How to Make Emergency Candles
An emergency candle will aid you when you need a heat source. Emergency candles will give you light and heat, and will allow you to cook food in a difficult situation. Once you make emergency candles, you need to store them in ideal locations, such as your purse, car and camping backpack, to ensure that you always have one ready for any situation.
Things You'll Need
- Tin can with lid
- Matchbook
- Double boiler
- Duct tape
- Hot glue gun
- Old candles or paraffin wax
- Corrugated cardboard
- Wood chips
- Candlewick
- Slotted spoon (optional)
Instructions
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1
Cut the top off a matchbook. Cut the strikers off the box, and then tape the matchbook inside the lid of the tin can. Glue the strikers next to the matches on the lid with a hot glue gun.
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2
Place the old candles in a double boiler, or melt enough paraffin wax to fill the tin can. If you melt too much wax, you can always store it for later once it hardens. Watch the wax as it melts, and stir it to encourage the melting.
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3
Cut corrugated cardboard into strips. The strips only need to be as tall as the can. Roll the strips into a tight coil.
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4
Pack wood chips into the tin can. Compress the wood chips tightly around the candlewicks. Fill in the holes and saturate the cardboard to fill the tin can completely with the melted wax.
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5
Pour the candle wax to cover the cardboard and wood chips. Lay a candlewick horizontally across the candle wax. The candlewick needs to be as long as the tin. Light the candlewick in an emergency, and the flame will spread across the top of the tin can.
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Tips & Warnings
You can make a double boiler by filling a large pan with water, placing a smaller pan on top of the larger water filled pan, and then placing your wax in the smaller pan.
When melting old candles, remove the wicks and and debris from the melted wax with a slotted spoon.
References
- Photo Credit candle flame image by Alison Bowden from Fotolia.com
