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FrozenGate by Avery

Did anyone manage to light a candle?

From 15' away the candle melted and smoked in 1/2 a second?
I want your divergence...
Strikes me as a mutimode emitter diode would have trouble.
I carved the gf's name in the side of a candle but that was from ~6"
 





I got a > 1W 445nm laser from DTR and in a fraction of a <<<< second my black plastic computer keyboard burst into a flame,... I get the same effect on paper, wood and other materials,... I still have to try to see how fast i can draw it VS the candle. :can: These kind of lasers are definitely no toys anymore and should not be operated by unauthorized personnel. :wave:
 
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Just finished my 1st high powered 405 build.
405nm running @ 441mA lit a candle in under 2 seconds.
It also melted a column of wax from the top down when I tried it beside the wick. ~ an inch deep in ~10 seconds (focused to a point)
 
Hmmm things I've lit on fire with a 1.2W 445 include clothespins, magazines, candles (candles are hard if the wick just burns off!), plastic computer parts, Christmas wrapping paper (while wrapped around a present LOL!), a rocking chair! Yes I said a rocking chair! :eg:
 
i have done it plenty of times.. it works better if the wick has already been lit before.

ill post a vid ITT soon
 
Well I managed to do it last night, my trick was a high angle of attack, kinda like this \| (the "\" is the laser, the | is the candle wick) but hitting the top, this way if you start to punch through you go through much more wick and end up heating it up a bunch.
 
Silvershot said:
I just tried with my ~1.1 W 445 but the fuse of the candle just disappeared LOL. Only smoke was emitted but there was no fire started. There is only the white candle left :D
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I think it may depend both on the laser focus and on the candle wick

yesterday I was able to set two candles on fire pretty easily after focusing but today (trying on a different candle) i wasn't able to light it, the wick just burned away. I think higher quality candles end up burning better than lower quality candles because the low quality ones may just burn up.

Its a hypothesis, may not be true but if anyone wants to test it...
 
some candles have cotton wicks, some have fiberglass, plastics, and even metal impregnated or imbedded in the wick.

And yes, I lit a cotton-wicked candle, took a while and ended up mostly just drilling holes in the wick. current was limited to ~1.05A. Try to get the orange flash to stay constant without flickering.
 
BShanahan14rulz said:
some candles have cotton wicks, some have fiberglass, plastics, and even metal impregnated or imbedded in the wick.

And yes, I lit a cotton-wicked candle, took a while and ended up mostly just drilling holes in the wick. current was limited to ~1.05A. Try to get the orange flash to stay constant without flickering.
Click to expand...


I feel like the ones with metal would be the easiest to light, No idea how the other types react to lasers though.

Anyone have multiple types of candles and want to make a video?
 
I've lit about 6 different candles with my ~1-1.2W (just turned it down recently, still ignites cardboard in about 15s): YouTube - 445nm 1W Laser Lighting a Candle

The key for me is blowing on it lightly every once in a while to stoke it and give it some oxygen, just like if you were starting a fire from some embers. I can't light tealight candles reliably, the wick just disappears as has been noted.
 
Candles are easy. 400mW can do it.
The trick is to focus the beam on the hard, black lumps that "grow" on the wick when it burns.
Like this: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3086/3135161868_c6ec55fa1f.jpg

It will start glowing white. That's when you know it is going to ignite.

I have a 445nm module doing >1.3W and it will light toothpicks, cardboard, sticks, cotton fabric... you name it.

If you really want to burn, step into the world of multi-Watt infrared.
 
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AUTO XX said:
To get the focus bang on, I look for the "flare".
There will be a different light, even through laser glasses (I REALLY hope you are using them to try this)
If you have the focus perfect, there will be another, brighter light. It almost looks like the smoke is continually spontaneously igniting.
With that light, held steady for ~5 seconds with a >1W laser you should have NO problem getting a candle to light.
Try lighting the candle with a lighter first though, some of them take ~ 15 seconds even with open flame lol
Click to expand...

If you light the candle with a flame first 2 important things will happen. Wax will be sucked up through capillary action and infuse the "new" top part of the wick. The wick will blacken providing a better surface for rapid heating.
 
aryntha said:
I actually managed to with my 750mW 405 focused to a point.
Click to expand...

This is kind of funny, considering I used that same laser to light a candle before I sent it to aryntha. hehe :evil:

RA_pierce said:
Candles are easy. 400mW can do it.
The trick is to focus the beam on the hard, black lumps that "grow" on the wick when it burns.
Like this: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3086/...c6ec55fa1f.jpg

It will start glowing white. That's when you know it is going to ignite.

I have a 445nm module doing >1.3W and it will light toothpicks, cardboard, sticks, cotton fabric... you name it.

If you really want to burn, step into the world of multi-Watt infrared.
Click to expand...

That's cheating though. The candle I lit was brand new.
 
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Considering it's dark colored, that's not really a hard feat. Try lighting a white unlit candle wick. :D
 
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