Molotov Cocktail on a stick.

I have made these and smaller bottles work much better. You can see that the wick does not go to the bottom of the bottle...leaving about 4 inches of oil that never gets used..that's a real waste to me..I was not able to find the copper pieces to use in the post (previously) but I found a 1/2"x3/4" coupling in the plumbing dept. at Lowe's that works great...it has a lip around it that sits/rests perfectly onto the top edge of the bottle..just my 2 cents.

it's like a beckon to let your lady friends know it's drinkin' night ;)

Re Taherold's comment -- I wonder if some pebbles in the bottom of the bottle would displace the otherwise wasted oil. Just a thought.

I made these a few months ago. Look really cool mounted to fence along my patio. A couple of things that are problematic:
-Teflon tape burns up after first use, which then allows water to get in the bottle during rain. The water does not float or sink in the oil, rather it infuses almost.
-Clear bottles do not work. I don't know if it's the UV light from teh sun or what, but the citronella oil/tiki oil gets cloudy and funky very fast and will not burn.
-The wicks do not touch the bottom nor do they get fully immersed in oil, which causes them to dry out and they must be flipped to be able to burn.

Next time I would use short bottles such as half bottle champagne or even (if I can get my hands on 5-6) hendricks gin bottles, so that the light doesnt cause a problem and the wick is fully immersed.

This is so beyond awesome. And I love how the comments always suggest subtle improvements. Onto my list of must makes for the summer.

A torch... attached to a wooden post... next to a tree.

What could go wrong?

That flame looks like it's getting blown back a liiiittle close to the wood. I think the setup would be a little safer if the clamp was mounted closer to the top of the pole so that the flame has some more clearance.

is it just me or does the flame look scary close to the top of the wood post?

Cue "Fiiii-yur!"

I made some of these a few weeks ago. I used a 3/4" split ring coupler. I found 1/2" was too small for most bottles so I can't imagine 3/8" would work for most people. Also, I cut the rod to about 4". That gives you plenty of distance from the flamable mounting surface (I just mount them to porch and fence posts). Also, I added glass marbles to the bottles to reduce the amount of oil below the wick.

Hehe Like the title of the post: "Get Lit"! Yes, let's.

Thank you for the morning giggle, Rusty Patina. I was thinking the exact same thing. :-X

All kidding aside... is this safe? 'Cause if it is, I am SOOOO in.

I just don't wanna turn my home into a funeral pyre.

Seems to me that you run the risk of the glass getting hot. I would worry about the danger that this might pose to children or drunk/ stupid people.

The Teflon tape isn't the only way water gets in, AC2008, water will actually travel down the wick and that's probably why your oil won't burn - it can't get past the water going down the wick. Our torches will eventually get waterlogged regardless of how they're mounted or sealed. Our solution has just been to put cups over the top of them when we're done to keep the rain off the wick. Not that classy, but very effective.

Hey Everyone! This is my project (thanks for the feature!!). After I wrote the blogpost, I did add pebbles to the bottom of each bottle because the oil was unusable past the wick. Now they work great!!

I will definitely try the pebbles/marbles trick and @meecee thanks for the cup idea!

I'm here to let everyone rest assured on the "safety features" of this project: for everyone who is worried about the "nearby" tree...it's actually about 8 feet behind the torch. As far as the glass getting hot, I haven't had any problems, and that is with the torch being lit all evening. The top of the 2x2 does get some black soot when the flame is near it, but has never appeared to be "catching on fire". Not sure that this would be any different if it were mounted to a wooden fence. I thought about making the threaded rod pieces longer, but since they are stuck in the ground, it would make them top heavy and I was more concerned with tipping over. As far as water getting in, I put a copper pipe cap over the wick when not in use. The teflon tape really isn't necessary in the long run because the coupling needs pulled out every now and then to refill the bottle. I've had these up for about 2 months and have used them at least a dozen times with zero problems. I encourage you to try it out (all supplies were purchased at Home Depot) :)

All for DIY, but really, tiki torches are pretty cheap. Why bother?

@JESS@JPARISDESIGNS, The top of the 2x2 does get some black soot when the flame is near it, but has never appeared to be "catching on fire".

If it's close enough to get soot-stained, then I'm pretty sure it's close enough to be dangerous. If the wood gets heated to a high enough temperature for a long enough period of time, it can still combust regardless of if the flames actually touched it or not.

This version from Design Sponge appears to have a much safer clearance -- 4.5" compared to your 2".

Yeah, was I the only one that thought about crediting Design Sponge?

"Poof!"

This thing is such an eyesore.

Even worse than tiki torches, which are also hideous.

I can't see not thinking "Molotov Cocktail"