Preparing for troubled times ahead - Advice on what is needed.....

[grizzlyj]

Do the candles you make need to work in UCO lanterns or are you just looking for something roughly that size?

Working in the lanterns would be the plan ideally.

The last calor cylinder I obtained had been dumped in a ditch some time ago.

 

[billycoen]

will be trying to make UCO type candles so if anyone could advise how to do it that would be very helpful! Silicone moulds?

I've seen a couple of youtube vids on how to change the candle for oil burning instead,using a modded deodorant can,which then fits into the UCO,so maybe you could use the can as a mould.

 

[grizzlyj]

I've never made a candle before. I've just got some beeswax, a friend has some wicks and I'm assuming I can surround a candle with bathroom silicone to make the mould?

 

[TLM]

I've never made a candle before. I've just got some beeswax, a friend has some wicks and I'm assuming I can surround a candle with bathroom silicone to make the mould?

Bathroom silicones are not the type usually used, they are mostly polycondensation types when the mold silicones are polyaddition types. The fast test is that polycondensation types smell when curing the others don't.

I don't know how they behave might still work. Normal candles contain mostly paraffin or stearin waxes as they are a lot cheaper than beeswax. Sometimes a little beeswax is added for the smell.

 

[billycoen]

 

[British Red]

I've never made a candle before. I've just got some beeswax, a friend has some wicks and I'm assuming I can surround a candle with bathroom silicone to make the mould?

You need to get the right kind of silicone as mentioned above. Wipe the candle over with washing up liquid before applying the silicone ( mould release - stops the silicone sticking to the candle). Then peel the mould off. Make a hole in the tip ,( ) pass proper candle wick through the hole and secure with blue tak to block the hole. Suspend the mould and put something like a pencil over it, tieing the string to it to keep the string central. Melt your wax in a double boiler and pour in.

Make a bunch of moulds because making candles one at a time gets old fast!

 

[SaraR]

I've never made a candle before. I've just got some beeswax, a friend has some wicks and I'm assuming I can surround a candle with bathroom silicone to make the mould?

You need the right thickness of wick for you material and for the size of the mould. You should be able to find that info online though.

 

[slowworm]

I'd also suggest getting the right type of wick, not all work well with beeswax. I use WickWell NT from these people: https://4candles.co.uk/candle-making-wick/raw-unwaxed.html

Advice on wicks and sizes here: https://4candles.co.uk/candle-making/guides/wick-choice.html

 

[British Red]

I've missed this place - in many places, discussing one's wick size and preference for type would have far less interesting connotations

Was it tombear that wrote the really interesting thread on candle making? I know he did the brilliant rushlight thread.

 

[grizzlyj]

If it wasn't for this thread I would never have discovered my wick is so oversized

 

[TeeDee]

If it wasn't for this thread I would never have discovered my wick is so oversized

But ever , ever so s-h-o-r-t

 

[TeeDee]

The most important thing any prepper* needs, and what just about all of them lack, is a sense of proportion and sanity.

*By 'prepper' I am not referring to those who live in remote locations and need a good level of resources due to where they live.
No.
I am referring to those paranoid and deluded ones who think the world is coming to an end at any minute. You know who you are.

Yeah, its not like we are on the verge of potentially anything serious.

 

[Toddy]

I've never made a candle before. I've just got some beeswax, a friend has some wicks and I'm assuming I can surround a candle with bathroom silicone to make the mould?

The Uco candle works because it's hard wax.
If you use soft wax, and most wax is soft, certainly most modern candle wax, the lantern's own heat softens it, and it duly melts down into the mechanism that raises the candle......trust me on this, it's a total pain in the (won't let me write the words) to clean out ! Mine dripped through the base too.

Find a hard wax or use a different candle light.

M

 

[gra_farmer]

The Uco candle works because it's hard wax.
If you use soft wax, and most wax is soft, certainly most modern candle wax, the lantern's own heat softens it, and it duly melts down into the mechanism that raises the candle......trust me on this, it's a total pain in the (won't let me write the words) to clean out ! Mine dripped through the base too.

Find a hard wax or use a different candle light.

M

That's interesting Toddy, as I am doing this very thing now, to make my own uco candles, but the uco candles also come as beeswax?

 

[Nice65]

The Uco candle works because it's hard wax.
If you use soft wax, and most wax is soft, certainly most modern candle wax, the lantern's own heat softens it, and it duly melts down into the mechanism that raises the candle......trust me on this, it's a total pain in the (won't let me write the words) to clean out ! Mine dripped through the base too.

Find a hard wax or use a different candle light.

M

Same here. Being knocked while hanging, or just picked up and moved spilt the molten wax and gummed the lifter.

 

[swyn]

I've just sold my woodland in Sussex, it went in 5 days! Some bloke from London is going to dig a hole ( no building permission available) and live there 'off the land' he reckons. Having spoken to him I get the impression he thinks a Nightshade is found on a bedside lamp and Hogweed probably tastes of Bacon, but he's bought a book and watches YouTube, so that's ok.
Good luck to him, I give him 3 months max.

The woodland I managed was divided into lots and sold to folk with a dream. Best of luck to them I say.
At least it won’t be clear felled but suburban eyes look on and report any ‘illegal’ camping by the new owners to the local authorities! ***, get a life I say but this is what bored retired and slightly jealous folk do when they have nothing else better to do…..
S

 

[swyn]

I think the biggest threat to our way of life, ( and probably more so for those trying to live off the land ) is climate change.
Weather patterns are changing, earlier springs high winds and flooding, extended heatwaves. All of these are prone to destroying hard work put into gardens and crops.
Understanding the micro environment is often not taken into account either, that includes soil health, insects,- both pest and benificial, and companion planting.
Zoning is important too, even in a small garden. For instance,
One thing I've noticed is how many people stick a compost bin at the bottom of the garden, making a trip to it with food waste a real chore when it's wet , cold, and snowing, !
I can recommend taking a permaculture course, even if you don't yet have land or a garden. If you can't afford the money or time for that, just find the permaculture manual available to order online.

The Earth Care Manual by my late friend Patrick Whitefield is a good place to start.
S

 

[Woody girl]

The Earth Care Manual by my late friend Patrick Whitefield is a good place to start.
S

I knew Patrick very well, studied with him on the first permaculture course in the UK at Darlington, in the 1980's and later worked for him for a short while making tipees, which was his business, before he went full time teaching permaculture.
All of his books are well worth having on your bookshelf.

 

[Toddy]

That's interesting Toddy, as I am doing this very thing now, to make my own uco candles, but the uco candles also come as beeswax?

Beeswax, good beeswax is hard. If you have good beeswax it's worth a try, but I suspect that the commercial ones for the lanterns have added Vybar or Stearic acid added to harden them further.
You don't need a lot, 4% is very adequate.

The wax mix needed is much like the stuff used for hurricane lantern candles. Again, they soak up and retain the heat, and the wax puddles....and drowns the wick if they get it wrong.

M

 

[swyn]

I knew Patrick very well, studied with him on the first permaculture course in the UK at Darlington, in the 1980's and later worked for him for a short while making tipees, which was his business, before he went full time teaching permaculture.
All of his books are well worth having on your bookshelf.

Oh fab. I used to supply poles for some of the bigger tipis! Thinnings from the woodlands they were and a great way to see some lovely parts of the UK and meet some interesting folk.
26+ feet on the roof of a LWB Land Rover probably wasn’t quite legal……but great times.
S