I am raising funds to buy an emergency beacon to help keep myself and the youngsters including Scouts I take out safe. Thanks! www.buymeacoffee.com/fellmandave

Good day to you! This is a senior rider on Honda from Japan. Enjoying camping and video editing . Your UCO video is so great !! Awesome! Thank you for sharing and full supported ! Have a nice day my friend !!

Very informative, thank you! I found in the Internet, that paraffine yields about 12,5 kWh/kg, and a UCO-candle weighs 142 g, and burns for 9 hrs. The energy goes almost completely into heat, the light output can be neglected. Thus, this "heats" with about 200 W, if my calculations were right. A human body "heats" with about 90 W over the day, less when not in motion, when sleeping, more when awake. Hence, you get at least two virtual persons added in your tent.

I just love the warm light the candle gives over the cold light of.most LEDs. Used mine in the High Peak on Thursday.

Thanks of the interesting experiment. The way I measure whether to take up this option is based on weight I carry. I don’t own a UCO candle lantern but amazon shows it as around 200 grams. (7 ounces) plus the candle weight of around 10 grams. It lasts for 9 hours. It’s not the safest option. My emergency micro fleece jumper I carry weighs in at 280 grams. For a little extra weight I have a layer of clothing that will keep me warm and last forever. It will probably save as much body heat, if not more, thatn the candle will throw out. So for me I would carry an the extra layer I carry rather than the light. I also prefer my rechargeable light in shelter as it safer than candles.

I usually just use the lantern to warm my hands. The hot air coming out the top does an amazing job.

Nice video. These candles really come into there own in an emergency. I have carried one for mountaineering for morw than 25 years. If you sit down on a matt/rucksac or whatever and pull a bothy shelter over you head and pull it all in tight: then put the candle between your legs. You can do it with a bivi bag/survival bag etc.. just a have a bit of ventilation. Give it a go. Atb.

I’m always up for anything that nudges the temp a bit higher on my camps-I couldn’t cope without my (nalgene) hot water bottle! Even looking at that candle would make me feel a little warmer 😊👍 Thanks for a comprehensive test!

Good approach to a sound test, which just confirmed what I've known since the 70s (I'm 68), when I'd just started, after leaving the RAF, and getting outdoors, when an older, the more experienced solo backpacker, who I also used to go rock climbing with, advised me to take a candle with me on my next camp/backpack mostly because it saved on batteries in pre-LED days/hot filament bulb torches with the added advantage it would help to keep a tent warm. Also, though heavier and bulkier than man made fabric tents, the insulation/little or no condensation factor of cotton canvas tents would take the temperature up another 1 or 2 degrees on a nylon tent... hence tents like the legendary Scottish Vango Force 10 range used for mountaineering base camps in Scotland, the Alps and Himalayas etc. I digress, but in light of the recent and upcoming massive energy price increases, I revisited using terracotta plant pot candle heaters which I last used in my lounge about 5 or 6 years ago over a winter as I was low on funds. It got me thinking about doing something similar for backpacking and base camping (canvas tent for camping) without lugging a plant pot about. Light bulb moment... my mess or cooking kit, and I shot this video a couple of weeks ago. I'm using both of the items in the video in my small lounge now (12'x 10'x8') at 22:06 with one T light in the Swiss Army Volcano Stove with Mini Trangia bowl and three T lights in my DIY Stanley stove with radiator and Mini Trangia lid. Current outside temp is 7C, lounge temperature is 21.06C. What it's actually doing is transferring the small radiant heat, mostly convectional heat from the flame to the metal so we get less convection and more radiant heat from the set ups. They're about 4' away from me and I can feel the warmth. I haven't tried it in a tent yet, maybe you could come up with something along similar lines and redo your test, as we're approaching colder conditions. Obviously if you've limited space in your tent this may be impossible in case it gets knocked over, even so using the UCO the most likely outcome on being knocked over is that the flame would extinguish and the inside would get covered in liquid wax. My video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gs55kqiatMyshGQ.html

I would think that the main controlling factor is if your tent was either a 3 or 4 season tent. A 4 season tent in itself would favor heat retention more than a 3 season tent. Improvement in insulation from the ground would also weigh in here too. So the small heat being generated by a candle would be retained more by the control of these other factors . Keeping the candle low to the floor of the tent, within some metal container, would also promote heat throughout the tent... Good video.

I remember using birthday candles when I was in my teens in 1 person dugout snow shelter, in -20c weather. With a candle or two and the entrance mostly closed. My body heat plus a candle or two was enough to warm up the space to the point the the ice on the inside would melt a bit. Anyways a candle is really only useful with the vents 95% closed on a 4 season tent. Plus they can remove some of the condensation.

thanks, just what I was researching!

