Tea light test — if you're looking for bang for your bucks, check this out

'Tis the season to buy tea light candles — so much so that my local branch of Mr Price Home, and a large one at that, is sold out of the standard white ones. They come in many different brands and sizes — some very shallow and others jumbo deep — and prices vary widely.

Most manufacturers claim their little foil encased candles burn for a minimum of four or six hours, but do they live up to that claim? I decided to test a small selection:

• Woolworths: R149 for 50 (cost per candle: R2.98). Claimed burn hours: six;
• No Place like Home, bought from Takealot: R299 for 50 (cost per candle: R5.98). Claimed burn hours: six;
• No Place like Home, bought from The Crazy Store: R89.99 for 50 (cost per candle: R1.80). Claimed burn hours: four;
• Clover Leaf, Pick n Pay: R89.99 (cost per candle: R4.50). Claimed burn hours: six; and
• Mr Price Home (eucalyptus): R49.99 for 18 (cost per candle: R2.78). Claimed burn hours: four (The pack of 50 plain ones, when in stock, sell for R99.99 or R2 per candle).

Some of the brands advise not to burn the candles for longer than two hours at a time, but I decided to light them all at the same time in a draught-free spot and note when they went out.

Only one went out before its claimed burn time: the “6-hour” Clover Leaf tea light did so after five hours and 45 minutes.

As for the rest:

Mr Price Home's 4-hour candle died at four hours and five minutes.

No Place Like Home’s (4-hour) burnt for six hours and 15 minutes.

Woolworths’ candle lasted seven hours and 25 minutes.

No Place like Home’s (6-hour) went out after seven hours and 40 minutes.

Best value for money in this small sample are 4-hour No Place Like Home candles, bought from The Crazy Store, which cost the least but lasted the third-longest. If it’s the longest burn you’re after, that brand’s 6-hour candles would be a good bet, provided you buy them from a cheaper source than Takealot. (Makro Online is advertising a 100-pack for R336, or R3.36 per candle.)

The best balance between price and burn-time in this sample is provided by Woolworths’ 50 pack of 6-hour candles, which burnt for almost seven-and-a-half hours.

* Why are they called tea light candles? The Japanese initially used them to keep tea warm during tea ceremonies, a Zen ritual dating to the 12th century and lasting up to four hours.

DATA

Brand | Bought from | Price | Number of candles | Cost/candle | Claim | Time burnt | Time in mins  | Start time | End time | Notes

1. Woolworths | Woolworths | R149.00 | 50 | R2.98 | 6 hrs | 7 hrs, 25 mins | 445 | 18:01 | 01:26 | No mention of time limit.
2. No Place Like Home (6 hrs) | Takealot | R299.00 | 50 | R5.98 | 6 hrs | 7 hrs, 40 mins | 460 | 18:01 | 01:41 | Package says not to burn for more than 2 hrs at a time. Takealot labels them as extra large. They are physically taller than the others.
3. No Place Like Home (4 hrs) | Crazy Store | R89.99 | 50 | R1.80 | 4 hrs | 6 hrs, 15 mins | 375 | 18:01 | 00:16 | Package says not to burn for more than 2 hrs at a time.
4. Clover Leaf | Pick n Pay | R89.99 | 20 | R4.50 | 6 hrs | 5 hrs, 45 mins | 345 | 18:01 | 23:46 | No mention of time limit.
5. Mr Price Home (Eucalyptus) | Mr Price Home | R49.99 | 18 | R2.8 | 4 hrs | 4 hrs, 5 mins | 245 | 18:01 | 22:06 | Package says not to burn for more than 2 hrs at a time
6. Mr Price Home (Plain) | Mr Price Home | R99.99 | 50 | R2.00 | 4 hrs | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested.   

Rankings

Cheapest

• No Place Like Home (4 hrs) — R1.80
• Mr Price Home (4 hrs) — R2.78
• Woolworths (6 hrs) — R2.98
• Clover Leaf (6 hrs) — R4.50
• No Place Like Home (6 hrs) — R5.98

Longest burn time

• No Place Like Home (6 hrs) — 7 hrs, 40
• Woolworths (6 hrs) — 7 hrs, 25
• No Place Like Home (4 hrs) — 6 hrs, 15
• Clover Leaf (6 hrs) — 5 hrs, 45
• Mr Price Home (4 hrs) — 4 hrs, 5

Ratio of burn time to cost per candle (this could give a general idea of best value for money, with higher values meaning better value)

1. No Place Like Home (4 hrs) 208.36 (these were the cheapest, but lasted third longest)
2. Woolworths (6 hrs) 149.33 (these were fairly cheap and lasted a long time)
3. Mr Price Home (4 hrs) 88.22 (pretty cheap, but didn't last that long — still made it past the 4 hrs claim)
4. No Place Like Home (6 hrs) 76.92 (these lasted the longest, but were by far the most expensive if purchased at Takealot)
5. Clover Leaf (6 hrs) 76.68 (quite expensive and didn't make it to the 6 hrs claim).

Do you need help with a consumer issue? Contact Wendy Knowler for advice via email consumer@knowler.co.za or on X (Twitter) @wendyknowler

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