wicked Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Hi all, I'm a little panicked because one of my tealights caught fire at a friend's house.She was burning one of my scented soy tealights and the whole container caught fire when the candle burned to the end. Luckily she caught it before she set the house on fire! Does anyone know what may have gone wrong either in manufacture or burning? The cup was from a reputable candle supplier and was advertised as fire resistant. The holder was a Partylite one in a metal finish - so should be reasonable quality.thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
periwinkle Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 There are several threads about plastic tealight cups catching fire. The general consensus is that metal is safer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HorseScentS Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 They should take the plastic tealights off the market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitn Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 whoa!! glad she caught it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Moral of story: never use a flammable or meltable material to hold a candle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertgibbens Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Moral of story: never use a flammable or meltable material to hold a candle.Everything on planet earth is meltable! (sorry, just being a pain in the neck!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wicked Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 Thanks all - so it's not just me. I'll have to go and dig around for those old threads. In the meantime, will have to start considering metal cups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakbrookcandles Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 using the correct size wick will prevent the plastic from melting. Have you ever see an aluminum cup catch fire? There is no melting when aluminum catches fire is is a simple flash and melted glob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 (edited) Everything on planet earth is meltable! (sorry, just being a pain in the neck!)I was thinking of substances we commonly think of as *meltable* or *flammable* - not rock or other substances that the heat from a candle wick could not possibly melt. Thanks for pointing out the need for clarification. :smiley2:Have you ever see an aluminum cup catch fire? There is no melting when aluminum catches fire is is a simple flash and melted glob.In fact, no, I haven't. Aluminum cans and aluminum foil does not melt in the trash fires I have attended outside (and they become VERY hot!), so this seems like an urban myth to me. I don't see how aluminum can melt if the temperatures produced by a candle wick don't reach its melting point of 1220°F... I'm not even sure that candle cups are pure aluminum... perhaps they are an alloy that melts at a lower temp?Melting point of common metalsHaving said that, just because I have not personally seen something happen doesn't mean it can't occur. I am interested in running this phenomenon down. Have you PERSONALLY witnessed this? Has anyone reading this PERSONALLY WITNESSED a metal tealight cup melt or burn? I'm not talking about discoloration (ie. like aluminum cans & foil in my fire pile) - I'm talking melt or burn. I would really like to know if this actually does happen or if it's a case of *someone said* kind of thing... I haven't been able to find any documentation of this online...In reading about the issues of polycarbonate & metal tealight cups melting/igniting, I came across a couple of concepts I thought were worthy of discussion...On the subject of polycarbonate tealight containers (assuming the tealights are not overwicked in the first place)... there is some discussion that these should not be burned encased in a non-flammable tealight holder (ie. decorative glass holders, etc.) because that can concentrate the heat enough to raise the temp sufficiently to melt the plastic. Recommendation is to remove the candle from the plastic cup if it is to be burned in a holder and not free-burned in the cup. Makes sense. Other discussions I read suggest that tealights in metal holders should be removed to burn in a non-flammable tealight holder (glass, etc.). The metal cup is considered a way to protect the candle from damage before using. This also makes sense. Thoughts? Edited March 1, 2012 by Stella1952 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wicked Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) >>(assuming the tealights are not overwicked in the first place)<<Hmmmm.....going to go and compare all my tealights to check for overwicking. Thanks for the tip. Still may revert to tin, but good thing to look at first. Edited March 2, 2012 by wicked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debratant Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 I had the plastic one catch on fire in my tealight warmer. I was using a TL 15 wick...which is a tea light wick. I don't know what caused it, but I have not used them since lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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