tealight chandelier

[cottonreels]

Am going to order a Emperor Bell tent from Belltent.co.uk tomorrow (when funds come in [laugh]) and am thinking of ordering those chandelier things too.

Anyone got one? How do you rate it?

Of course I like it for the looks, but am hoping it will help warm the tent too in the evenings. The emperor is 6mx4m so am I fooling myself that it will help heat it?

They do a double layer of candles too,but thats £60 as opposed to £40 and there are two poles in an emperor, so for two doubles thats £120! Im not sure if Id have to pay for postage too since Im already ordering the bell tent and probably the malu awning.

Am also wondering if its a pita to pack all those little glass cups and stop them getting smashed amongst a very overloaded car .

I realise in the grand scheme of things, there are greater things to worry about...

Apologies to the chandelier/glamping haters.

I have the double chandelier (yep, they saw me coming!) and I do like it a lot.

It made the tent about 1 degree warmer (5m bell) when lit with real candles but mostly I have the battery powered tea lights on in it because I'm para about fire. Looks lovely, though, and I'm very pleased with the ambience it provides. There's a pic on my profile from inside and out, please ignore DH getting in the way...

I don't find packing the little glass cups a pita, they come in a special box and I'm the anal type who finds putting them all away again in their little compartments deeply satisfying.

On the website they say 'rustic look' - this means rusty. Very, very rusty. I suppose on the upside you don't have to worry about it getting wet...

Thanks Lovecat. Im a little para about fire too, but figure Id be ok if everyone was in the tent and being calm (toddler in the tent warning!) Id be ok.
Am a bit disappointed on it being only 1 degree warmer, but even that 1 degree can make a difference on being comfortable or not.
Interesting about it being really rusty - glad you prepared me for that!
And am pleased to hear about the little box - like you Id pack them all back in and want to be in charge of the job being done properly [laugh]
Your tent looks lovely and youre right the chandelier does seem to add that bit of a romance feel to it all.
Caught sight of your dd on your photos too - what a sweetie

Forgot to ask...does the chandelier pack up in a flatish sort of a way to minimise luggage space?

Aren't candles in a tent a recipe for disaster? Have a look on you tube at how fast a tent burns down.

Aren't candles in a tent a recipe for disaster? Have a look on you tube at how fast a tent burns down.

chandelier part collapses flattish (about 5cm deep) and isn't too much of a pain to pack - we stick the box of glasses in a footwell so it's fairly well protected in transit.

sockpoppet - I have seen that video a million times - you will not meet anyone more paranoid about fire than me, believe me! The chandelier sits very high in our tent, I stand on a stepstool to put the glasses inside the chandelier, so it can't be knocked. It is very stable too, even on a windy night it did not budge. The holders are much deeper than the tealights. Our primary rule was that the candles were only lit if an adult was in the tent at all times and they had to be blown out and completely extinguished before bedtime. And a bucket of water was handy at all times. We used them to give a bit of ambient light to the tent - it was more than enough to read under - and DD was already in bed. She was NOT allowed to move about the tent while they were lit.

Also because I do amdram for a hobby I always have a supply of Firecheck in the house (it's great stuff), which I sprayed on the inside of the canvas to make it completely fireproof before we used real candles. I would never use a tealight anything in a nylon tent.

And as I said before, 9 times out of 10 I use the battery tealights so there's no fire risk whatsoever with them.

oooh. i want one too. am hoping to have some money for christmas to get one for next years camps.

we were talking about the dangers though...a poor lady died just the other day from fumes from a bbq in the doorway in her tent i think.

are using real candles dangerous in that respect?

we have been using tealight on a tiny table up til now...like you all, under strict supervision, and they really do take that damp chill out of the air i think.

Similarly, I will obviously take great care with the candles. I know the pole takes great strength to move and will not be knocked accidently if were moving around the tent in a calm fashion. Good to be reminded of the risks though.
Lovecat - the firecheck looks interesting. Did you spray it everywhere? Did i affect the waterproofing at all or damage the canvas in any way?
I did ask soulpad if the tents were fireproof and they replied that it would effectively be double the cost to do that.
Good to hear it packs up flatish.
Anyone find cheaper versions in other shops or online? The cost of a double from belltent is £60!

They are nice aren't they but I think I would be too careless cautious to risk real tealights. Doesn't help that I am married to the worlds most clumsy man. Do want one though.

Candles won't give off toxic fumes though so you're fine in that regard.

the flamecheck is brilliant stuff - you can spray it on a piece of paper, hold a lit match to it and nada. I've actually had a council officer do that to something during a theatre safety check and because it was sprayed it was fine.

So I took a calculated risk wrt the canvas; as one of its primary uses is to fireproof canvas scenery flats, I reckoned that it would not damage the canvas itself - as to the waterproofing, I wasn't sure what it would do, but as it turned out when it rained we remained watertight.

ooh, missed part of your qu - we only sprayed the top circle of the tent, around the circumference of where the largest circle reached, where the heat was directed to.

excellent lovecat - thanks so much. Think Ill buy that then.

Aynyone buying a chandelier for a bell tent will be a little wary of the tea lights falling out.
Try www.glampmycamp.com
They have rubber inserts that hold the tea lights firmly in place. My friend has one and it looks much better than others I have seen. She got them to customise it as a double tier in fuschia pink and although the colour isn't my cup of tea, I have to admit, it really does look amazing.
She asked them for a good deal and got the whole thing customised for £75!
It's worth haggling a little with these companies. The worst they can do is say no and if you wanted 2 then they would have to give you money off I would have thought!

Please don't use real candles - I was camping last year and one of our group had an 8 man tent go up in flames. From fine to a heap of ash in about 2 mins. It was horrifying. Nylon tent, but canvas inners.

Please don't.