PSA: Please stop suggesting that a candle and a terracotta pot will heat a room.
Posted by seeker_ktf@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 49 comments
This myth has been debunked so many times yet it keeps landing on this sub anyway. Allowing people to believe that a clay pot is “magic” and can save your life in a pinch is irresponsible and could literally get somebody killed.
Everything in the universe follows the laws of thermodynamics. There is no way to “magnify” heat. Baring a legit miracle, it is just impossible. A burning candle produces around 80-ish BTU. A Mr. Heater Buddy produces 9,000 BTU on high. (Total side note: a sleeping human produces around 360 BTUs.) So yeah, if you light up 120 candles, you can heat a 200 sq ft room. It will be dangerous as hell, and as a happy side benefit they would absolutely produce enough carbon monoxide to kill you.
Ignoring all the numbers for a moment… Not everything in science is obvious, but some things can rely on common sense. Stepping back from the problem for a minute, imagine two rooms… one heated by a candle and the other heated by a single log in a fireplace. Which one is warmer?
The moral of the story is that if you have no power and it is cold, put on warm clothes, don’t forget a hat and socks, and get in bed with blankets.
Edit: spelling police mea culpa.
Edit 2: I said you can't heat a room. But yes, a candle and a pot could make a nice hand warmer.
deleted_by_reddit@reddit
Mine didn't work either. I think it's because I didn't remove the plants from the pots.
NutmegLover@reddit
I'm tempted to make a pot joke.
deleted_by_reddit@reddit
Let's hear it.
NutmegLover@reddit
You can't spell Heathcare without THC.
Western_Exercise_943@reddit
You win the entire Internet!
Ecstatic_Painting_12@reddit
Common misconception... heat doesn't rise... it radiates.. hot air rises, cooler air sinks. Seal off a room, heavy drape over the window, warm clothing and a few heating candles will indeed keep you from freezing to death. saying be careful playing with fire seems obvious, but be careful. Tiny emergency lit heaters are pretty cheap. If its so cold pipes may freeze, shut off the copper pipes and drain. If you have a car, in winter keep the gas tank full... that with a reflective blanket and a candle may be your best bet if things get cold enough... we made it though 4 subzero days / nights in January (Canada ) when the power was lost, no emergency heat by isolating in one room and a couple of oil lamps, flashlight and a deck of cards.
Cornfeild88@reddit
It works
Ok-Formal-4263@reddit
So serious question, if 120 candles produces enough carbon monoxide to kill me, how many candles can I have in a greenhouse made of old windows and fence pailings, that's not airtight before I kill myself? Coz I don't want to do that, and I have a lot of candles in here for winter to light up the space. I have changed some out for remote control candles and LED lanterns, but there's still a few big candles and about 30 tealights?
seeker_ktf@reddit (OP)
There are way too many variables in your question to answer that logically, plus I don't want the responsibility of killing you. But candles don't burn very efficiently so I reckon the carbon monoxide (CO) problem would be bad. Its sort of a freak of nature that your body reacts very violently to high concentrations of CO2, instead of a lack of oxygen. That's why too much CO can be so deadly. It's odorless and colorless and it replaces oxygen to the point that you pass out, fall asleep and die.
Operating any kind of meaningful fire with fuel that doesn't burn perfectly, in a closed space with no ventilation will kill you sooner or later.
You didn't say where you live, but I and many others have done plenty of camping in sub-zero weather. You, yourself are a fantastic heater. You just need some good insulation and dry clothes to survive anything in the contental US. There has been so.much posted in this sub about it.
Ok-Formal-4263@reddit
I actually thought maybe there was a simple answer to that haha I live in Australia, it's a greenhouse made of of old windows and fence pailings, and its also gappy where the roof goes on, and I'm not dead yet, I thought we had a co2 sensor in our neck area that caused us to panic and stuff as like a warning system. I mean I'm not sleeping in the green house or anything, I'm just mucking around with plants, and I'm not in there all night, but sometimes it's a few hours, ill have to look it up a bit, I just honestly didn't know candles were dangerous for me like that, I mean setting my greenhouse on fire and all I knew about haha Thank you for your reply!
kingvrage@reddit
It would need to be a big candle in a little room with plenty of insulation.
