I have been a bit adverse to putting one in because of the risk of melting.

I then thought of this the other day.

Take a tealight, then take a second one and remove it from the aluminum "tub" it is in. Flip it around and use the extra tub as a lid to completely enclose the tealight and seal with electrical tape or duct tape.

YMMV.

I tried it allready. At best you open the tea candle and the wick has drowned in the repeatedly melted wax. At worst the stuff finds an egress and your kit still looks like a High School fund raising chocolate bar left in your car's glove compartment <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> A tea candle is A. a bit of firemaking tinder B. a small light source C. usefull for sewing repairs and dressing dryflies fabricated in the field for fishing. A Photon type microlight is a better light source. Vaseline soaked cotton balls will cover the other uses. Larger Pink Lady, Nuwick or Radients sold in Quebec are good additions for larger kits, but for PSKs no. You find these as components in many commercial units. ( whisper) They're a cheap item that gets listed for a light source and firemaking along with the rest of the 1001 FREE additional items <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> If they're tallow based you also get survival food as a prelude to the 4 red,green,yellow and orange candies for desert <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> At this point I look at the razor blade 'survival knife' and contemplate a messy suicide <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

I found a tin container of emergency candles at my local Goodwill store for $.49 that contained (6) 4" long candles and a candle stand incorporated in the cap.

I had a bear of a time getting the first candle out even though they were intact and in their original shape. Took (5) of the candles and wrapped them as tightly as I could with waxed paper and put them back in the tin.

The candles and tin container sit in an upright position in an external frame pack with other items. If I ever do get into a situation where heat may be a problem, the shape of the tin container and the tightly wrapped wax paper should allow them to more or less maintain a semblence of their original shape.

As I was writing this, I just thought of building a wooden center post that I could insert into the can with flutes cut into it to better support the candles and maintain their shape.

This forum sure does make you think in addition to obtaining information from like minded people. <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Bountyhunter <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I also found some "emergency" candles that fit into a 35mm film canister when cut into thirds. A bit bigger than the tea lights, but much more secure. I like the versatility of a candle, and they are nice to have around. I may have to do a bit of heat testing on the tea light.

Okay, I've got an idea. Why not anticipate a thorough melting and use a pre-melted candle?

Find or cut a common nail just the right length to stand up inside a 35mm can (or the container of your choice).

Melt wax into the container, standing the nail up in the middle before it hardens.

In practice, you'd remove the wax, pull out the nail, then insert a length of wicking (that you'd carry separately).

If the whole thing melts and the nail shifts, at least you've still got a way to make a new wick hole and insert the wick.

Plus you've got a way to carry an extra nail.

Sounds good in theory, but I wonder how hard it would be to extract the candle from the container, and the nail from the wax. And will a candle burned inside an opaque container become ineffective once it burns down an inch or so?

Sounds like a scientific experiment in the making.

Bear

you need warmth the most wenn it's cold. So you need a candle more wenn it's cold out there, than wenn it's hot out there. If it's cold out there, than it won't melt. So why not make a modulair kit ? If it's cold, keep the candle. If it gets hot, get the alternative's in the kit. Or beter, just fish out the candle and have alternative's already in the kit.

just my 2 cents

Ranger Rick's site has some very good methods for making light and heat sources with various components, including lanterns from PLASTIC 35mm film containers.

Bountyhunter

Bountyhunter:

I have seen the Ranger Rick ideas making a torch out of simple things, and I have made the 35mm film canister torch. It is a pretty good idea, but it there is an over flow of whatever you used as fuel, the container will melt. I melted my first one.

I took his idea and applied it to another container. I took a regular Portable Aqua glass container, and made something to fill in the mouth of the bottle as the bottle cap did in Rick's film canister. I works just as good and I don't have to worry about it melting.

I like the one I made, but it really isn't a practical thing to carry.

Frank