The "candle lanterns" put out light and heat comparable to candles due to the small wick size.

I have a couple of Dietz lanterns laying around but many times I don't need that much light and don't want that much heat. I'm much more likely to get them out when I need a lot of light for a particular reason OR appreciate the heat they throw. The one that sits on top of the hutch on my desk does look nicer that the other items we discussed.

I have a dual fuel Coleman lantern and a propane Coleman lantern too but I don't recall ever using either outside the confines of car camping.

I picked up a couple of the Rock River brand LED lanterns a few years ago and I've primary used them inside tents when car camping, during brief power outages and during tornado warnings when we get in the storm shelter.

a good idea by a contributor (who works in Mexico) on Blade Forums... he added 3 tea candles to an Altoids tin... the top of the tin acts as a reflector, and has 3 "power" settings...

an old previous mentioned example... back in my Scouting days we used paraffin poured into Gerber baby food jars to make tent candles, they were fairly resistant to wind... sort of a mini hurricane lamp... also used shoe polish tins filled with paraffin and wicking to make small stoves to use with GI metal canteens, canteen cups, and stands...a couple of wicks in a shoe polish tin for glass free candles...a block of paraffin supplied fuel for both

Love the Altoids idea. Great way to contain any melted wax mess in the car, too.

I have a few of the liquid parafin candles I referenced. They don't compare to a lantern, they are simply candles and should be compared as such. The container they are in are plastic. They can drop and be just fine. If you abused it, I'm sure the top could pop off and create quite a mess. But do the same thing with a wax candle and it will break/crack/smush.

I've purchased via http://www.beprepared.com (Emergency Essentials) before and they are trustworthy. I've always had good experiences anyway.

I've always wondered what the freezing point of liquid paraffin is. If you can find out, let me know. Here are a few details.

Someone mentioned putting these in glass containers to house them. I think the idea of a container is a good one. It would protect the flame from wind and bystandards from burn. Glass would permit more light to escape, but it can also break. In the context of a car winter survival kit to provide warmth and light, I would recommend a tin can. It does block some of the light, but if you are in a car wreck or your gear bag gets smashed undersomething else, there is less/no broken glass to deal with. For use in a home, glass may be preferable.

If you get it wet, it releases acetylene, which will happly explode in atmospheric concentrations ranging from something like 8 to 95%. I can think of reasons why people choose not to use carbide lamps...

I never could get into candles myself. I know people love them, but I don't use flames around my tent.

This Cree LED lantern for $25 will run on low for 48 hours with 3 AA batteries ... and I can even use it in my tent.

http://www.amazon.com/Small-Package-Brig...475&sr=1-30

It looks like the same lantern that Target sold as a Rock River a few years back, which is what I have. Great little lantern. Tough as nails.

Have some paraffin and some empty tins and I'm going to try these!

With all the synthetic materials that are everywhere in the camping world (unless you purposefully avoid them), I recommend being VERY AWARE that flame and these materials are a dangerous combination. Tents, sleeping bags, 'fleece' materials, jackets, underwear, etc., the list goes on.....
Some of the very thin tent materials have almost a 'flash' to them with a flame ignition.
Even worse, this melts and drips onto the skin (tent above) and solidifies and makes a very deep burn on that spot. This from just one drip. Most things burning will be many, many drips! Also they have found out that flammable vapors (gasoline, alc, etc.) go into the material and then if they get ignited the whole t-shirt (or whatever) will melt to the individual wearing it. Very large deep burns result.
There is a start of a swing back to natural fibers that will 'burn', but at least it doesn't MELT onto you. HUGE difference in the burn depth on the skin. Always wear a couple of natural fiber layers against the skin before putting on the polar fleece and other synthetic layers, especially if you have any possibility of being around flammable vapors (filling up the car?)

As a former fireman, Candles cause a LOT of unintentional fires in homes. Now we take them camping with us?

Use with GREAT caution,
gimpy

Oh, and spread the word to those you care about!

I hate to bump such an old topic but it's probably better than starting a duplicate new one. I have the original UCO with the 9 hour candles and really love it (aside from the fact that it's flimsy- one of the three "posts" broke off within two weeks, but partly I am to blame for getting impatient while reassembling it). Lately I've been thinking of the Mini and/or Micro UCO. A week ago I bought some beeswax tealights to try, and although they're expensive I really like them and think they'd be good in the UCO.

But I wanted to ask one more question: Has anyone tried a liquid paraffin tealight for fit in either UCO? I read a few pages back about them being good items and they are, but are too large for the UCO. But in fact an 8 hour candle is an exact replacement for a wax tealight. I measured a few different brands of tealight candles and they're all 1.5" in diameter. My only issue is that I've been burned before relying on measurements provided by online vendors. The brand of 8 hour paraffin at Amazon lists them as being 13/16 High x 1 1/2 Diameter- if the measurements are accurate that should be exactly the size of a wax one. However, another 8 hour brand from a candle vendor is listed as 1.375"(D) x1.375"(H). That's probably close enough but I'm a bit leery of the fit.

Can anyone with either small UCO explain the candle holder? Like how it grips the candle and how much play there is?

I'm a chef and have worked with these paraffin dealies for 20 some odd years. I can't recall ever seeing one leak and they almost never fail before they run out of fuel. I think that sealed in something that would contain a possible spill they'd be great in the UCO...if they fit.

Phaedrus - here are some close up pics of the micro candle lantern candle holder. As you can see, three metal prongs that are part of a metal ring secure the candle. It fits the candle not quite snugly. The prongs could be bent to adjust them tighter or looser.