Aren't candles still best for power outage?

[broadgage]

A 9 in. candle weighing 58.3g will consume between 72L and 144L of oxygen in its (complete) combustion. That means it will render between 361L and 722L of air unbreatheable. In English measurements, that's between 12.7ft^3 and 25.5ft^3. In a 10*10ft room, that's a layer of air over the floor between 1.5in. and 3in. high.

I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Indeed, and that is in a completely sealed room which is never achieved in all but special purpose construction, not in a home.

All common building materials such as wood, brick, sheetrock etc are slightly porous.
No normal dwelling has perfectly fitting doors and windows either, and of course the door(s) and possibly the windows are opened from time to time.
Natural ventilation in an aparprently well sealed room will be at least several air changes a day, and often much more.

For long term power failures, candles in secure wall mounted holders are very suitable.
In cold climates the warmth is welcome also, since most heating is reliant on electricity (not all I know)

 

[Sgt. LED]

CDC
OSHA
Red Cross
NOAA
FEMA

All the above websites caution against the use of candles during blackout's and other emergency situations except the Red Cross, they say right out to NOT use them. I find that interesting.

I guess the government figures we're to stupid to use them safely.
Pardon me, I must now go out and buy some candles.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

This is an old but interesting aticle on candles causing fires
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20040921/candles-cause-more-home-fires

 

[NeonLights]

Indeed, and that is in a completely sealed room which is never achieved in all but special purpose construction, not in a home.

This reminds me of something my brother-in-law passed on to me. He is a contractor for high-end homes, and had a special request from the homeowner he was building a house for, for some specialized insulation in the house that is sprayed in between the studs, kinda like the expanding foam stuff, only on a much larger scale. Cost $100k to insulate the house this way, and he also had hardwood floors. My bro-in-law warned him this could be a problem, but the homeowner didn't listen, and the hardwood floors started to warp and bow because the rooms were sealed so well and there was no good control of humidity or ventilation (when the HVAC system wasn't on).

 

[labrat]

Just got the power back after a 2 hour long blackout here in central Oslo, in Norway.
I guess the power was out in about 5-6 blocks around here, but then outside this area all the power was still working.
Seeing lot's of people navigating along the pavements with their cell-phones, and also down in our garage system in the basement a guy trying to find his way out using the cell-phone.
Actually the Surefire E1e with a Strion-bulb and a RCR123 cell was more than sufficient to see from one end of the garage to the farthest corner!
But then it was completely black down there!
No working emergency lights, completely dark.
And looking at the windows in the houses from the outside, most had candles burning inside in their apartments.
And of course, an hour after the power went off, the first fire-truck was blazing it's way up the street, did not see where it went!

 

[gallagho]

No mention of milkycandles yet? I have two just waiting for an outage!

 

[jrmcferren]

Candles are fine in my book as long as you can be safe with them. They provide a decent spectrum output. For really long durations either a kerosene lantern or a kerosene lamp would be better due to the runtime. I do have a candle story (close call) that I would like to share.

I was a freshman an High School in a word processing class. Well I went to hand my work to the teacher and I just laid it on her desk. I wasn't paying attention and I didn't realize until maybe a fraction of second later that I laid it right on top of a candle . I picked the paper back up and it was not even charred. That was a close call. This was when the power was on.

 

[SafetyBob]

4 D M@g bucking 4 alkalines with one SHO MicroPuck with a nice Seoul 3300K P4 led and it runs in excess of 4 days.......nonstop. No more candles for me.

Bob E.

 

[elmejor]

Candles are ok, but can be a big fire hazard if you're not careful. Never leave a candle alone, especially if there are children or pets in the house!

well safety and careful usage is required in everything, how ever big or small, technologically advanced or not. but at least the usage doesnt give us huge bills, i am 'for' the use of candle

 

[Cobweb Hunter]

Candles are best if Ma and I are home alone.

 

[greenlight]

Are candles more likely to burn down your house if the power is off than any other time? I suspect that the idiots who burn their houses down with unsafe candle usage are apt to do it at any time, regardless of power conditions.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

actually I would guess more fires happen in power outages mainly because people are not used to using candles often and get careless with them. They light a candle and leave it unattended and probably don't have smoke alarms near where the candles are either.
The people that use candles more often most likely are used to being more cautious.

 

[f22shift]

during my pre cpf times i used tealights with a lantern case that would reduce a risk.



i still use the tealights during camping for accent lighting around the campsite(dirt campsite)

 

[Guy's Dropper]

I love candles. Most of the time, I'd prefer a candle or an oil lantern to a flashlight if indoors. They can be perfectly safe if you are careful where you place them and don't leave them alone for too long.

 

[Sub_Umbra]

I have candles for trade goods during power outages -- but only for those who live more than a couple hundred feet away from me. I don't live in earthquake country but it's still a bad idea.

 

[James Hamon]

One of the reasons they recommend against candles is in cases of earthquakes with broken gas lines which can obviously start a flame ive always heard stories of that happening but dont know if their true or not.

 

[Jay R]

They can be perfectly safe if you are careful where you place them and don't leave them alone for too long.

That's a bit like saying that a hand grenade is pefectly safe after you pull the pin as long as you don't let it go....

I think having a naked flame in a house at anytime is a bad idea if you can use something else. Only time I have one is when I flame the Christmas Pudding.

 

[Phaserburn]

I use candles fairly often in my home; my children are used to it, like it, and respect it. We light candles on our dinner table each night.

Like many things, candles require care. How many people injure themselves with power tools each year? Burn their house down because they smoke indoors, or better yet, in bed?

My point is, if you are responsible, you are ok. If you aren't sure if you are, you probably aren't. To para-quote Clint Eastwood: "Man's got to know his limitations..."

 

[Sub_Umbra]

I use candles fairly often in my home; my children are used to it, like it, and respect it. We light candles on our dinner table each night.

Like many things, candles require care. How many people injure themselves with power tools each year? Burn their house down because they smoke indoors, or better yet, in bed?

My point is, if you are responsible, you are ok. If you aren't sure if you are, you probably aren't. To para-quote Clint Eastwood: "Man's got to know his limitations..."

Emphasis mine.

Actually, one would also have to count on his next door neighbors (and their childern) to be responsible with their candles during a blackout since the repercussions of one's misadventure may not always be confined to one's own property. While one could counter with logic similar to the above quote that whole blocks of houses occasionally burn down even when the power is on -- that is not much of an argument for increasing it's chances of happening by using candles during an emergency -- an emergency which may also cause many to use things like white gas stoves and other potentially hazardous devices that the user has not become familiar with through daily use.

I would also note that people who can't plan well enough to have a flashlight when the power goes out will also rarely bother to consider that while many of the systems that they are used to in their homes are failing all around them their city's police, fire and emergenciy medical services will literally be working overtime to provide some semblance of 'Public Safety' for the taxpayer during the outage.

One Pak-Lite and the battery included with it will provide ~600 hours of light on low that is brighter and far safer than any candle's output. To me burning candles at a time when all emergency services may be stretched to their limits is much like deciding to drive faster just because there is ice on the roads.

 

[Fat_Tony]

Emphasis mine.
To me burning candles at a time when all emergency services may be stretched to their limits is much like deciding to drive faster just because there is ice on the roads.

I agree with the above quote by Sub_Umbra 100%. Using candles may provide an aesthetic value for you, csshih, but in a blackout, I find that led lights, led lanterns, and even glowsticks are more useful, and less dangerous.

I have candles for trade goods during power outages -- but only for those who live more than a couple hundred feet away from me.

Pretty cynical, Sub_Umbra.