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Kaleva

(38,171 posts)
Sun Jan 31, 2021, 07:32 AM Jan 2021

A frugal Crisco emergency candle.

My wife goes to sleep several hours before I do and with Biden in office I find that I'm spending much less time here to read what cluster fuckery Trump is up to so I watch YouTube videos.

Last night I was watching several on clay pot heaters that use candles and that brought me to watching homemade emergency candles made out of Crisco.

I got a half pint mason jar form the basement , found a birthday candle and got the Crisco out from the pantry. I filled the mason jar with liquefied Crisco up to about 2 1/2 inches which I figured would be just below the height of the candle and put the jar in the freezer. After about 15-20 minutes, I took the jar out and stuck the candle in the center. The level of the Crisco was a little short so I liquified some more in the coffee cup in the microwave and added that to the jar and returned it to the freezer for another ten minutes or so.

I burned the candle last night for an hour before blowing it out and going to bed and lit it again this morning. Burn time is 2 1/2 hours total so far and it's a clean burning candle and there is no tunneling. I'll keep it lit all day and the next and the next if possible to find out the total burn time.

My next project will be using this type of candle to make a clay pot heater.

I'll post updates to this OP to let know how long the candle lasted.

28 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
A frugal Crisco emergency candle. (Original Post) Kaleva Jan 2021 OP
youve hit upon something! maybe mix a bit of bacon grease with the Crisco Candle..yum! samnsara Jan 2021 #1
Oh heavens, no! SnowCritter Jan 2021 #6
I can't divert that much bacon grease from putting it on bucolic_frolic Jan 2021 #16
Would it work with Crisco shortening? NurseJackie Jan 2021 #2
Youtube rabbit holes are so much fun... Mazeltov Cocktail Jan 2021 #3
I wonder if you could add some essential oil to the Crisco to make a scented candle. Arkansas Granny Jan 2021 #4
My wife want's me to add some essential oil to the next one I make to try it. Kaleva Jan 2021 #25
Crayons work, too. quaint Jan 2021 #5
Poison black-bear Jan 2021 #7
i just watched 'the help' mopinko Jan 2021 #8
My OB/GYN said it's a great lube too. Native Jan 2021 #11
... Ferrets are Cool Jan 2021 #15
He said he and his wife use it all the time. Lol. Native Jan 2021 #19
I honestly don't get it... Ferrets are Cool Jan 2021 #20
yeah, i usually use olive oil, but mopinko Jan 2021 #17
Interesting. But every time I hear about burning (unattended) candles, I want to check my FailureToCommunicate Jan 2021 #9
my nephew fell asleep and left one of those big pillar candles burning once. mopinko Jan 2021 #18
A friend told me about the crisco candles a while back, but never tried one. Yes, please keep niyad Jan 2021 #10
Is this after global collapse or Wed afternoon? SmartVoter22 Jan 2021 #12
Power outage? blaze Jan 2021 #14
Power outages are somewhat common where I live. Kaleva Jan 2021 #23
I like that idea. 2naSalit Jan 2021 #13
Yes, after watching many vids, I felt that tealights wouldn't work well with clay pots Kaleva Jan 2021 #24
my wife uses regular cooking oil for her prayer lamp LymphocyteLover Jan 2021 #21
I've used Crisco for years. ChazInAz Jan 2021 #22
11 hours of total burn time and still going strong. Kaleva Jan 2021 #26
K&R Blue Owl Jan 2021 #27
19 hour total burn time. Kaleva Feb 2021 #28

SnowCritter

(844 posts)
6. Oh heavens, no!
Sun Jan 31, 2021, 08:51 AM
Jan 2021

That would be sheer torture. All that bacon aroma with no bacon at the end of it!?

I. Just. Couldn't.

bucolic_frolic

(46,995 posts)
16. I can't divert that much bacon grease from putting it on
Sun Jan 31, 2021, 10:02 AM
Jan 2021

my car's exhaust system. Exhausts as black an an oven don't rust.

NurseJackie

(42,862 posts)
2. Would it work with Crisco shortening?
Sun Jan 31, 2021, 07:57 AM
Jan 2021

Does the wick get a feathery (or leaf-shaped) bit of soot at the tip of the wick? I've seen that with other decorative candles that use floating wicks...( ie: a layer of vegetable oil on top of water + a floating wick cup) they're very pretty and functional except for the soot.

I guess it depends on the wick and the type of oil used too.

Post photos if you can. Sounds like a fun project.

Arkansas Granny

(31,827 posts)
4. I wonder if you could add some essential oil to the Crisco to make a scented candle.
Sun Jan 31, 2021, 07:57 AM
Jan 2021

If I had some birthday candles I'd try this today.

mopinko

(71,813 posts)
8. i just watched 'the help'
Sun Jan 31, 2021, 09:10 AM
Jan 2021

there's a scene where the maid is teaching the poor white lady how to cook. they're making fried chicken. and the maid is extolling the virtues and uses of crisco. squeaky hinges, beat up leather.

there used to be a show on my local npr station that had a doc on regularly, a dermo. he said crisco was the best skin cream out there.

have to assume in a pinch butter would work the same. i dont use crisco, even for my shoes.

