Candle Burn Time Calculator
| Type | Typical burn | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Tealight | 4-6 h | backup light, food warming |
| Votive | 10-15 h | an evening per room |
| Taper | ~1 h per inch | dinner table, 3-4 h events |
| 3″ pillar | 35-45 h | decorative steady burn |
| 16 oz jar | 100-120 h | outage kit per main room |
Candle burn time is wax mass divided by the wick's appetite - and the type sets both: a tealight burns 4-6 hours, a votive 10-15, a classic dinner taper about 1 hour per inch of height, and a 3-inch pillar runs 35-45 hours. Jar candles are the marathon runners: a 16-ounce jar typically carries 100-120 hours. The rules of thumb hold across brands because wax is wax - roughly 6-7 grams burned per hour for a standard wick - and the first lighting matters most: a candle burned less than an hour on first light tunnels, and the tunnel never fully recovers.
The event math is where the calculator earns its keep: a dinner party needs tapers lit for 3-4 hours (one pair covers it), a power outage plan counts jar hours against likely outage length, and the romantic convention of a 'candlelit evening' costs about one votive per room. Weigh the candle to see what remains: a jar candle at half its original weight has roughly half its rated hours left, minus whatever is stuck to the glass.
How to use
- Pick the candle type - or weigh yours in grams and enter the wax remaining with the type's burn rate.
- Enter hours needed for the event or outage, and read how many candles of that type cover it.
- Read the practical notes: first-burn tunneling, wick trimming to 5 mm, and the draft that makes candles burn unevenly and smoke.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a candle burn?
Typical ratings: tealight 4-6 hours, votive 10-15, dinner taper about 1 hour per inch of height, a 3-inch pillar 35-45, and a 16-ounce jar candle 100-120. The number is wax mass over burn rate - roughly 6-7 grams an hour for a standard wick - so bigger diameter plus taller wax equals proportionally longer hours.
How do I calculate how much wax is left in a candle?
Weigh it and subtract the container (a typical glass jar weighs 250-350 g), then divide remaining wax grams by the hourly burn rate - about 6-7 g/h for standard wicks. A half-full 16-ounce jar candle has roughly 50-60 hours left. The last half-centimeter of wax is unreachable by a normal wick; do not count it.
Why did my candle tunnel down the middle?
The first burn was too short: wax has a memory, and a candle extinguished before the melt pool reaches the edge keeps burning straight down inside its own crater. The fix is discipline on the first light - one hour per inch of diameter - and after that, trim the wick to about 5 mm and keep candles out of drafts, which are the second tunneling cause.
How many candles do I need for a power outage?
Budget by rooms and hours, not candles: a jar candle (100+ hours) per main room covers a multi-day outage, while tealights are backup for bathrooms and hallways. Three jar candles plus a box of tealights is the standard practical kit - and candle safety indoors still means never leaving a flame unattended, outage or not.