Newanderthal
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I keep seeing things about these miracle heaters that can heat an entire room with only a single candle. I decided to test one of these designs since I would rather know the actual heating ability of a heater before I'm in a disaster setting where I lose power. The results were quite surprising. Despite no less than four separate sources claiming that this design would heat a "medium-sized room" for hours, it could not raise the smallest room in my house a single degree after 4 continuous hours of burning.
Outside temp had remained fairly constant during the test and the room had maintained a constant 53 F for three hours prior to testing. 4 hours later it was still 53 F and the outside temp had actually climbed one degree.
The design was simple and seemed like it might work. A large coffee can is topped with a cast iron trivet. A few air holes are punched in the sides of the can near the bottom for air flow. A large candle is placed inside. While it does draw in cool air from the bottom, force out hot air at the top, and heat the trivet, it does absolutely nothing to heat the room.
This makes me extremely skeptical of other single-candle designs. Does one candle flame possess enough energy to warm an entire room? The room I used was small, about the same floor space as a cheap, 4-man tent.
I will be testing other designs in the future and posting my results.
Outside temp had remained fairly constant during the test and the room had maintained a constant 53 F for three hours prior to testing. 4 hours later it was still 53 F and the outside temp had actually climbed one degree.
The design was simple and seemed like it might work. A large coffee can is topped with a cast iron trivet. A few air holes are punched in the sides of the can near the bottom for air flow. A large candle is placed inside. While it does draw in cool air from the bottom, force out hot air at the top, and heat the trivet, it does absolutely nothing to heat the room.
This makes me extremely skeptical of other single-candle designs. Does one candle flame possess enough energy to warm an entire room? The room I used was small, about the same floor space as a cheap, 4-man tent.
I will be testing other designs in the future and posting my results.
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