Make a Butter Candle - Emergency Candle McGyver Style!

Most people wouldn't think of butter as a flammable substance, but in this project they are!  We're making emergency candles that burn for hours .. using some toilet paper, and a bit of butter!

Find more projects like this at: www.thekingofrandom.com

Step 1: Watch the Video!

WARNING: An open flame poses a fire hazard.  Do not use near any flammable or explosive material.  Use of this video content is at your own risk.

Comments

[Electronickid4314]

I am definitely going to keep this in mind it's a REALLY good idea!!

[The King of Random]

I'm glad you like it. Thanks!

[kansasblazer]

Bacon grease works well too. And the house smells good in the process. :)

[KneXtreme]

That's really cool! I never thought that you could make a candle out of butter. I made something similar if you want to check it out  http://www.instructables.com/id/Crayon-Candle/

[The King of Random]

That is a really awesome idea! Thanks for the link!!

[whisperonthewind]

Would the tubs of margarine work too?

[Treknology]

Yes, margarine will work as well but, it would have to be a very severe emergency. Margarine is basically plastic that has been bleached and dyed to make it palatable. If you saw it being made you would never eat it again.

It would probably give a smokier flame, the fumes of which are potentially toxic.

[xenobiologista]

Margarine is not plastic (in the sense of common plastics made from petrochemicals), that's nonsense. Margarine is plant oil that's been treated to make it solid. It could be made from various oils like palm, sunflower, canola, etc. So nothing wrong with burning those.

[Treknology]

Although it gets off the point, the most common "vegetable" oil, the already toxic Canola (properly known as Rape Seed) is a hydrocarbon just like a petrochemical (and butter for that matter). Hydrogenation to solidify it, further toxifies it by creating a transfat. If you value your health, you'll put that under the classification of plastic.

It most definitely falls into the category of "If one likes sausages and appreciates the law, then one should never see either being made."

Incidentally, the old-fashioned white/yellow "plastic" handles on cutlery are made from milk.

[rpb]

I was under the impression that rapeseed oil (canola) is, these days, considered just as healthy as olive oil, if not more so, due its high proportion of omega-3s, and other mono-saturated fats and its low proportion of saturates. It also has a higher smoke point than olive oil and so is healthier to fry with (when an oil hits its smoke point nasty chemicals can be formed in it).

Why do you therefore call it "the already toxic Canola [oil]"?

You are right about hydrogenation being bad, however. Hydrogenation is used to solidify (usually vegetable) oils into fats but creates bad "trans fats" in the process.

Note also that *all* oils and fats are "hydrocarbons", including olive oil and essential oils that we need in our diet, yet your comparing of them to petrochemicals sounded a little like scaremongering.

[luxstar]

I did something like this but I used rancid corn oil.

http://www.instructables.com/id/10-Minute-Oil-Lamp/?ALLSTEPS

[The King of Random]

Awesome!

[The King of Random]

My wife is very health conscious and she would agree with you. I don't really know the difference, so I just trust her judgment. For that reason we don't ever find margarine in the house.

How do you make plastic handles from milk? Do you have a tutorial or a link on that?? :)

[Treknology]

It's years since I did it in High School, so I don't remember the proportions.

1. A small amount of HCl is added to normal milk. This will cause the milk to curdle and smell like yoghurt or cheese.
2. Once the milk has separated in the same manner as curds and whey, it is filtered and pressed.
3. The "solid" is shaped or molded as required then soaked in Formaldehyde for about a week.

I guess that you could carve real cheese into the desired shape and soak that in Formaldehyde but using HCl helped industrialize the process. Homer Simpson moment: "Cheese candles, uurh!"

The final "plastic" is called casein, and I am led to believe that it was also used as a replacement for Ivory on piano keys.

[The King of Random]

Wow that's great and I'd like to try it. I have HCL in the form of muriatic acid from the hardware store. What is a locally disguised form of Formaldehyde and could it be purchased at the hardware store as well??

[Treknology]

Formaldehyde is preserving fluid. If you can't source it through a pharmacist, a vet or a mortician should be able to furnish you with an experimental quantity.

[xenobiologista]

You're acting like margarine is toxic and at the same time recommending that people play around with formaldehyde??? I wouldn't use it without a strong ventilation system.

