Candle and Oil Lamp Making: Beeswax, Tallow, and Improvised Fuels

Light Without Electricity

A grid-down home without a reliable light source is functionally unusable after dark for reading, medical care, security monitoring, and group activity. Headlamps and battery lanterns run out. Candles and oil lamps burn indefinitely as long as you have fuel.

Learning to make them ensures your light source is renewable.

Part 1: Candle Making

Materials

• Wax: Beeswax (best), tallow (see below), paraffin, or soy wax
• Wick: Pre-tabbed cotton wicks for containers; square or round braided cotton wick for pillars; natural fiber cord as backup
• Molds: Metal cans, cardboard tubes, old candle molds, or pour-in-place containers

Wick Sizing

Wick size is the most common candle-making error. Too small a wick and the candle tunnels (burns a narrow hole through the center, wasting the surrounding wax). Too large a wick and the candle smokes and burns too fast.

General guide:

• 1-2 inch diameter candle: small wick (CD 12 or #2/0 square braid)
• 2-3 inch diameter: medium wick (CD 16 or #1 square braid)
• 3+ inch diameter: large wick (CD 20 or #3 square braid)

Test wicks by burning a small sample — the flame should be 1-1.5 inches tall and not flicker excessively.

Tallow Rendering

Tallow is rendered from beef or sheep fat (suet). The hard fat around the kidneys is the best source.

Making Dipped Candles (Simplest Method)

1. Melt wax in a tall container — a tall can or pot deep enough to submerge the candle length
2. Cut wick to final candle length plus 4 inches
3. Dip the wick into the wax, remove immediately, allow to cool and harden (1-2 minutes)
4. Repeat dipping and cooling — each dip adds approximately 1/8 inch of wax
5. After 20-30 dips, the candle is 1-1.5 inches in diameter
6. Final dip: hold submerged for 3-4 seconds rather than immediately withdrawing — this creates a smooth final surface
7. Allow to cool fully (1-2 hours) before use

Container Candles

1. Place wick in the center of the container, held straight with a pencil or chopstick laid across the top
2. Melt wax, allow to cool slightly (beeswax: pour at approximately 160°F to prevent sinking in the middle)
3. Pour to within 1/2 inch of the top
4. Allow to cool fully — the center will often sink slightly, requiring a second pour
5. Trim wick to 1/4 inch before burning

Part 2: Oil Lamp Construction

The Simplest Oil Lamp

Any glass jar or ceramic bowl, an appropriate wick, and a non-volatile oil.

Wick Materials for Oil Lamps

• Commercial cotton wicks: Best. Low smoke, consistent burn.
• Natural fiber cordage: Twisted cotton string, mop fiber, natural plant fiber rope. All work with varying smoke levels.
• Twisted cloth strips: Cut from 100% cotton fabric. Work well for larger lamps.
• Avoid: Synthetic fabrics (melts instead of burning), very tight-twist cord (wicks too slowly)

Roman Cup Lamp

An ancient design — a shallow clay or metal dish with a narrowed spout that holds the wick in place:

1. Shape a shallow cup from clay, leaving a small raised lip at one end
2. Fire or sun-harden if using clay
3. Fill with oil, thread wick over the lip
4. The raised lip keeps the wick positioned over the oil edge

Burn Rate Reference

| Oil Type | Approximate Burn Rate (ml/hr) | Notes | |----------|-------------------------------|-------| | Olive oil | 8-12 ml/hr | Cleanest burning, low smoke | | Canola/vegetable | 10-15 ml/hr | Slightly more smoke than olive | | Coconut oil (liquid) | 10-15 ml/hr | Pleasant scent | | Rendered animal fat | 10-20 ml/hr | Variable; depends on rendering quality | | Kerosene (lamp oil) | 12-18 ml/hr | More volatile — use with caution |

A 16 oz (473ml) jar of olive oil provides approximately 35-50 hours of continuous light.