Altoids Tin Emergency Candle

This is my first instructable and I decided to make an Altoids emergency candle, since I had a tin lying around and have not seen one. This is used if the power goes out or if you need a candle say when camping or if you are traveling. There are five wicks in the candle, matches and strikers within the Altoids tin.

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Step 1: Materials

tin can/soup can
candles(mine were a little bigger than tea light candles)
matchbook matches
i used a red crayon for color
hot glue gun
duct tape

cogni says: May 26, 2009. 9:22 PM

Good idea about the freezer. If you put any candles in the freezer for half an hour or so, they burn more evenly, even if the freezing happened a while ago.

The Locksmith in reply to cogniMay 16, 2011. 10:06 PM

That is fascinating! How does it work?

careyfisher in reply to The LocksmithSep 24, 2012. 4:03 PM

I think you open the lid and light a match then light the candle.

frogmama says: Aug 23, 2012. 9:30 PM

That's a great 'ible. I like how the matches are included in it. I also like how the altoids tins would stack pretty efficiently, too. Do you think for long-term storage or heat concerns, one should protect the matches from the wax? Like with a piece of cardboard or something between them?

TheREAL_Xman says: Feb 23, 2012. 4:33 PM

Great project! Instead of going out and buying the candles I used crayons for wax and twine for wicks. Good instructions as well!

Cstaich says: Dec 26, 2011. 5:26 PM

Great idea. I tried it with an Altoids smalls container and it worked fairly well, except it was very small and I don't know how long it will last. If you are using a larger container, and have some other way of keeping matches, would it be possible to fill both halves with wax?

recycleholic says: Jan 26, 2009. 8:16 AM

This is great. I'm in the process of creating an emergency car kit and this would go perfect. Who doesn't have an altoid tin lying around?

njamspike in reply to recycleholicSep 29, 2011. 7:30 AM

me i have a Myntz container though

cre814me in reply to recycleholicApr 12, 2009. 11:21 AM

An emergency car kit sounds like a good idea, but I would think twice about using something like this. On a trip one time, I bought a candle and stuffed it in my suitcase, then in the trunk. The candle melted and ruined some souvineer tees that I also picked up. I would advice rethinking your idea, but it is up to you!

martynbiker in reply to cre814meMay 6, 2009. 4:33 AM

all you need to do is get some elecricians tape and tape round the tins lid. OR put it in a plastic bag and tape it up. It wont leak or get wet then. Think outside the Box!

thepelton in reply to martynbikerJul 9, 2009. 1:21 PM

Or put the Altoids box in a ziplock bag.

iSmack in reply to martynbikerMay 9, 2009. 3:07 PM

Think outside the Altoids tin ;)

pyrojunkie in reply to iSmackJul 2, 2009. 11:01 AM

lol

MadScience#1 in reply to recycleholicApr 8, 2009. 5:59 PM

joshuaglawrence in reply to MadScience#1May 8, 2009. 8:30 PM

ME TOO! I LOVE YOU WE ARE SO A LIKE <3 ALWAYS REMEMBER CHOCALATE NIPPLES

Dingostrategy says: May 17, 2011. 1:39 AM

Yep - absolutely brilliant. Well done.

I would like to propose adding citronella to your wax - nice smell and no mosquitoes, FTW!

baven says: Jan 24, 2011. 10:39 AM

i have built this one

rudycoaltrain says: Nov 16, 2010. 11:12 AM

Good job. You inspired me to make one with the remnants of one of my wife's yankee candles.

ERCCRE123 says: Jul 29, 2009. 5:39 PM

when i made mine i wanted to fill up the wax all the way. Forgot to cover the hinge holes with tape and had a huge mess all over my counter

vastly11 in reply to ERCCRE123Jul 25, 2010. 11:56 AM

I had the same problem :(

thepelton says: Apr 3, 2010. 4:38 PM

I found some metal boxes at the food store for christmas cookies. They were on sale because they're out of season now. They were round, and about four inches across by half an inch deep. I was thinking they could be used for a project like this.

zaarenoc says: Mar 14, 2010. 12:57 PM

If you are stranded in a snow drift and have to be there a while this kind of candle will provide enough heat in the car so you won't freeze. Just keep a window cracked open about an 1/8 of an inch.

I used to carry one of those big candles about 4-inches in diameter in a number 10 can filled a quarter full with sand.

lieuwe says: Feb 8, 2010. 8:08 AM

get some magnesium flakes and mix it in with the wax, should result in a bright white flame(more light=good)

EaKLondon (author) says: Feb 1, 2010. 11:08 AM

Thanks for all the feedback, I plan on making an updated version of this with some improvements to the design.

blodefood says: Jan 31, 2010. 2:51 PM

Nice compact emergency candle, but what happens when it burns down to the hot glue? Would you get toxic fumes? I think I would keep it to only three wicks spread out, though. The wax would melt and drown the flames if you used them all at once.

CybergothiChe says: Jan 3, 2010. 9:32 PM

sweet! what a great idea! :)

bassclarinet23 says: Nov 8, 2009. 6:28 PM

Try making the wax out of assorted crayons. That might look cool.

the duck tape queen says: Sep 24, 2009. 5:57 PM

wow this is a great idea, I might try this. But, how cool do u think it would be to make is a multi colored candle by using more than one color crayon? :)