Tuna candle with tampon - lit

The Tuna Candle (or Tuna Torch)

The tuna candle is an outdoor/survival hack that caters to different needs and could be really handy. But primarily it’s a nice trick that can brighten any campfire story time – literally.

I learned about that trick from an old friend long ago. I have to admit that I didn’t try it myself for a long time but it always had it’s space in the back of my head. Then, preparing for an overnighter in the woods with friends, I just took the chance and brought the necessary ingredients. But what is the tuna candle or tuna torch after all?

To make one is easy:

  • Get a can of tuna. It’s important to have one with oil not water
  • Poke one or a few holes into the lid
  • Put wicks into all candles
  • Let the wicks suck some oil into them
  • Light the wicks

Simple as that. What no one of us expected was that it worked extremely well. All the tuna candles we tried burned for about 1:30 hours! Of course, more wicks will burn a bit faster but all in all they all came close to that. They burned bright enough so you could really use them to light up some confined space. And they burned hot enough to light up bigger logs.

But, since we’re always eager to learn, we tried different setups:

  • Different kinds of oil. Olive, canola and sunflower seed
  • Different count of holes
  • Different wick material (rolled tissue or tampons)

To be fair, it didn’t make much difference which oil we tried. They all burned more or less the same. The hole count simply made a difference in how bright and how long it burned. Speaking of wicks, tissue worked extremely well. Especially one long roll of tissue with both ends put into different holes in the can. It formed an arc where you could clearly watch the oil rising up. The middle part stayed dry. Just light that middle part and the tissue will burn down to the moist parts and then stay as long as oil is available – the tissue won’t burn.

Tampons were a bit harder to work with. You could see the oil seep through the material but it was hard to light them up. Cut the tip and fluff them up a bit then they work just as well.

After the oil is finished the wicks will die fast. Then you can wait a minute or two to let the can cool down (it happens really fast in the cold outdoors) and open them. Inside you find the tuna without the oil but with a small hint of smoke flavor.

How to use the tuna candle

Well, I have to admit, it might be “special” enough to be a curiosity. I doubt that anyone would carry a can of tuna, just in case. On the other hand, if you carry food anyway, tuna in oil might be a good choice if you like the taste. And if you need a bright and hot fire very quickly it might actually be useful. Especially because you don’t need anything special besides the tuna can. I expect that most people carry a tool that can make a hole in a can and some tissue anyway.

Scenarios we came up with where the tuna candle might work:

  • You’re surprised by bad weather on a trip. Sit down with your poncho on. Place the tuna candle between your shoes and light it. Of course make sure you don’t burn your pants. The tuna torch should be hot enough to heat up the air beneath the poncho so you can warm up a bit during your rest. After that eat the tuna for some extra energy to continue your trip
  • In a small camp one of these tuna candles might be enough light for easy tasks. So you can save at least an hour and a half of other lighting fuel
  • In a place where it’s hard to find dry tinder you can use the flame of a tuna torch to light up bigger sticks and start a fire. It’s hot enough and burns long enough so you should be able to use bigger sticks. If possible split them open and expose the inside to the flame – it’s usually dryer than the outside, has no fire resistant bark and has a larger surface for the flame to catch on.

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