Summary of THIS SUPER REALISTIC LED CANDLE IS SMOKING HOT
This article details [Keith]'s three-year project to create a hyper-realistic LED candle using real wax, an actual match for ignition, and a smoke ejection system triggered by blowing into it. The build combines Arduino electronics with custom hardware to mimic the sensory experience of a traditional candle, including fragrant vapor generation via a heated wick.
Parts used in the Realistic LED Candle:
- Arduino Pro Mini
- RGB WS2812B strip with six LEDs
- Infrared (IR) sensor
- Microphone
- 28 gauge wire coil
- Tiki Torch wick
- Power supply
- MOSFET
- Vegetable glycerin
- Aromatic oil
Over the last few years, LED candles have become increasingly common; and for good reason. From a distance a decent LED candle is a pretty convincing facsimile for the real thing, providing a low flickering glow without that annoying risk of burning your house down. But there’s something to be said for the experience of a real candle; such as that puff of fragrant smoke you get when you blow one out.
Which is why [Keith] set out on an epic three year quest to build the most realistic LED candle possible, with a specific focus on the features that commercial offerings lack. So not only does it use real wax as a diffuser for the LEDs, but you’re able to “light” it with an actual match. It even ejects a realistic bit of smoke when its microphone detects you’ve blown into it. Ironically, its ability to generate smoke means it doesn’t completely remove the possibility of it setting your house on fire if left unattended, but we suppose that’s the price you pay for authenticity.
As you might have gathered by now, [Keith] is pretty serious about this stuff, and has gone to great lengths to document his candle’s long development process. If you’d care to build a similar candle, his written documentation as well as the video after the break will certainly get you on the right track. He’s even broken the design down into “milestones” of increasing complexity, so for example if you don’t care about the smoking aspect of the candle you can just skip that part of the build.
So what did [Keith] put into his ultimate LED candle? In the most basic form, the electronics consist of a Arduino Pro Mini and a chunk of RGB WS2812B strip holding six LEDs. Add in an IR sensor if you want the candle to be able to detect the presence of a match, and a microphone if you want to be able to blow into the candle to turn it off. Things only get tricky if you want to go full smoke, and let’s be honest, you want to go full smoke.
To safely produce a puff of fragrant smoke, [Keith] is using a coil of 28 gauge wire wrapped around the wick of a “Tiki Torch”, and a beefy enough power supply and MOSFET to get it nice and hot. The wick is injected with his own blend of vegetable glycerin and aromatic oil, and when the coil is fired up it produces an impressive amount of light gray smoke that carries the scent of whatever oil you add. Even if you’re not currently on the hunt for the ultimate electronic candle, it’s a neat little implementation that could be used come Halloween.
You might be surprised to learn that LED candles are a rather popular project within the hacking community. From the exceptionally simple to the exceedingly complex, we’ve seen an impressive array of electronic candles over the years. Perfect for setting the mood when listening to the smooth sounds of the latest Hackaday podcast episode.
Source: SUPER REALISTIC LED CANDLE IS SMOKING
- How can you light the candle described in the article?
You can light it with an actual match. - What material is used as a diffuser for the LEDs?
Real wax is used as a diffuser for the LEDs. - Does the candle produce smoke when turned off?
Yes, it ejects a realistic bit of smoke when a microphone detects you have blown into it. - What electronic components form the basic core of the design?
The basic electronics consist of an Arduino Pro Mini and an RGB WS2812B strip holding six LEDs. - Can the IR sensor be omitted from the build?
Yes, you only need to add an IR sensor if you want the candle to detect the presence of a match. - What powers the smoke generation coil?
A beefy enough power supply and MOSFET are used to get the coil nice and hot. - What liquid mixture creates the fragrant smoke?
The wick is injected with a blend of vegetable glycerin and aromatic oil. - Is the project suitable for people who do not want the smoking feature?
Yes, the design is broken into milestones so you can skip the smoking part if you do not care about that aspect.