Opinion_Unable@reddit
But dude, I like saw this YouTube video and the guy said it works and why would he lie? No one ever lies on YouTube. I got my clay pots and tea light candles (I got the battery powered ones, they should be safer) and I’m ready for a blackout in a North Dakota winter.
RonJohnJr@reddit
Bob Villa even says it: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/genius-terracotta-pot-heater/ Pretty lacking in data...
KJ6BWB@reddit
To be fair, that recommends four tea lights on each side. That's eight total. Using OP's numbers, that's as much hear as two sleeping humans, which should easily heat up a small room.
Walmart reports selling a 50-pack for $3: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Tealight-Candle-Pack-50-Count-White/45924265 and each light will burn for... Let's be conservative and say three hours. So 6 sets in that 50 pack at three hours each is 18 hours or 3/4 of a day plus a few. Using this 24/7, that's 40 packs for 30 days or 3*0= $120 to heat a small room for a month.
That's ridiculously expensive compared to normal heat in most places.
I think the main problem is not that it can't work, as it could, but that your money is better spent on more conventional hearing apparatuses.
I own a Mr Buddy heater and have several small tanks of fuel. I also have lots of blankets
LordZeusCannon@reddit
That’s cheap. My heating for my small apartment is regularly in the $200-300 per month in the winter. That’s more than it costs for my mom to heat her entire house with propane furnace. Electric heat sucks
Salt-Way2244@reddit
Crisco burns very slow.
KJ6BWB@reddit
It's also smoky and a real fire risk. Just buy an emergency heater meant to be used in a home, like a Mr Buddy heater. And then you'll be prepared in an emergency without permanently turning your ceiling black because that's really going to eventually impact your security deposit.
Other_Designer4325@reddit
Be careful doing this. Its very dangerous. When I was a kid, I lived in Ohio and winters are extreme most of the time. We had a tree house we built as kids and would stay in it all the time. It would be cold and we didnt have portable heaters back then, plus your supposed to be raw if you wanna camp in the Midwest winters. One time we used a candle in a glass jar. Keep in mind, the tree house was made of wood. We didnt know candles could do what im about to tell you. But when candle wax gets so hot for a long time, it starts popping and can have a napalm effect, where water cant put it out, or like an oil effect where water makes it worse. It gets so hot, it breaks the glass because its cold on the outside and hot inside. When that glass cracks, that wax is very dangerous. because its hard to put out. If this happens in your sleep, it could cause a big fire. If you do this, be aware of this phenomenon. It could save your life if this happens to you.
Snek1775@reddit
There's a reason 4 post beds used to be a very popular thing. It's not style, elegance, etc. No they had heavy curtains that helped keep the heat in.
growthatshit@reddit
I qant heated floors...
ilreppans@reddit
Tsk, tsk…. using science to debunk myth and theory ;-)
In all fairness, there actually is some science behind the clay pot idea. While it true that you cannot create BTUs, you can change the distribution of that heat with the clay pot.
Most of the heat from a bare candle rises quickly and goes straight to the ceiling where, well… we usually cannot feel it. The heated clay pot, however, captures much that heat and can redistribute it closer/slower to us in the form of radiant energy. I wouldn’t call it a huge difference, but there’s certainly some.
SeriousGoofball@reddit
I've always wondered if an empty soup can would work better for this. Metal conducts heat better than clay and heated faster.
infinitum3d@reddit
You don’t want to conduct heat quickly. The burning flame does that itself.
You want stone to ‘capture’ the heat and release it slowly.
RhiannonShadowweaver@reddit
Wouldn't that be the point of the terra cotta?
infinitum3d@reddit
Yes. As opposed to a metal can that the other person mentioned.
