Orange Candle

This instructable will show how to make a candle from any citrus and kitchen oil in minutes.

Step 1: Materials & Tools

1) Orange, Grapefruit, Lemon
2) Knife
3) Any type of oil, Vegetable, Olive, Canola, etc.

Step 2: Remove the Middle

Remove / eat the middle portion of the orange being careful to leave the middle stem like portion intact.  I found removal easiest by using a sharp knife and digging out the middle starting with the edge closest to the outside of the orange.

*Caution - Do not ingest the orange if you have extreme citrus allergies and/or fear of oranges or spherical objects.

Step 3: Fill & Light

Fill the cavity with any type of oil such as Vegetable or olive oil to just below the center stem like wick.  Light the center stem like wick.  This orange candle burned for most of the day.  Below are the before and after pictures.

Step 4: Top

The other half can also be used as a cover by similarly hollowing the center and cutting a circle in the top.  Thinning the white skin under the thicker orange portion will give the candle a softer orange glow.

Comments

[amy58789]

Do oranges even have any middle stem loke thing?

[headencolleen8688]

Yes they do . If peeled properly you'll find it at the opposite side of the navel , in other words on the bottom .

[LoveOfThings]

Does it smell like oranges while candle is burning?

[DualPhase]

Its like a smokey orange/ whatever oil you're using smell.

[ANIMALDIYLOVER123]

This is probably a dumb question, but would melted vegetable fat/butter/lard/shortening work instead of oil??

It probably won't but my mum won't let me use her cooking oil but lets me use this packet of expired butter.

[DualPhase]

Maybe enough time has gone by that she will let you use oil now

[DualPhase]

I don't know but it sounds like a perfect opportunity for an experiment. Let us know :)

[pshsTech]

i tried a clementine, but i had to use a separate wick. it only burned for 10-15 minutes though. any idead why my center "wick" didn't light up? it's so pretty, i want to use it for a formal dinner which means it has to keep lit for an hour.

[DualPhase]

Try different types of citrus. Also try different types of oil. Try soaking your wick in oil first. Try different fill amounts.

[mpickrell]

Anyone have a clue how well this works as a bug repellent?

[dridenh1]

Educated guess = 'fail'! ((:

[goldiebear]

A couple of helpful hints for all of you....if you get the "wick" wet with the juice of the orange (or lime, or lemon, or grapefruit) then it won't stay lit. Also, remember you need the oil to soak into the wick for a few minutes. The oil will also soak into the white part of the skin of the citrus so you may need to add just a little more oil for reserve (not too much!). What is really cool is that when the flame really gets going, the oil soaked skin will glow!

[goldiebear]

Btw, you can get the top to glow too, but you have to soak that with oil as well...and before you start cutting airhole designs into it. Then you can cut your airhole on top and designs around the sides and voila!

[dridenh1]

Ah, thanks for the tip/s!!

[dridenh1]

Ooh, thanks for the info!!

[rxima]

cool, is it possible to make one with coconut oil?

[dridenh1]

Oil is oil. I just made one using "used.....motor oil!" LOL!! It sits out on the veranda now.

[rxima]

lol

*Caution - Do not ingest the orange if you have extreme citrus allergies and/or fear of oranges or spherical objects.

fear of oranges or spherical objects?

[DualPhase]

Ha! I wonder how many people read it close enough to see that :) Congrats! I'm not sure if coconut oil would work. Let the experimenting begin

[iamandrea_04]

I already created mine, but I'm still trying to figure out what is more better to use, lamp oil or cooking oil, I really need help, this is for my investigatory proj, thank you in advance :)