That was an interesting video. I don't think that I've seen anyone else perform this experiment. You can also light the candle by sliding the glass down into the body of the lantern.

What it does do is help keep the condensation down a little therefore keeps that clinging cold dampness in the air down. I use this in my VE-25 tent a wool American Indian rug on the floor in the winter. Of course the smaller the tent the more efficient it is I use my SD Nightwatch convertible 2 person tent motorcycle camping and this works spot on.

i would restrict the ventilation as much as you can get a away with (get a detector) maybe a small hole by the ground. if you dont mind the candle lantern hanging there when u sleep (i just saw a video of a guy that has been doing it for years), i think the candle(s) will stop any condensation from forming. use a couple 1lb down blankets to cover the walls and ceiling and 2 lanterns. i imagine it would be pretty warm.

True to your word then ! Thanks for posting this. So about 2-3 degree difference by the look of it. The rest comes from my internal 'furnace' like body, in my case fuelled by Aberfeldy 12, though I do love a Jura. Having said that I did use a Nalgene hot water bottle and that may have boosted my temps till the early hours, another experiment?..this could run and run :-)

Great My Friends

theyre handy in winter

I can never find a review of this in actual freezing temps. Frozen lake snow in the ground temps

Let me know if a candle lantern is a must have for you when winter camping. Worth the 181g extra? There has also been some comments on safety especially regarding carbon monoxide. Carbon Monoxide is dangerous and a candle will put out a small amount, however chemists say these levels will rise if oxygen levels are low, as it produces mainly CO2 before then. The answer is, ensure the tent is ventilated. Certainly on camps where I have used a wood burning stove with a chimney, I have also used a CO detector., but personally i feel that there is no danger from candle CO in a tent that has some degree of ventilation. The bigger risk is from fire or injury ( or equiment damage). I have done some deliberate knocking over ovf a UCO candle lantern to see what the fire risk is and have found the candle either goes out or burns on its side with tehflame covered. i would be possible to smash the glass in a spill and then have a naked flame. I've read that paraffin candles give off more volatile chemicals than beeswax. There is certainly less soot from beeswax, so in my tent, especially with my kids , I only use beeswax. Its a personal choice and the risk depend on type of candle, additives they may use, frequency and volume of exposure plus ventilation. Interesting stuff here : www.explainthatstuff.com/candles.html advice from UCO here: www.ucogear.com/candle-lantern-faq

I think that you talking into the tent, and breathing toward the thermometer, possibly also affects the result?

I would like one of these for winter but I'm worried about carbon monoxide or dioxide whichever is the dangerous one. Do you think it'd be an issue?

Would be interesting to see how it works under a cot / cot tent (preferably the ones with the tarp hanging below the cot to the ground)

Great video thank you! Can I ask what jacket you are wearing and what your opinion is of it?

I've tried it at home but handle +chain seem too hot to touchng them with bare hands. And what with thin tent layers? Is it still save?

It hard to tell with person body heat in tent but my unit tested candles in tents and found 5degf with vents closed so it’s not much but it’s something.small tents Max 2man low profile. But weight to efficiency better off hot water bottle in sleeping bag

It doesn't add much heat but it does reduce the moisture in the air inside the tent, which makes the tent much more comfortable. You're not lighting it correctly - it's quite easy, really.

So how did you come up with 80 watts...I see 1900 btu on my literature? Maybe I used the wrong converter?

Its mainly a mental thing the orange glow warms you internally

I have just bought the brass version of the UCO lamp. A similar system of the candle being under spring tension existed in the 19th century in the design of coach lamps, so it is not new. It worked then and it works now. There is something about a real flame that warms the soul and brings cheer.....even if it doesn't warm the body that much. I can't wait to get the caravan or the tent out again. In retrospect we should have completely ignored the lockdown restrictions and gone camping. I still, in 2023, see folk wearing masks despite the fact that a government document states that masks offered no protection against this virus and subsequent strains of the virus. This government has a lot to answer for.

I'm wondering seeing this hanging from a tent if it would actually be safe under a folding camp chair for heat.

Just to add the mini tea candle version is a total POS I had one that the bottom fell out all over my sleeping bag at night. The base does not lock in solid like the old school model.

Learn how to use it first

Your explanation is totally ad-hoc and unscientific. Temperature changes hour by hour during the night. It'd make a bit more sense to have two side by side tents one with and one without candle.