UCO candles - reduce condensation?

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UCO candles - reduce condensation?

Postby wildwanderer » Sat 22 May, 2021 9:00 am

Has anyone used UCO candles as a means of reducing sleeping bag condensation?

I wonder if it would help dry socks etc as well..

https://www.ucogear.com/candle-lanterns ... anterns%2f

Hanging it from a loop on the tent ceiling.

Seen a few references in OS forums.. I wonder how effective it is?

Candles last for 9 hours.. apparently you can buy 12 hour beeswax ones as well.

I used to own one years ago.. I remember it being marginal for light but back then condensation prevention didn't occur to me.
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Re: UCO candles - reduce condensation?

Postby Moondog55 » Sat 22 May, 2021 9:32 am

I do seem to remember that using one "seemed" to make the tent warmer.
I think it would be very dependent on the tent design. If the tent had low input vents and high output vents it might help with airflow which would help reduce condensation.
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Re: UCO candles - reduce condensation?

Postby wildwanderer » Sun 23 May, 2021 10:18 am

Thanks MD.
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Re: UCO candles - reduce condensation?

Postby Moondog55 » Sun 23 May, 2021 10:24 am

If you want to experiment this winter I can mail you mine for trialling.
I'm using the big wood stove this winter for the PV camp
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Re: UCO candles - reduce condensation?

Postby Biggles » Sun 23 May, 2021 12:02 pm

Moondog55 wrote:I do seem to remember that using one "seemed" to make the tent warmer.



What the —???
Sure. Hotter than Hell if the flimsy hanging loop should become hot enough to transmit heat through to the tent material and — :roll: That hanging loop does get hot, so too the top of the lantern where sufficient heat is emitted to actually be a very real risk.
It's not that tragedies haven't happened. But really, a candle in a tent, and I saw this on a bushwalking forum!?

PS: You can have my UCO candle lantern, last used in 1998. I upgraded to LED lanterns years ago.
“Is é comhrá faoin aimsir an tearmann deiridh ag an duine gan samhlaíocht.”
—Oscar Wilde, 1890.
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Re: UCO candles - reduce condensation?

Postby Moondog55 » Sun 23 May, 2021 12:36 pm

Was never a problem for me Biggles, all it took was an aluminium meat pie plate rescued from a rubbish bin as a simple reflector.
But I only used mine during winter and in winter above the snowline it is a little damp and this does reduce the possibility of melting the tent fabric a lot.
While I now use LED lamps myself usually part of me does miss the soft glow these lamps provide. I've also simply stuck a candle in the snow and used that for illumination while cooking dinner, unlike batteries that you have to pack out the weight of candles slowly drops over time.
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Re: UCO candles - reduce condensation?

Postby Neo » Sun 23 May, 2021 8:35 pm

Darn. Now I want one anyway!
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Re: UCO candles - reduce condensation?

Postby dashandsaph » Thu 27 May, 2021 1:59 pm

I used to make candles in a tobacco tin with a foil reflector, and paper clips to make the wicks stand up. They were quite effective and the melted wax was captured and recycled with cooling. Also, the foil reflector protected any flapping tent from the flame.

Thinking about this in theory and without any empirical evidence, I can see how a candle will make a tent warmer and so keep evaporated any water that might otherwise condense, but unless the walls of the tent are also warm, the water vapour may still condense on the cold walls. Also, the combustion process of a hydrocarbon also makes water vapour, at its simplest, CH and O2 to CO2 and H2O, so it will be a balancing act on which effect is stronger. When the candle goes out and the air starts to cool, there may be more condensation from the relatively saturated air than there would have been otherwise.
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Re: UCO candles - reduce condensation?

Postby slparker » Fri 28 May, 2021 10:45 am

I bought one of these in the 90s - for an outrageous price, I thought. Finally used it a bit over the last couple of years to reduce condensation and also to provide a cheery glow during snowcamping.

I did note that condensation was low when I have used them but this is completely unscientific as I didn't have a control sample to compare it to. That is, the tent may have been free of condensation without it.
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Re: UCO candles - reduce condensation?

Postby CaptainC » Sat 29 May, 2021 3:00 pm

I still use my Uco candle while car camping for old times sake. But for overnight backpacking it's an LED.
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