Most people resort to using candles during power outages. The problem with them is that despite their low cost, they don't last for long making them costly in the long run. A good alternative is to use crayons for lighting. Not only are they cheaper than candles, they last longer and can even be tied to a stick to make a cheap emergency torch.
I've heard a crayola can last about 30 minutes. Anyway, i usually light a candle (those circular, flat ones that come in a metal holder) as it lasts way longer, is safer, and doesn't leave behind a mess. I use just leave it in the middle of the house for some light, and carry around a battery operated torch to get around.
It's something I ought to try some day, and then make then decide whether I'll be trying something else. For those who'd rather continue using candles, I've heard that soy wax candles though they are slightly more expensive than regular candles burn 50% more. You could try them if they don't cost 50% more that is.
OH my word that is so cool! I had never heard of that before. I have used the orange idea, but this Life Hacking clip I found shows you how to do the orange, crayon, tuna can, and wax from cheese. It is amazing what we throw out that we could actually use instead of having to buy it. We only use candles when our flashlight batteries are out anyways, so this is a great hack to use when we need it.
That is awesome...thanks for sharing. You can never be too safe, and we actually lost our power the other week for about two hours and it is a little unnerving when you think you might be out for some time. This is certainly helpful, and I know that we definitely have thousands of crayons around here somewhere that we could use. I will surely keep this one in mind, and thanks again for sharing.
wow, thanks for sharing @remnant! I never knew about this and would never have thought to try it. It's definitely worth trying because we get a lot of power outages here, especially during the summer when we get heavy rain and storms. We tend to get those thick, expensive candles that last longer because financially, we are not quite where we can afford proper back-up systems because they are very pricey. @Denis Hard...thanks for the heads up RE soya candles. I've never heard of those, but will be sure to look out for them
I use flashlights...The only way I would use candles, is if I was out of batteries or something. Although cellphones can be turned into flashlights, and I have an emergency radio...that has a light on it that is always ready to go in emergency. Candles can give a room atmosphere though...that is the best thing about them in my opinion.
Never thought about using crayons before, I make sure we have flashlights and lots of candles ready to go. I actually like my candles and don't find them that costly, but I'm interested in trying out the crayons and a few of the ideas in the video that @H.C. Heartland posted.
Walmart always has the small solar lightss that cost about a dollar each, and I have over a dozen of those that I have bought from time to time. I love seeing them out in the yard at night, and when we have an emergency and the lights go out, we just start bringing in the solar lights. Since they charge up ever day, they will continue to work even for a longer electricity outage. I also have solar charged flashlights that I found at the dollar store; so we always have those for emergency lights, too. I want to get a solar charger for the ipad and iphone also; but I do have a backup charger that we keep plugged in , and it will run the phones for a while if we lose power.
That sure is interesting. First time I'm hearing of something like that. My parents recently bought a self-charging LED light that can still be turned on even if there's power outage. I have no idea how such things were invented but it's pretty neat. Crayons would have been a good alternative had we been younger but as it is, no one's got crayons at home anymore. We still have candlesticks, however.
I heard about the candle trick and tried it myself and it does work, but don't use it as a first option, it makes a huge mess.
I have never thought of that before, it makes me want to go out and buy some. I wll definitely do that because I didn't even know they could burn longer than candles. You're right about how expensive candles can be. I have bought some very cheap ones, and they barely burn for one hour each. I only did that because I just wanted to be able to have some kind of light in a situation where there is no light in my place when I need it.
When brownouts where prevalent in the early 90's when I was a kid, I remember my parents used a rechargeable lamp as light and not candles. I think they are much better to use than candles since they're not really messy and they don't really consume a lot of electricity. So I would just go for the lamp.
We always used to have a couple of kerosene lamps in the house that we used for lighting when the electricty went out. Over the years, we have moved a lot, and somewhere along the line, the kerosene lamps didn't get brought along, and I have not replaced them. It is a good thing to have though, because a full kerosene lamp will burn a lot longer than a candle will, the light can be adjusted for brightness, and they can be refilled as needed. Walmart used to carry both the lamps and the lamp oil in bottles. If you use lamp oil, it smells better than plain kerosene, but it does cost more. However, it can be hard to locate a place that sells bulk kerosene nowdays, so getting a bottle of lamp oil might be the more practical choice.
Fortunately - I gave up using candles or anything flammable for emergency lighting over 12 years ago and although mainly due to the fact that - not only are they extremely messy, very expensive and more importantly a major fire hazard - also because - as power outages are a regular occurrence where I live and we're often without power for anything between 4 to 8 hours at time - I've found it way more cost effective to switch over to using solar powered LED lanterns - which I now use not just for emergencies - but for all my outdoor lighting too. Especially as - apart from being cleaner, safer and way, way cheaper than candles, crayons or electricity - the light they give off is equivalent to that of mains power.
This sounds like a plan. Oh, I forgot. There are no crayons in my house. Reason being there are no kids around. There is hardly a pen or a pencil, too. Most of the writing is done with the keyboard. For emergency lighting, I depend on my smartphone. I make sure that it's always fully charged. And I also make sure that the power pack is also fully charged.
Yes, it does work, quite well actually. I have three toddlers, so we always have crayons. If I cant find one, all I have to do is look in the couch and I bet theres one in there. haha We light one, and it lasts for hours.
I think I did see this somewhere. But aside using candles I use a customized light source. It's made of cut out parts of an old slipper that I ain't using anymore. it has a yarn which is the one I light. I put water half full in a small glass then fill it with cooking oil. I let my improvised thing float on the oil and light it up. Quite bright and doesn't consume a lot of oil.
In the olden days, we had candles for emergency lighting. Particularly during the rainy season, a typhoon will cause a power outage as prevention for accidents when there is flooding. I remember that the candle is the only choice. But now we have rechargeable lamps that we use when electricity is cut. That is aside from the flashlight (torch) and we have spare batteries for that. People are now being discouraged to use candles for lighting because it causes fire. There are so many cases of fire especially in crowded areas which were caused by neglected candles.
Wow! Thanks for sharing this. Life hacks like this is pretty cool. I'll try this later after I'm done with my reports! Awesome!