[Treknology]

I merely described the experiment from school. I'm quite sure that King of Random use appropriate caution.

[The King of Random]

Great idea! Thank so much for your reply!

[The King of Random]

Good comment! In contrast, I tried burning butter made straight from the cow, and the flame was much more vibrant and more energetic than the store bought butter.

[Treknology]

The store-bought version was probably "healthy" because low-fat milk had been used. Natural milk would definitely yield a better product.

One piece of advice: the butter is supposed to be made from the cow's milk, not the cow.

[rpb]

Butter is made from cream, not milk (or low fat milk for that matter!). Butter is normally around 80% fat and 20% water. Some butter-like spreads are made with extra water and thickeners to give them a similar consistency to the higher fat butter. Traditional margarines are made with hydrogenated vegetable oil and tend to be 80% or more fat so should work well. Lower fat margarines are like the spreads and have added water and thickeners, and consequently lower fat contents. It's the fat that burns (obviously - water doesn't) so you're likely to have better luck with the highest fat products you can find. You may well find those low fat spreads don't work.

[The King of Random]

Touche'

[The King of Random]

For sure!

[kage_no_mozaiku]

makes perfect sense since at night i write by a lamp made from a 14cm wide by 3cm deep metal bowl using vegetable oil as fuel and a 4mm wide hand woven cotton wick. it don't smoke as long as i keep the end no more then 5-6mm from the edge of the dish and it puts out a 2-2.5 cm flame with no distinguishable smell. it holds about 30 ml and burns on that at least 4 hours before i have to fill it and i do that when about 80% of it is gone.

[The King of Random]

Awesome! Did you weave the wick yourself? I'm interested to know more efficient wicking materials.

[kage_no_mozaiku]

actually yeah i did. i used cotton yarn on a piece of 2x4 wrapped around d6 finisher nails that i cut the heads off of. it was a basic over/under with a pair of doubled warp threads and packed it snug but not firm. it works beautifully and has only burned half it's length in the last three weeks. it started out being around 21cm and i think its about 14 cm

[The King of Random]

That sounds fantastic! Have you done a tutorial or video on it?

[kage_no_mozaiku]

no, but from the sounds of things i may have to lol

[The King of Random]

I'd love to see it if you do!

[shortw]

As soon as I read the headline, I knew where you are going with it.
It is a very good instruction.

Butter and toilet paper, ....a must keep for emergency situations.

As kid's we used butter and toilet paper to boil water.
Take 3-4 sheets of toilet paper. Butter your toilet paper like you would butter your bread (very thin). Then roll it up like a honeycomb beeswax candle or cigar.
Then you are ready to light it.
Put rocks or bricks around the toilet paper cigar so you can set your pot of water on it.
There is enough burning time/ fuel to boil 2-3 cups of water.

I showed this to my kids years back when we where camping.
This will also make a good firewood starter.

[The King of Random]

That's incredible! If you make a video of that boiling water, please share! Maybe even a video response to this one? I'd love to see it!

[mooster]

I read in some women's magazine years ago that you can do this with a jar of Vasoline. I think they suggested sticking a birthday candle in it for the wick, but of course the tp idea would be even more readily available. Thanks for the informative video!

[linny]

What do you think, could you stick a birthday candle into butter, too, instead of a wick??

[The King of Random]

Yep! That would be even easier!

[The King of Random]

Cool idea! I tried Vaseline yesterday and it seems to work just fine, so I think the claim is credible. Thanks for your comment and compliment!

[shibuza]

I use a pack of paper matches, take the cover off & roll it tightly and push the end into a suitably sized metal nut. then place it into a bottlecap and fill with fuel. Wax will burn 3-4 hrs. Animal fat, mineral oil, vegatable oil,even grease will burn with varying degrees of efficacy. I generally use wax so I can carry 2 face to face in a pocket to start a fire under adverse conditions. Have used them in snow cave shelters & Adirondack lean-to's, they're just susceptible to errant gusty breezes.

[The King of Random]

Is that right? Very interesting. By chance do you have a video or a tutorial to check it out?

[Treknology]

Thibetan monasteries have lamps that are kept burning 24/7 with Yak butter.

[The King of Random]

Nice! Where do you get this information?