Native

(6,561 posts)
19. He said he and his wife use it all the time. Lol.
Sun Jan 31, 2021, 10:17 AM
Jan 2021

So if you see a can of Crisco on someone's nightstand....

Ferrets are Cool

(21,957 posts)
20. I honestly don't get it...
Sun Jan 31, 2021, 10:23 AM
Jan 2021

not when there are so many great water soluble products available. To each his own though.

mopinko

(71,813 posts)
17. yeah, i usually use olive oil, but
Sun Jan 31, 2021, 10:12 AM
Jan 2021

i bet it does work better.
i have a nice bottle that i bought full of dried lavender, and filled w olive oil. put a thin fabric over the opening. rub it over my skin. great skin treatment.

FailureToCommunicate

(14,324 posts)
9. Interesting. But every time I hear about burning (unattended) candles, I want to check my
Sun Jan 31, 2021, 09:16 AM
Jan 2021

insurance (fire, replacement cost) policy.

Just be careful out there.

But I TOTALLY agree about spending time, and learning new things, on YouTube now that Trump insanity has lessened a bit.

mopinko

(71,813 posts)
18. my nephew fell asleep and left one of those big pillar candles burning once.
Sun Jan 31, 2021, 10:15 AM
Jan 2021

it was sitting on a plate on top of the teevee. he was drunk.
woke up to the smoke alarm. killed the teevee and smoked up the house.

the upside was that ins paid for service master to come clean. my sister said her house had never been that clean.

niyad

(119,931 posts)
10. A friend told me about the crisco candles a while back, but never tried one. Yes, please keep
Sun Jan 31, 2021, 09:27 AM
Jan 2021

us posted on it.

SmartVoter22

(639 posts)
12. Is this after global collapse or Wed afternoon?
Sun Jan 31, 2021, 09:40 AM
Jan 2021

A Crisco candle, for light? heating? cooking?
Not sure what you are implying needs to happen to even want to make one of these things.

Kaleva

(38,171 posts)
23. Power outages are somewhat common where I live.
Sun Jan 31, 2021, 03:51 PM
Jan 2021

I use Crisco for cooking, we have birthdays here (before COVID19) for the 11 grandkids , and we have a number of pint and half pint mason jars as we can.

Rather then have a bunch of dedicated candles sitting around waiting for the next emergency, I can use materials we have on hand to make several or many if needed should a situation arise.

In the near future, I plan on putting in a vent free LP gas space heater for in case power goes out but even with that, I'll have rooms quite cold in this large, two story home so I'm going to try the clay pot heater to see if it'd work in keeping the bathrooms, the office and bedrooms at least tolerable.

2naSalit

(92,705 posts)
13. I like that idea.
Sun Jan 31, 2021, 09:46 AM
Jan 2021

I used clay pot heaters in a high elevation greenhouse one year. They work well if you have a large enough flame inside. Tealights don't put off enough heat to do much. The candles you describe sound like they would be one of the best type candles for heat generation. The clay pots heaters are interesting and you may come up with innovations that work best for your set up.

Have fun!

Kaleva

(38,171 posts)
24. Yes, after watching many vids, I felt that tealights wouldn't work well with clay pots
Sun Jan 31, 2021, 04:01 PM
Jan 2021

As they don't put out much heat and they don't last all that long so one would have to change them frequently.

ChazInAz

(2,778 posts)
22. I've used Crisco for years.
Sun Jan 31, 2021, 10:43 AM
Jan 2021

One of my gunsmithing tools is an antique, Crisco-fueled Betty Lamp.When inletting metal parts into gunstocks, I use it to soot up the metal to mark high spots on the wood.
It seems appropriate, since these are flintlock and wheel locks!

Kaleva

(38,171 posts)
26. 11 hours of total burn time and still going strong.
Sun Jan 31, 2021, 04:12 PM
Jan 2021

The level of Crisco in the half pint jar has dropped to 2 inches and the entire top 3/4" of Crisco is liquified and clear.

Kaleva

(38,171 posts)
28. 19 hour total burn time.
Mon Feb 1, 2021, 11:44 AM
Feb 2021

As the Crisco burned down to about an inch, all of it liquefied from the heat and the birthday candle fell over and extinguished itself.

Since we have only 1 birthday candle left in the house, I'm going to pick up a couple of packages of the longer 3 1/2" candles (I used a 2 1/2" candle) which would easily fit in the half pint jar. I'm expecting to get close to 30 hours of burn time by using a longer candle and having more Crisco in the jar. I'm also going to carefully measure the amount of vegetable shorting so I have an idea of about how many candles I could make with a 1 pound container.

I'll also be putting together a clay pot heater so I can test that out when determining the burn time of the next candle I make.

Overall, I think this is a pretty good emergency candle as the components are items one uses such as the Crisco, birthday candles and half pint mason jars so one isn't buying something that would only be used in an actual emergency. I would only make these as needed and I could make them quickly.

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