Testing a Bizarre Modern Version of a 17th Century Candle!

I have a Simon Willard grandfather clock which has an automatic candle system like this to keep the candle lit behind the clock face at night. But it automatically unreels the candle until the final section for the length of night you set.

I appreciate how efficient it is with the wax. There is no leftovers or mess

The people who complained it didn't burn as long as it claimed might have had it set up with a slight breeze which made it burn faster. It is very cool looking! Thank you!!

RachLovesLife bought the upright model and she liked hers too. I know that back in the 17th and 18th centuries, it wasn’t uncommon to sleep for a few hours, get up in the middle of the night to do some work and then go back to bed. This kind of candle would allow someone to do some of that midnight work without worrying about falling asleep and forgetting the candle. Or it would allow them to set a “timer”, so to speak, and go back to bed when it starts fading. I know the part about working in the middle of the night because I saw a History Channel piece about how sleep habits have changed over the centuries. I’m just supposing that this could have been one of the uses for this kind of candle.

Neat contraption. I don't see why you couldn't advance it early with it still lit, as long as you do it well before the flame reaches the clip it should be cool to the touch. They probably say that for liability reasons, but nudging it up every 20 minutes would probably work fine. I can also imagine a version of this with the coil under light spring tension and the clip having some kind of heat-triggered mechanical advance where it nudges the candle forward once the flame burns low enough to trip a bimetallic strip or something. Could burn for as long as you needed that way!

Candles (and oil lamps etc.) can burn at different rates depending on things like altitude, humidity, and room temperature, just to start with. 👍

It's a cool idea, but I was expecting it to be an 80 hour continuous burn. I'm not really sure what you would need an 80 hour candle for, but it would provide a usage that couldn't simply be reproduced by just buying a few normal candles. As it stands, it is more of a curiosity than having any real purpose over other candles, as far as I can tell. Edit: I suppose the short burn time and extinguishing could be a selling feature. Tea candles take 4 hours to self extinguish.

Try trimming the wick to 1/4" before lighting and you should get a longer burn time. My wife and I make candles and that's just a common burn tip that we share with our customers.

"lets make a candle thats called candle by the hour, but it only runs for 45 minutes at a time" XD

an old yacht i lived on had a brass gimbelled candle lamp. a glass chimney with a weighted bob to keep it upright regardless of the boat's heel. the really clever aspect of the lamp was an internal spring which kept the wick snug against the aperture until the candle was completely consumed. it would give a warm light for four or five hours...

Can you buy refills? I bet someone makes candles like this somewhere so they could be gotten. I want to see the mold the candle was made in. When I was around 9 or 10 my mom bought antique candle molds, they were like a few hundred years old, and we made candles with them. It was pretty fun. She made candles before this, like she had all these groovy candle molds from the 70s and early 80s, but the antique molds she bought were wood for mass-producing candles. Each mold made like 20 candles so we had a lot of medium candles after that.

IIRC, these used to be use to set time limits for courting / dating way back. They had to have her back before the candle went out.

These candles have been around for a long time. It is made of natural materials so it is going to vary by a couple minutes, especially if you are eyeballing the measurement. I got mine off sportsman's guide, but I have seen them on several other online catalog companies.

A bit expensive here in Australia, AUD65, if it was a straight conversion from USD30 it would be AUD47. But they look good, there is also a Christmas Tree version that would make a great centrepiece for Christmas dinner or lunch.

Found one of these at a thrift store for something like $6.79 a couple yrs ago. People behind me in line were trying to buy it off of me, but I declined, because I liked the design. Researched it after getting home, & these were selling from $30-70, & they're based on courting candles of the 1700s-1800s. When the candle burned out, the suitor had to go home. Mine's mostly just a decorator piece right now, but will be used if power goes out. Replacing these is a tad pricey, as they are a bit of a specialty candle. Saw this on your 2023 annual review, first. Got my Range Mate Pro based on that yr's review for my locker @ work, so I can have crispy microwave food.

Thanks for reviewing this! I've seen them here and there, but wasn't sure how well they'd work. Thanks again! 💜 From Michigan

I understand why it can't feed itself but it would be nice if it lasted longer for emergency use cases

I love it when you release a humorous review.

I have a vertical one. The other day when i was burning it, it did not self extinguish. I smelled something burning and it went down under the clip and was burning it. Keep an eye on it when you have it lit.

I was so ready for that to have some clockwork mechanism for advancing the candle