Ok, this might now be the right page in the forum to post this, but I thought it was really cool!!

I was staring at a candle in my room, and thinking about all of that wasted heat when I started searching for how many candles it would take to heat a room. Obviously I knew that this wasn't a viable pursuit, but I thought it might lead to some interesting thoughts along the same line. A couple of web pages later I found a guy that had the right idea! It's obvious that a single candle wont do a lot for an entire room, but if all of that heat is concentrated at human height (say, sitting at a desk), then there may be something! Here's what I found:

http://heatstick.com/_Process.htm

Basically, the guy took several clay pots, a bolt, some nuts and washers, and a little time and made a candle heat storage unit! It gets pretty warm and reviewers said it was great for a small area heater. Let me know what you guys think, I thought it was nifty and I'm going to build one myself

Pretty cool!



I hope he knows that it's illegal to claim a trademark on a non-trademarked item, though. He could face thousands in fines. (Especially since Quad-Core is already trademarked by a footwear company)

Good point. I do have to give the guy credit though. He came up with a design, made it, sold it, and then gave away the design for free to promote the idea. Definitely shows where his values lie!

I've seen these. They are effective over short distances and in small spaces. You won't be heating your house with these, but you can heat a person.
As a microheater, it can be used to stay warm while reducing the heating demand for the rest of the house.

Have a look at Paul Wheaton's microheater article.

I remember that article, it was a real eye opener for heating possibilities. I made a makeshift candle heater for my desk and it really kept my hands at a nice temperature! (upside down metal camping bowl supporter by 2 mini soda cans over a fair-sized candle)

It got me to thinking about mini-bells for candles and kerosene lanterns, etc..

His heat stick idea could be incorporated into an air to air heat exchanger that could blow heat from a lamp under a table or desk.

Check out this wax stove. Very nice, but I think that the small reservoir makes it inconvenient for home use. They seem to be targeting the high end outdoors market right now. It could make an excellent emergency heat/light source, and with a larger reservoir it could be a good off-grid alternative.