It’s hard to imagine a prepper without some emergency candles. It’s literally one of the first things you buy when scrambling to prepare for a hurricane or some other looming disaster.
My mother had a drawer full of long white candles. The only problem with those is they only lasted about six hours and it was easy to knock them over. A much better solution is the famous “100 Hour Candle.”
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There are some great options on Amazon, but if you want to spend a fraction of the price, you should consider making your own. It’s a lot easier than you might think.
In this video, UK Here We Grow explains how to quickly make a candle that will last over 100 hours. Here’s what you need:
- A typical tall white candle like one of these.
- A glass jar that’s about an inch taller than the candle (so about 7.5″ in this case).
- The glass jar’s screw-on lid (so you can cover the candle when not using it).
- Some kind of vegetable fat (not lard).
Now here’s how to make it:
1. Get enough shortening to fill the jar and melt it in a saucepan. Stir it over low heat until it’s completely melted. You can add some essential oils if you want. Lavender or eucalyptus essential oils will repel mosquitoes.
2. While the fat is melting, boil some water and pour it into the jar. This preheats the jar and makes it less likely to crack. Then pour out the water and thoroughly dry it.
3. Let the fat cool off for about 10 minutes, then carefully pour it into the jar. Fill the jar until there’s about an inch of space left at the top.
4. Let the jar of fat cool off until it is no longer a liquid, but not so hard that it will be difficult to push the candle into it. About like this:
5. Gently push the candle into the fat until it reaches all the way to the bottom. Let it cool off outside (or in the fridge).
6. Use the handle end of a spoon to create a moat in the fat around the candle. Smooth it out with your finger. When you light the candle, the wax will melt into this moat. This helps the candle burn more slowly.
Watch the video below for more information and to see what happens when you light it.
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I live at 7000 ft in so cal. Every big storm creates power outages. Ive found that Tea candles work best. I have 1000 candles on hand for emergencies.
They last 3 hours so i can fall asleep and not waste precious resources.
Thank You: I like 100 hour candles and the pemmican
Wont the vegetable shortening go rancid in a short time as it does when you leave it in the cupboard too long?
Vegetable fatrarely solidifies. It isn’t lard.
use Crisco, which is processed vegetable oil.
I would rather preheat the jar in the oven and cut out the water part altogether.
Otherwise good info.
I bought 48 candles from dollar tree
online, they shipped them to the store
In town.
Easy!
Excellent instructional vid with good demo anyone wanting to copy that might want to put a metal spoon into the jam jar and pour boiling water onto the spoon as if the jar is cold and you pour boiling water into it there is a chance of the jar bursting and boiling water going all over the place.
You should always employ Sod’s Law (If It Can Go Wrong It Will Go Wrong Just For You ) so prep for the worst and experience the best.
The glass is always half full before it bursts ;0).
Or buy one at the Dollar Tree for a $1. Seriously, 8″ glass candles very similar to the one shown here for a buck.