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NORWICH, OH - What is smaller than a golf tee but larger than the rivet in a pair of jeans and reduces the risk of fires caused from candles?
The answer to this riddle is a new invention called the Safe at Home® Wick Sustainer. It reduces the risk of candle fires by limiting the fuel (wax) to the candle ½” above the base of the candle.
The invention, patented by George Pappas, Sr., president of Hearth & Home Candle Company (U.S. Patent No’s. 5,842,859 and 6,062,847) was, created to address an issue his company, which manufacturers candles, is passionate about - candle safety.
What is most astonishing about the invention is the diminutive size and its seeming simplicity. This, coupled with the results that have been found in independent testing, make the invention one that is poised to have a dramatic impact on the more than seven out of 10 households in the United States that regularly use candles.
Currently, candle fires can be caused by several factors including:
The Hearth & Home invention reduces the risk posed by these factors by:
A simple piece of metal with a hole in the bottom is not uncommon in candle making. This type of metal stamped piece had been used for many years to keep the wick in a votive candle upright during burning. This facilitated using all the fuel (wax) in a votive glass and the votive glass did not need to be cleaned before the next use. The old sustainer would simply fall out and a new votive could be placed in the container. The sustainer stamping was typically 1/8” to 1/4“ tall.
What Pappas discovered was that when the short sustainer stamping was used in larger container candles, it allowed the flame to come close enough to the bottom of the candle that the remaining fuel could become so hot that its vapors would burn without a wick (flashover). Or, the flame could come in contact with any debris in the bottom of the candle and ignite it causing a secondary wick. This secondary wick could overheat the fuel remaining at the bottom of the candle and also cause flashover.
During 1999, there were 15,040 residential candle fires that accounted for 4.1% of all residential fires. Of these 15,040 residential candle fires, 37.7% were caused by the candle being unattended, abandoned or inadequately controlled.
It is sad to learn that candle fires increase fourfold during the holiday season, killing more than 10 people, injuring 175 and causing more than $20 million in property damage.
“The problem is consumers want to burn candles all the way to the bottom,” says Pappas. “All of the ‘end of life’ candle safety issues including flashover and seconding wicking would go away if consumers would just leave ½” or more of wax in the bottom of each candle they use.”
The Safe at Home® Wick Sustainer addresses this problem in two ways. First, the flame is kept ½” above the bottom of the candle, greatly reducing the possibility of igniting any debris such as matches, wick trimmings and candle carbon balls. Second, in some applications other than a votive, the sustainer is sealed on the bottom to stop the flow of fuel (wax) up the wick.
This limiting of fuel at the end of a candle’s useful life does what the consumer is recommended to do, discontinue use when ½” of wax remains. Many manufacturers understand the safety benefit of what Hearth and Home is doing now. Most manufacturer’s recommend that consumers stop using the candle when ½” of wax remains. But, this is the first candle invention designed to help consumers follow accepted safe candle burning procedures.
The idea of making wick sustainers that are ½” or taller sounds simple. Implementing it was not.
“No one would make samples for us to use in our research and development of this product.” said Pappas. “We were told it was too difficult and too expensive to make ½” long sustainers. Additionally there was a concern that candle customers would not pay more for a safer candle.”
“I made the research samples by hand by soldering pop rivet barrels into short sustainers. We struggled for more than a year just to get a prototype made,” said Pappas.
Part of the problem was the sustainer had to be single piece construction. Two-piece construction had a potential for leaks (liquid wax entering at the seam) and would substantially add cost. The best option was one piece that could be progressively stamped.
“We knew it took over 30 progressive and exact hits just to draw the barrel of a ¼” sustainer. Making the barrel ½” long was considerably more challenging,” said Pappas. It took Pappas time to find a manufacturer who was progressive enough to see the benefits of the concept and who could find a metal that could perform.
“I went to Europe to the company that is the recognized leader in this technology,” Pappas said. “We met with the master technician and handed him a prototype. He looked it over very carefully and told us politely that a sustainer with a barrel this long in this diameter could not be made.”
It wasn’t just the ½” draw. The size of the barrel makes the sustainers much different from the run of the mill eyelets that have been used for years. “We needed the small barrel diameter to fit the wicks we needed to use. Too large of a barrel diameter would not hold the wick properly when crimped and would leak upon sealing.” said Pappas.
Finally, a U.S. company was found that could produce a prototype that met all the key standards.
The candle is not the first product to benefit from modification to overcome customer misuse. While medications and cleaning products are clearly marked to be kept out of children’s reach, childproof caps are part of the standard packaging. And, if a new home has a gas water heater in the garage, it most likely sits up off the floor. It is elevated so as not to ignite any gasoline that a consumer may spill in the garage even though consumers are not supposed to dispense gasoline in their garage.
Once the prototype was available, the company set an aggressive burning test with FTI/SEAConsulting, an independent testing laboratory in Columbus, Ohio. Multiple testing was done using the new ½” wick sustainer in container candles as well as freestanding pillars. Candles without the sustainer were also tested.
The lab tested for the presence of carbon balls in the wax pool, carbon balls near the wick, carbon ball fires, flashover, and scorched boards. The scorched board test examines whether the candle actually scorched the pine board on which it was placed. The lab concluded that: Based on the testing conducted, the inclusion of the ½” wick sustainer significantly reduces the propensity of the candle to experience a carbon ball fire as compared to similar candles in similar containers without the ½” wick sustainer.
While the technology is not fail-safe, this testing did prove a marked improvement over other candle technology and the success rate makes putting the Wick Sustainer in candles a viable solution to combating consumer misuse and lowering risk.
Today, the new ½” Wick Sustainer is placed in all Hearth & Home products that are appropriately made with the taller sustainer. This includes the large jars, freestanding pillars, and The Original Cake Candle™. When the Safe-At-Home® Wick Sustainer was introduced in Hearth & Home’s Original Cake Candle™, the company increased the candle height by ½” to provide the customer with a better value. This was also done to overcome the idea that the candle should burn all the way to the bottom.
The company soon discovered it was easier to make a safer candle than to change consumer habits.
“We gave consumers the new technology and ½” more candle without raising the price and the number one complaint in our customer service hotline was that the candle did not burn all the way to the bottom,” Pappas said. “But, once consumers understand the reasoning behind it, they usually say, ‘That’s a good idea. I don’t know why someone didn’t do it sooner.’”
Hearth & Home does not claim the Wick Sustainer delivers a self-extinguishing candle. Consumers must recognize that the beauty of a burning candle is the open flame. Hearth & Home recommends that anyone burning a candle, whether it contains a Wick Sustainer or not, TAKE CARE by following these simple guidelines:
As the only candle company that compounds its own fragrances and colors at an in-house laboratory, Hearth & Home is well known throughout the candle and gift industry for its realistic scents and superior burning qualities. The company, located in Norwich, Ohio, can be reached at 888-444-CAKE or on the web at www.CAKECANDLE.com.
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