A cheap way to have light. Floating candle wick.

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During the April 27th 2011 after tornadoes my area had no power for 6 days. The whole TN Valley was stuck with no power. I put two of the bought versions in 2 small salad bowls. Then sat one down in kitchen sink and one in bathroom sink. Nightlights!
 
Could the lit wick accidentally ignite the oil the bottle cap is floating in? It seems a little precarious floating there, and if the whole glass full of oil got touched off, it should be mandatory to have a fire extinguisher close by I'd think. This idea looks neat, but ... not ... entirely ... safe. Am I missing something?

I have visions of my 40th birthday party (that was a while ago...) The family put 40 of those "can't blow 'em out" candles on the cake. Ignoring the instructions that you shouldn't use more than three or so, and spaced far apart. That baby lit up like a bonfire, flames about 5 feet high and the diameter of the cake. The sugary frosting on the cake melted down into a black glass-like structure. Some brave - and smart - fool quickly drug a large pot from the cabinet and captured the flaming cake under it. We had to quickly pull in ladders from the outside to reach all the high ceiling smoke detectors that were going off in harmony.

Nice idea. Poor execution. An unforgettable birthday party, that's for sure. On my 50th and 60th, I got a cake with one candle. And everybody was standing pressed up against the walls, as far as they could physically get from the cake.
 
The oil won't burn without a wick. (unless it gets a lot hotter than the amount of heat the wick can provide.
If you spill it on the carpet you should have a fire extinguisher close by.
 
Could the lit wick accidentally ignite the oil the bottle cap is floating in? It seems a little precarious floating there, and if the whole glass full of oil got touched off, it should be mandatory to have a fire extinguisher close by I'd think. This idea looks neat, but ... not ... entirely ... safe. Am I missing something?

I have visions of my 40th birthday party (that was a while ago...) The family put 40 of those "can't blow 'em out" candles on the cake. Ignoring the instructions that you shouldn't use more than three or so, and spaced far apart. That baby lit up like a bonfire, flames about 5 feet high and the diameter of the cake. The sugary frosting on the cake melted down into a black glass-like structure. Some brave - and smart - fool quickly drug a large pot from the cabinet and captured the flaming cake under it. We had to quickly pull in ladders from the outside to reach all the high ceiling smoke detectors that were going off in harmony.

Nice idea. Poor execution. An unforgettable birthday party, that's for sure. On my 50th and 60th, I got a cake with one candle. And everybody was standing pressed up against the walls, as far as they could physically get from the cake.
It’s much like the wicks in oil lamps. The size of the flame is determined by how far up you pull the wick. If you wanted to play it a little safer, I would think you could use a larger lid- like a canning lid or metal lid from condiment bottle etc. then as Jim said if you placed a globe around it, would keep flame from blowing in any draft there might be. I think it’s an awesome emergency solution.
 
Interesting, and easy to make. All of the components are readily available.

Anybody know how long a wick will burn? How much time before you have to replace the wick?
 
We once had a thread where we talked about using alcohol in an oil lamp, if no oil was available. I don't think that would work in this set up. Or rather, it would work and would be a disaster.
 

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