Coiled Beeswax Candle and Holder, a Primitive Timer

Posted by Queuebot in Gadget on February 5, 2009 at 9:19 am


The Candle by the Hour is sort of a primitive auto-shut off feature for times gone by when people read by candle lights.

The coiled beeswax candle is fed through a clamp and then lit – so you choose how much candle to burn: every 3 inches provide about an hour of candle light and the entire coil will give you 144 hours. At $27 for a refill, it’ll cost you about $0.19 per hour to burn this baby!

Link – via gadgets

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Jake.


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12 comments to "Coiled Beeswax Candle and Holder, a Primitive Timer"

  1. Skipweasel
    February 5th, 2009 at 9:39 am

    My brother has a cast-iron one like this, only the spool is horizontal which makes it easier to feed the candle through 'cos it doesn't have to twist. He hasn't run it for years because of the cost of refills.

  2. Outthere
    February 5th, 2009 at 10:55 am

    The text here was lifted from BB gadgets word-for-word... Just sayin.

  3. Byrd Brain
    February 5th, 2009 at 11:14 am

    Even the typo that says "ever" in stead of "every"? Good job, submitter.

  4. Gail Pink
    February 5th, 2009 at 12:06 pm

    Not catching the typo is pretty lazy and lame,but to be fair Boing Boing Gadgets is linked at the end of the post.

  5. Monique Reed
    February 5th, 2009 at 1:06 pm

    This is a courting candle. Candles like these were used to time young men's visits to the young ladies. A father might turn up just a bit for a suitor he didn't favor and rather more or one he did.

    See
    http://www.mountainstreamforge.com/Candles/CourtingCandle.html

  6. Persephone
    February 5th, 2009 at 1:10 pm

    For 144 hours of candlelight, especially beeswax, that seems a pretty reasonable price.

  7. Alex
    February 5th, 2009 at 1:32 pm

    I wish people wouldn't cut and paste - the input box does request that you write in your own words...

  8. Muppetmaker
    February 5th, 2009 at 1:37 pm

    Roughly 19cents an hour! hurray for math.

  9. Alex
    February 5th, 2009 at 1:50 pm

    Text reworded - submitter: please don't cut and paste again.

  10. MrPumpernickel
    February 5th, 2009 at 2:23 pm

    Monique, what you linked may be a courting candle, what is in the post isn't.

    Though, it is good 17th century design come back in a new package.

  11. Byrd Brain
    February 5th, 2009 at 4:12 pm

    Monique, those aren't anything alike.

  12. Matt
    February 7th, 2009 at 4:37 pm

    Monique, Thank you for posting the link, and you are right the beeswax candle is also called a courting candle sometimes. The ones I make are not reproductions, but my own design of the original idea. I have been making them for over twenty years, and saw my first "real" one in a museum in Oslo, Norway. I'm sure there are variations all over the world.


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