I was just perusing a bulk candle supplier and came across a 3 wick candle with a burn time of 75 hours....it occurred to me that it might make a reasonable cooking source just wondering if anybody had tried it? I have heated up beans and soup(very slowly I might add) using a candle during a hurricane in Florida once.
I can see you heating up a tin of soup or something over time with a candle but it must take forever.
Must be worth a try though as even warm soup or beans is better than nothing.
it did take an age and lots of stirring but it was very welcome warm food at the time....just thinking three flames is going to be a huge improvement over one , I figured I'd adjust the candle height by just adding saucers as the candle burns down.
For a little fun, get 4 tea-lights, put them in a 2x2 layout, in a well aerated room, on a heatproof surface, then light them all and wait.
When all 4 turn to liquid, the wax itself starts to hold a flame, and you end up with a cool little burner. I nearly burnt down a flat I used to live in by doing this...oops.
But you can certainly cook on that.
As for the 3 wick candles, I'm not a fan. Not because I think they're bad, they just don't fit into my plans. The cintonella candles are good to keep bugs away, but that's about it. All other 3 wick candles are just like 3 tea lights close together, but without the benefit of the mega-flame you get when they turn liquid. You could also keep the 3 tea lights slightly apart and maintain 3 flames long enough to cook on.
IKEA do really well priced tea lights.
I'd thought about tealights but dismissed them on safety grounds....this three wick candle has a 6 inch diameter by 6 inches tall making it very robust and its non scented...wonder what the wattage of 3 candles combined would be?
I'm not tech enough to be interested in wattage. As long as it heats stuff up, I'm happy.
For safety, put them on a terracotta plant tray (the shallow trough that goes under the plant pot) and add a little water. A small bunsen burner stand will be strong enough to hold a tin of beans or something like that.
Just curious what the wattage is for comparison purposes...the main ring on my 2 burner camp sove is 1500w max my little portable single burner running of 470 cartridges is 1000w just wondered what three candle flames might equate too.