Yup, it's just a highly refined kerosene. You can use regular kerosene (like you would get from a gas station) or even fuel oil, but both will burn much smokier.

We used to use lamps like that in the construction industry. They were round balls, filled with kerosene or fuel oil, with a large wick on top. We would light them and leave them on the road, so that drivers could see us at night. Nowadays we have road flares, electrical lights, strobes, ect; but I've still got a bunch in the garage.

Interesting claim by UCO:

"Beeswax produces negative ions that attract pollutants, so these candles actually clean the air."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerosene

I think its actually called Paraffin or Synthetic Lamp Oil (which was a replacement for Whale oil), as Kerosene was actually a trade marked name whose name has stuck - a little like calling a Vacuum Cleaner a Hoover.

I love these little gems as well. I keep them around for power outages at home. I went down to a local craft store and bought some glass cylinders that were meant to go around a 3-4" candle. They fit around these nicely, cost almost nothing & keep someone from accidentally catching a sleeve on fire.

The entire point of a candle is that it is solid, and can be stored in any position, is durable,and spillproof, etc. Liquids don't cut it, and don't store nicely for extended periods.

Fortunately, LED lights work quite well in these kinds of applications.

But LEDs require batteries, lack ambience, produce little heat and aren't great fire starters.

They do have their place -- in my headlamps and some flashlights.

A bit of trademark semantics then

Seems to me what we have is a kerosene lantern masquerading as a candle. Nothing wrong with that s'pose, but why not just get a real kerosene lantern? It guess it has a nice price point, but how bright is this Emergency Candle compared to other kerosene lanterns?

The Dietz #1 Large Fount Little Wizard is a little over three times the price (3.544 times to be precise), but look how much more you get as an investment.

They all have their place, although I don't like the liquid candles/lamps for vehicles.

How do you tell you are talking to a nail bender who can talk well, vs a master woodworker? One hammer vs 20.

The very best implement is unfortunately technologically obsolete - a carbide lamp. They are fabulous firestarters, do not require batteries, and produce both heat and light.

They do require calcium carbide, which must be kept extremely dry. It is harder and harder to obtain.

I wondered about that claim. If an ion attracts a pollutant, where does it go then? If the air in a car is like bath water: both the clean water and the dirt are still in the tub.