Update: 1.21.23
A bit of research has uncovered some possibilities for going forward on this... The problem identified is that the wax melts due to high temperatures inside the flower pot. High temperatures is what is desired, but melted wax is not.
A proposed solution ( in the works, this is not final by any means):
A water bath, with recirculated water as a coolant. The coolant will keep the wax from melting, and will allow transmission of heat where it isn't wanted to where it would come in handy. That's where the recirculation comes into play. The coolant will be pumped ( not sure what I will use for a pump) into the water bath, and the water will cool down the container holding the candle. This will hopefully keep the wax from melting. The heat exchange will then drain into a receptacle that- will in turn, drain into a heater core that I still have handy from several years ago. The heater core takes the heated water from the bath, and with the aid of a fan, spreads the heat into the room where it is desired. The water is cooled and sent back to the water bath to cool down the wax in a recirculating system.
Something similar was attempted with some small success during 2017. Only then, it was used to cool down a room, as opposed to heating one. This device could therefore be used either way--heating or cooling. But the candle would not be the cooling device, of course, but instead, a block of ice.
Not all of the details have been worked out. Obviously, I will need some materials. Also, to finalize the plan, and then execute it, if desired.
Don't know how much complexity I want, or if this is getting more complex than I want it to be. Have to think it all over before proceeding.
Until then...
Candle experiment #2
As mentioned, another crack would be taken at the candle experiment. Yesterday was cooler than in recent days, so it seemed a good time. The results are about what was expected, but with one surprise. There was a lot of soot buildup on the clay flower pots. Especially the one closest to the candle flame. There was so much of it that I could collect it, and I did. More on that later...
The candle did produce sufficient heat buildup to melt the candle wax, which wasn't good. This is why the candles started smoking too much, which got my attention. I had to shut it down at that point. Going forward, a way to stop the candle wax from melting excessively must be found. Otherwise, it won't be of much practical benefit going forward.
The expected thing did happen. The flower pots got hot. The surprising part is that they weren't too hot to handle, although the inner one was pretty toasty. It is a flame after all, and you would expect some heat to be developed.
The idea of using clay flower pots came down to the proposition that the heat from the flame is wasted. The hot gas rises, probably collecting near the ceiling, which makes it useless for warming up. The clay pot captures the heat, and did that well ( particularly on the inner pot).
Is this a useful device, then? If it melts the wax, no. If something is used to capture the heat from the wax, and keep it solid, it must be moved out at a faster clip than what this is doing on its own.
Just now the thought that something rather simplistic could get complicated. That's unfortunate, but it is reality. The thing isn't practical the way it is now.
As for the soot production mentioned earlier in the post, it is the texture of the activated carbon that I've used in water purification. There's a video about making your own activated carbon. How about that! I can make my own activated carbon with this carbonized soot as a source. Cool. No pun intended.
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