I enjoy candlelight, and so I’ve decided to start using a simple brass-holder-and-candle setup to light my desk as I work after sundown and to read by before I go to sleep. I’ve got matches and plain, white, paraffin-wax candles. I’ve tried it for a couple of days and it’s worked well.
Is there anything I should know for any reason?
Keep everything that is flammable at least three times as far away as you originally think is safe.
An additional question: if I wanted to use an oil or a kerosene lamp/lantern, would that be safe? What advice could be offered in that case?
Make sure that the lamp or lantern can’t be upset. Also, with any open flame indoors it’s a good idea to have a source for some additional air from outside. That wasn’t a problem with old farm houses because the wind usually could blow right through them with all the doors and windows shut.
I’d be interested in what you think of this after trying it for a while. Somehow I get the impression that you have never read by the light of a kerosene lamp or lantern.
The American Lung Association has some thoughts for you.
http://www.alaw.org/air_quality/indoor_air_quality/candles.html
I haven’t had any problems reading with the candles. The lantern has the advantage of being a little more portable, but it was just a thought.
That’s a little worrisome. They recommend bee’s wax candles, but would white paraffin be just as free of pollutants?
The last time we had a power failure, I fired up a vintage oil lamp. It filled the room with a nice glow.
After about 30 minutes, every smoke detector in the house went off. You won’t sleep for long.
My mother was in charge of trimming the wicks on the lamps, so apparently that is a desired state for lamp wicks.
Yes. If you burn a candle in the same spot for a long period, the smoke will stain your ceiling over that spot.
Perhaps a lamp in which to place the candle would be the best plan. If it were covered, then I wouldn’t have to worry about my ceiling, and then it wouldn’t be bothered by drafts nearly so much. Any suggestions on that end?
I suppose as long as whatever you cover it with will allow enough oxygen in and is, of course, not flammable.
I’ll be curious how it goes for you. I don’t like reading by candlelight. I don’t like the lack of control over the flame. I do enjoy reading by oil lamp on occassion. (I use the ultrapure oil so as not to have the ceiling staining problem.) But because of the smoke the only place I regularly light candles is in my fireplace. There I like them. Living in Florida, candles in the fireplace make it usable year round.
Candle safety
Remember that a candle is an open flame. It can easily ignite any combustible nearby.
Facts and figures
During 2002, an estimated 18,000 home fires started by candles were reported to public fire departments. These fires resulted in an estimated 130 civilian deaths, 1,350 civilian injuries and an estimated direct property loss of $333 million. Homes include one- and two-family dwellings, apartments and manufactured housing.
The estimated number of home candle fires was unchanged from 2001 to 2002. For the first time since 1991, the number of home candle fires has stabilized rather than increasing.
Candle fires accounted for an estimated 5% of all reported home fires.
Two-fifths (40%) of the home candle fires started in the bedroom, resulting in 30% of the associated civilian deaths.
Reported home candle fires have more than tripled since the low of 5,500 in 1990.
December had almost twice the number of home candle fires of an average month.
Half (50%) of home candle fires occurred when some form of combustible material was left or came too close to the candle; Eighteen percentoccurred after candles were left unattended, abandoned or inadequately controlled; Five percent were started by people (usually children) playing with the candle.
Falling asleep was a factor in 12% of home candle fires and 25% of the home candle fire deaths.
Christmas Day was the peak day of the year for home candle fires in 1999-2002. New Year’s Day and Christmas Eve tied for second.
Source: National estimates based on NFIRS and NFPA survey.
Safety tips:
Extinguish all candles when leaving the room or going to sleep.
Keep candles away from items that can catch fire, like clothing, books and curtains.
Use candle holders that are study, won’t tip over easily, are made from a material that cannot burn, and are large enough to collect dripping wax.
Keep candles and all open flames away from flammable liquids.
Keep candle wicks trimmed to one-quarter inch and extinguish taper and pillar candles when they get to within two inches of the holder. Votives and containers should be extinguished before the last half-inch of wax starts to melt.
During power outages, avoid carrying a lit candle. Use flashlights.
NFPA does not test, label or approve any products.
Updated: 8/05
Above is courtesy of the National Fire Protection Association
Apropos of very little, I thought you might find these interesting. Some day, when I can justify the cost, I’d love to have one of these little beauties.
Just make sure the room is relatively ventilated and that you don’t over do it with kerosene lanterns (http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/consumer/09939.html) or candles. Having a well lit room is the least of your worries when the oxygen supply starts dwindling. Of course, you’d probably have to burn lots of candles for a period of hours before you notice it, or in the worst case you might not even notice it at all. Then it’s Lights out (so to speak).
I wouldn’t be using oil lamps if there were pets or children in the house. I personally would probably not want one on my reading desk at all, because I can be clumsy when sleepy, and that would be a bad mix for my precious books, and safety. As far as lantern type things to hold candles Pyramid Collection has some GORGEOUS onion lamps that I want to get, as well as a vintage crystal chandelier. Look in their “Home and Garden” section, or search “onion” or “chandelier”. The chandelier would still have open flames, but you might be able to get it up out of the way, as long as you kept it far away from drapes, and kept cobwebs clear.
I did a search and found a couple of decent candle lanterns. Of course, you could just get a Mica lamp and get the feel of candle light without the risk? 
Thanks for the concern. That goes for everyone who’s posted. I should mention that I’m only using one candle at a time–just enough to read/write by. That way, it’ll be under my supervision at all times. I blow it out before I go to sleep, or if I plan on leaving the room for more time than it takes to get a glass of water.
So far, I’m really enjoying it. I find the orange light to be easier on my eyes than even incandescents, and the quaintness is a bit fun, considering that the rest of my room is a little outdated in style, too.
I’ve looked up a few lanterns on eBay, but thank you very much, Zabali_Clawbane, for looking those up. That helps a lot.
Try this:
Get a glass
Put a weight in the bottom
Get one of those big thick candles, jam it into the glass as deep as possible
Get a large glass bowl
Partly fill the bowl with water
Lower the candle/glass into the center of the bowl so the wick is below the water line but the rim of the glass is above the surface.
Light the candle
There’s a chance that as the wax is consumed, the glass might start to float, at which point it’ll invariable tip and partly fill with water and the flame will be doused. Also, if the entire is knocked over, the water will douse the flame. This is about as safe an arrangement for a bedroom candle as I can imagine. Plus you might get a nice wavy pattern on your ceiling from light refracting off the water’s surface.
Casandra here again. I don’t know the statistics on how many infants have drowned in bathtubs because the supervisor “only went into the bedroom to get a towel.”