Recently I was contacted by Kevin’s Kandles about a product called Safer Emergency Candles. Unlike regular candles, these can’t possibly start a fire since they were designed for use in a glass of water. If you leave it unattended, eventually it will go out. And if you knock over the glass, the water will extinguish the flame.
This seemed like a really cool idea to me, so I decided to give them a try. And I have to say, I’m really impressed! I’m a father and have two toddlers at home, so candles are something we are very reluctant to use. We have Scentsy candles (which also can’t start a fire), but those have to be plugged in.
With Safer Emergency Candles, all you need is a lighter and a bottle of vegetable oil. The oil sits on top of the water and works as fuel for the flame. (By the way, do not use lamp oil or any kind of fuel other than vegetable or olive oil. Doing so is extremely dangerous.)
The only complaint I have is that they’re not particularly bright, but one candle by itself isn’t going to be that bright, anyway. So what I did is put three of them in a large glass bowl, and that put out significantly more light.
The creator spent over three decades working as a fireman, and this product is a solution to a problem he has seen over and over. As he told me, in the first week following Hurricane Sandy, there were 6 reported accidental paraffin candle fires in NYC alone. If people used these candles instead, there would be far fewer fires.
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At 20¢ per 10 hour candle, they are definitely worth checking out. Watch the video below for more information, or visit their site to purchase a pack. Note: I am not an affiliate and I was not paid to write this; I just think these candles are a great idea worth sharing.
Well, this was used by my grandmother and her grandmother too , over 100 years ago, and they were not firemen so don’t give me that “creator” stuff, with 40 years of experience.
Olive oil lamps are much brighter then regular oil. And don’t use Corn oil, it clogs wicks. I use 100% cotton mop heads as wick and twist wire around and make “tripod” to hook over the edge of the jar/bowl. I’ve also use old baby jars or canning jars for this.
This is so funny I just love how everything old I’d ‘new’ again. Remember these from the 70’s. In fact I still have a box, wicks and floats, usually 25-30 wicks and 3 or 4 floats per box. haven’t checked how many come in the ‘new’ version.
Just a hint always put a dollar store mirror under and behind any candle if you want more light value or directed lighting stream.
Dana,
I remember those too. You could get a box of three that came in three different heights. We would color the water with food coloring, black and orange for Halloween, green and red for Christmas