RhiannonShadowweaver@reddit
Could you explain the difference between quick heat and slow heat for me?
infinitum3d@reddit
A candle flame puts out heat. But in a large area that little bit of heat disperses quickly.
But when you cover it with a terracotta pot, the pot absorbs the heat and releases more slowly, keeping it contained in a smaller space.
When you just have a little heat source, you want to keep that heat in a smaller space (closer to the body). You don’t want it dispersed all around.
RhiannonShadowweaver@reddit
Right so my terra cotta pot in my car, tent, closet for sheltering in place in case of earth quake, storm, bomb, etc, makes sense then? Because this comment section had me feeling like I was fucked (I live where it gets very cold and need a non electric, non gas emergency option)
infinitum3d@reddit
It’s not going to be highly efficient but it could keep you alive. It’s basically an inexpensive hand warmer. Better than nothing, but not much.
I’m not a fan of using an open flame in a car or tent, but in an emergency you do whatever you have to.
RhiannonShadowweaver@reddit
I have those hot hand things in abundance and emergency foil blankets as well as regular blankets. The candle and pot are honestly more for heating a can of food and psychological comfort. I know it's not gonna do much, but in a situation like that every little bit can make all the difference. I have tin cans with holes on the bottom for air and a pot that just sits on top, covering the candle inside the can. So I'm relatively comfortable for using it in a tent or car, without sleeping of course. If you have another non gas, non electric suggestion I'd love to hear about it! Haven't seen any in the comments
Famous_Doctor_7806@reddit
Well there's math, theories, Mr science declares, etc., but here's the absolute truth. Period. No debate allowed. I'm currently in day 5 of no power after a natural disaster. I've been here by myself during that time. I have a box of 24 "emergency candles" and 100 tea lights. The temp outside has been a high of 47 degrees and a low of about 37 at night. So....... I can say without question lighting candles every just a few in a room makes ALL the difference. It went from seeing my breath cold to almost comfortable after about an hour. Now my room is rather small (15 x 12 feet) amd has decent insulation. I can say 3 to 4 candles makes a damn huge difference. Like huge difference. So take your math and your naysays and stuff it. Real world experiment says they help a damn lot. Are they a permanent solution? No. Am I rocking shorts now? No. Did I go from seeing my breath and 4 blankets to sweat pants a light long sleeve shirt, no blankets and comfortable. Yes!
Ruggernutter@reddit
I know I'm late to this and need to come up with a joke, and this is not terracotta, but what do you think of the "Candle Convection Heater- Winter Camping with my Off-Grid Stove!" dude on youtube?
https://youtu.be/6ZnayOUQN28?si=e5pTe0G8myGlZIYj
seeker_ktf@reddit (OP)
Fire is still hot. I do love what he has there.
I see a few things about his set up. First off, the candles that he's using are not tealights. I'd estimate that the flames those are producing is 2 or 3 times as much as a typical tralight so with 4 candles he's got somewhere between 8 and 12 tealights worth of fire. His room is extremely well insulated (like a cooler), so he's trapping almost all the heat that's generated. Additionally, that room is tiny. From the looks of it, it's about 2 times the size of a typical "water closet" in US house.
All of that, and his room is at an acceptable 54F. He won't freeze to death by any means but he'll probably be keeping his hat and clothes on.
And again, people are good heaters too. Talk to an HVAC guy about that, but auditoriums need a lot more cooling than a warehouse of the same size because one is full of little mini- space heaters.
If I was freezing and all I had were tealights (if that happens something very bad is going on) I would light the tealights in a water closet (or just a closet) and hope for the best. I still wouldn't expect to warm a tiny sized bedroom.
And that was the reason for the original post. What you do in an emergency under desperate conditions with limited supplies is never the primary plan. The "tealights people" were suggesting that terracotta thing as the primary backup heater in an emergency, which is not something that makes any kind of sense.
