Vigil Candles? Dangerous?

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I’ve heard that vigil candles, those kinds in glass containers with an image of saints or Our Lord on them, can be dangerous. That there are small bits of air in the wax that can cause little ‘pops’ when they heat, and that if this is close enough to the glass it can cause it to crack or even shatter.

My sister just bought me one, so this is the first time I’ve had to think about this. Has anyone else heard anything like this?
 
yes the ones sold in supermarket at dollar stores are forbidden in most churches and chapels here because they are a fire hazard. some also have wire in the wicks with lead which can give off harmful fumes, and create hotspots in the glass. exploding candles is a regular fire hazard, and a common cause of house fires. this is from our former parish council president, who is also the local fire chief.
 
Eeek! :eek: We have one of those supermarket varieties in our home. It has Our Lady of Guadalupe on it… and has been blessed. But we don’t burn it. I will keep this in mind… if ever we do.
 
I never bought the supermarket ones. Thought some of them were in plastic.

We used to buy small, seven-hour votive candles (white wax is best) by the gross and put them in small votive candle glasses. But even these can, in time, burst. I think either the heat or with time. (A suggestion for those who use the above-mentioned - is to put the glass on top of something else - particularly metal - that will keep the heat (as candle burns to bottom) from damaging or overheating wherever it’s placed.
 
Conservative said:
I never bought the supermarket ones. Thought some of them were in plastic.

We used to buy small, seven-hour votive candles (white wax is best) by the gross and put them in small votive candle glasses. But even these can, in time, burst. I think either the heat or with time. (A suggestion for those who use the above-mentioned - is to put the glass on top of something else - particularly metal - that will keep the heat (as candle burns to bottom) from damaging or overheating wherever it’s placed.
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Repeated heating and cooling puts stresses in glass, especially if the heating is uneven… Since it is not practical to anneal these, they will eventually give in to the stress and crack.
 
I have seen for sale online specially treated plastic candle containers and in my church this is what is used due to the fire hazard.

A few years back I had a scare with one of those supermarket glass 7 hour candles when it burst. I have never bought another one since that incident and even now will only use votive tealight candles that are in metal containers.

Peace.
 
I just bought this and had some 110 hour candles lined up, too. Should I just put a tea light in it? (Wish I could afford the solar-powered one, though.)
 
most parishes sell the pillar candles in tempered glass which are approved for use in chapels in cities where fire codes allow them. these are not the ones you find in the discount stores, and cost at least twice as much but burn cleaner and longer.
 
puzzleannie said:
most parishes sell the pillar candles in tempered glass which are approved for use in chapels in cities where fire codes allow them. these are not the ones you find in the discount stores, and cost at least twice as much but burn cleaner and longer.
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I bought an LED flickering tea light (supposed battery life of about 100 hours) from Michael’s for 1.99. Perhaps I could put it in a luminere like one of these that looks like a 1/2 melted candle, and then put it inside of the globe; it may work well without the risk of breaking any glass.
🤷
 
Beeswax is the best wax to use in candles–paraffin (the most common) is a petroleum product and can pollute indoor air. I know that if i burn my Yankee candles too long (my husband, bless him, got me two huge jar candles for Valentine’s Day) I get a headache. That may just be the fragrance, though.

I use the little metal tealights in my votive cups–i have one in my kitchen and one by my icon corner. Eventually I’ll find a local source for beeswax votives, because not only do they burn the cleanest, they smell just wonderful. 🙂
 
Hi there, I know this threads a little old, but I just wanted to throw out what we’ve been doing in here in Alaska for some time, works great. We save all of our plastic containers and refill them with soy wax. And if done properly they burn just as well or better than the paraffin ones. Much better for you too 🙂

They can be refilled at least 6 times or so safely. We’ve been burning hundreds for 2 years now without a single problem.
 
Wow… thanks for informing me with this topic.

So where can one buy devotional candles and such? I know of several Catholic distributors that sell them. Would those be safe?
 
The empty plastic 7 day’s that we’ve always used for refills have been the Emkay/muench-kreuzer Candle Co. I think that they are also the most common plastic ones used in churches. But you will only be able to get them with Paraffin, if you want the soy in them you will have to fill them your self 😦
 
The gel candles can be extremely dangerous as well - they can explode easily if allowed to burn for too long.

Personally I’ve gone to scented oils in a burner with a tiny tea light if I am looking for fragrance. If I’m looking for a vigil light then I just make sure I don’t burn it for long periods.

Ask at your parish where they get their candles, surely it is a local supplier, and they may sell retail as well as to parishes.

Try here also: am-church.com/

~Liza
 
I don’t know if I ever participated in this thread - I used to buy them by the gross from a manufacturer no longer in business. The white wax (I was told) was said to be best. We kept it lit only if we were home and put it out otherwise. Also, never kept the glass just on the counter but put it inside a metal ashtray…which kept the heat of the glass from hurting the counter. Still, on a rare occasion, the glass would finally crack.
 
MarieVeronica said:
Eeek! :eek: We have one of those supermarket varieties in our home. It has Our Lady of Guadalupe on it… and has been blessed. But we don’t burn it. I will keep this in mind… if ever we do.
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Cut the wick close to the wax so it would discourage anyone from lighting it.

If you’re a “crafty” person, here’s what I did:

I took a spoon that I heated up over the stove and scooped out the wax from the center, about the size of a tea-light votive. Then put the tea light votive candle (in the aluminum cup) in the hole!

There are also electric tea light candles that can be put into the scooped out hole so you can have the effect, but none of the danger.
 
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