Want an (Almost) Infinite Candle? This Clever Design Captures Sneaky Wax

Forget the flowers; this clever holder is the perfect Valentine's gift for your candle-lover, especially with the potential for winter storms like Pax to knock out power.

The Rekindle is designed to capture falling wax so it can be reused (Image via Gizmodo).

The Rekindle is a sleek-yet-simple candle holder which collects the melting, dripping wax that otherwise might go to waste, and shapes it to form a new candle. As the candle burns down, the hot wax drips and accumulates in the plastic candle form around a new wick.

Once the transparent stem is full of the used wax and has cooled, it can can be removed and the process can start again.

h The Rekindle captures the wax that would normally escape via a standard candlestick (Image via Benjamin Shine).

While not a truly infinite candle, the Rekindle does come close. Wax oxidizes (burns) in a candle's flame to yield water and carbon dioxide, which then dissipates in the air around the candle, in a reaction which also yields light and heat, according to Dr. Anne Marie Helmenstine. On a normal candlestick, wax may drip away from the flame rather than oxidizing completely, but in a glass jar - if the wick lasts long enough - all the wax is consumed.

But the Rekindle captures wax that would normally escape via a standard candlestick - a recycling idea not lost on the gadget's designer, Benjamin Shine. Some of the British artist's most acclaimed work has focused on recycled materials.

You might not be able to get your hands on a Rekindle in time to save yourself from a dark house this weekend, but it does come in three styles; stainless steel, anodized aluminum, or porcelain and can be ordered directly from the designer. And in the mean time, you can watch some of Shine's most unique work below; a Prince wanted his portrait created with recycled materials, so Shine made it happen (Fast-forward to 2:50 for the good stuff).

--

(H/T: Gizmodo)

Follow Elizabeth Kreft (@elizabethakreft) on Twitter.