Ruggernutter@reddit
Agreed; thoughtful response!
michaelyup@reddit
My grandma raised 12 kids during the Great Depression with just a clay pot and some tea lights. They cooked meals in that pot, bathed in that pot and heated their gypsy wagon with that pot. I don’t know what you are talking about! /s
frugalgardeners@reddit
Any clay pot stew recipes? LOL
ChubbyWokeGoblin@reddit
Edit: shit I forgot the traditional 6 paragraph write up by a stay at home mom, about grandmama and the history of our family falling in love with this recipe since crossing the Oregon Trail
Intelligent-Cat8739@reddit
Mmm…sounds nice.
-Keely@reddit
That recipe has a name and it’s called gumbo.
Hefty-Progress-1903@reddit
https://theprepared.com/blog/can-a-flower-pot-and-tealight-candle-create-enough-heat-to-save-you-in-a-cold-emergency/#:~:text=There%20are%20several%20ways%20to,for%20why%20this%20should%20work.
MycoLife205@reddit
Yes if you leave it burning for a while it will heat a small room. I'm sure people online are pumping up the effects but this stuff what everyone does now geeking for views. I made something similar. Same concept but with a paint can and it almost made it to hot in my grow room.
MycoLife205@reddit
Well all of this is just your thoughts and ideas of why it shouldn't work but there's hundreds of people that have actually done it and can tell you it does work. We're not magnifying anything. Simply taking a few small flames, the candles, and placing them under something bigger that absorbs and releases a lot of heat, (the terra cota pot). So, common sense should've kicked in and told you the bigger and better at holding and releasing heat the object is the more heat it puts off. I hate to rain on your "I'm smarter, therefore better than all of you" parade but it almost sounded like you knew what you were talking about. Fyi everyone. " Educated" does not automatically make you intelligent. In fact. I'll say the American education system weather it's public schools, private schools, and especially universities are not good for much more than indoctrinating them into easily being brainwashed by whatever bs narrative is being pushed and it has ruined society. Now there's so many ignorant people regurgitating nonsense trying to explain away things people are doing that for some odd reason they have issues with. If it doesn't work then I challenge you to actually build one correctly and let it burn for 45 - to an hour and go grab the pot with your bare hands. Lol
InfluenceTerrible@reddit
In other news candles do not produce CO but CO2 unless they do a incomplete combustion
Particular_Ad1515@reddit
🤷🏻♂️ it's making my trailer 10 degrees warmer rn.. so I guess I just have strong candles?
TrishCarey@reddit
I always thought it was as a hand warmer or something- like the power is out and you can warm your hands or feet - never thought it would heat a room.
Bforbrilliantt@reddit
I don't use wax because the cost per watt hour (or kilojoule, BTU or kcal depending on unit choice) is more with wax than electricity. I have successfully used cooking oil in floating candles with a rockwool insulation wick. But you have to trim them just right so your room doesn't smell like a chippy. I place a mesh bin over the assembly to let the air in but stabilise air currents. This reduces flicker for longer wick life and less soot, and means I don't have exposed naked flames.
Jeffery_Moyer@reddit
What makes you think you are magnifying heat? That's the dumbest thing ever to extrapolate from any of the information given that I have ever seen about this.
Literally, the only things you are going to accomplish is redistribution of heat over a larger surface and retaining the heat for a much longer think of it, kinda like a shitty battery powering your laptop and maybea light and a bt speaker. You have a flame burning at about 1800 degrees Fahrenheit and you want to keep from freezing.
If done right it absolutely can keep you much warmer for an extended period of time. Wire that battery up wrong. Well, you're not going to retain or distribute as much heat
Sea-Art-3316@reddit
I can confirm it doesn't work. I tried it last year in the spring and nothing happened. Good thing it wasn't an emergency.
Duck_Force_One@reddit
It’s about survival, not comfort.
A candle isn’t going to do anything functional on a 55 degree night.
But in a small space a candle can be the difference between it being 30 degrees or 40 degrees. The pot thing won’t improve that, but it will trap the heat so it can be more efficiently used. You could put your hands on it, or warm a can of soup… etc…