on sale. I usually buy a new round every 18 months or so because I have been disappointed in the past when opening old packages and finding all the batteries have expired.

One thing people should know is that if you have any battery powered devices that you are not using, you must not store any batteries inside because even if the device is not powered on, over time the batteries lose all their energy and are dead.

I just hope that Walmart has plenty of the fuel cylinders so I can buy some. The Walmart near my home is a very strange store in that after many experiences with them, I would expect they would sell all the components necessary for some heater except for one. It’s just the way they always have operated.

Thanks again. Very much appreciated.
P.S. I was going to get the heater described by DrewTwo99 above. But that must be intended for use outdoors. So, I’m certainly glad to have dodged that bullet.

[Matt1075]

Glad to help, Charlie. Here’s more. A link to a suitable fan on Amazon:

Amazon.com: Treva 10-Inch Portable Desktop Air Circulation Battery Fan, 2 Speed,...

This fan does not have a real long lifespan, so test it, then save it for emergencies. As for the large Mr Heater with a fan, the fan is kinda noisy and the output is meek, so a fan like the one above works MUCH better for stirring the air. If your finances are up to it, I would suggest buying two of the medium size heaters instead (MH9BX). That would allow you to heat more than one room or double up if it is seriously cold. The small propane cannisters are somewhat expensive for heating, but we are talking emergency use here, so in that sense they work well.
Another issue that comes up during emergencies is cooking. A compact camp stove can be handy, and if you get one that operates on the same propane cannisters, you are all set.
I am a retired propane delivery driver, and live in a rural area where I am dependent on propane for my heat. As such, I am well aware of the various issues involved, and have ample experience. I will check back on this to see if you have any more questions, or I can send you a private message with my phone number if you like. I am in the Pacific time zone, and tend to keep late hours. Matt

[Charlie_Wayne]

@Matt1075

Glad to help, Charlie. Here’s more. A link to a suitable fan on Amazon:
Amazon.com: O2COOL Treva NEW 10" Battery Operated Fan with Adapter, Graphite (FD10001A0O004000) : Home & Kitchen
This fan does not have a real long lifespan, so test it, then save it for emergencies. As for the large Mr Heater with a fan, the fan is kinda noisy and the output is meek, so a fan like the one above works MUCH better for stirring the air. If your finances are up to it, I would suggest buying two of the medium size heaters instead (MH9BX). That would allow you to heat more than one room or double up if it is seriously cold. The small propane cannisters are somewhat expensive for heating, but we are talking emergency use here, so in that sense they work well.
Another issue that comes up during emergencies is cooking. A compact camp stove can be handy, and if you get one that operates on the same propane cannisters, you are all set.
I am a retired propane delivery driver, and live in a rural area where I am dependent on propane for my heat. As such, I am well aware of the various issues involved, and have ample experience. I will check back on this to see if you have any more questions, or I can send you a private message with my phone number if you like. I am in the Pacific time zone, and tend to keep late hours. Matt

Thanks again Matt,

Since this is for emergency use, my finances are fine to buy two medium heaters and a battery operated fan. I’d also like to get a stove and given the amount of use anticipated, the finances are not a problem.

My only real problem is the one I explained to you in a private message. It’s finding a store or multiple stores where I can get the supplies. The Walmart in my area is a kooky kind of store. They sell heaters but almost always do not sell all the components to make it work. For example, if I were to buy a heater and I planned to use a large propane tank and a hose with it, you can bet they would sell one or two of the three items but would just shrug (politely) when I asked about getting the third.

There is also a very large hardware chain near my home but they are even worse than the Walmart and when they shrug, it is never polite.

But those should be small problems and I’m determined to be prepared for the next power failure. I will find the supplies and I’m sure I will be able to do it since I live in a very large city with more than 4 million people.

I thank you again for your most helpful and constructive advice and I will let you know by private message just how things go. I have a busy week but will probably get to Walmart on Thursday or Friday.

Thanks again.

[Isilder]

@Charlie_Wayne

There is also a very large hardware chain near my home but they are even worse than the Walmart and when they shrug, it is never polite.
.

Don’t the hardware store let you order anything needed ?

[AaronX]

I suppose candles could heat a room… Did you know if you light a tea candle and let the wax melt, then throw a ball of tissue paper into it, the tissue acts as a huge wick and the flame grows enormous? It’ll only last about 30 minutes, though.

[Charlie_Wayne]

@AaronX

I suppose candles could heat a room… Did you know if you light a tea candle and let the wax melt, then throw a ball of tissue paper into it, the tissue acts as a huge wick and the flame grows enormous? It’ll only last about 30 minutes, though.

I’d be worried enough just having an open flame. An “enormous flame” sounds a little too scary for my apartment although it might be fun to see what that looks like … maybe in someone else’s apartment?

j/k