Candle Powered Toy Boat STEM Lab
Product Code : SCL-MH-12478
Quick Answer: The Candle Powered Toy Boat is a pop-pop boat in which a tea-light candle heats a small metal diaphragm boiler. The steam pushes water out of two underwater exhaust tubes and drives the boat forward with a characteristic popping sound.
Last updated: October 2026
Key Features
- Metal diaphragm boiler connected to two underwater exhaust tubes
- Mounting bracket in the hull for a tea-light candle
- Flash-steam pulse propulsion with no complex moving parts
- Supplied with a water priming syringe, 3 tea-light candles and an instruction guide
- Shows heat turning into motion and action-reaction propulsion
Technical Specifications
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Propulsion | Flash-steam pulse mechanism |
| Boiler | Metal diaphragm boiler with two exhaust tubes |
| Heat source | Tea-light candles |
| Included | 1 priming syringe, 3 tea-light candles, 1 instruction guide |
| Category | Thermodynamics and fluid mechanics |
About This Product
Once the boiler is primed with water and the candle lit, the trapped water turns to steam and forces water out of the tubes; the steam then condenses, water is drawn back in and the cycle repeats. Students can listen to the rhythm, time the boat across a water tray and relate what they see to thermal expansion, condensation and Newton’s Third Law. Schools, colleges and institutes in Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Tunisia, Botswana and Chile can order the Candle Powered Toy Boat STEM Lab from Educational Instrument.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the Candle Powered Toy Boat not start popping?
Usually the boiler is not primed or an air bubble is trapped. Re-inject water through the exhaust tubes with the priming syringe until it flows out of the other tube, then relaunch.
How is the boiler primed?
Submerge the boat, or use the priming syringe to push water into one exhaust tube at the stern until it runs cleanly out of the other.
Related: Mechanics & Heat and Solar Boat STEM Lab.
For a quotation on the Candle Powered Toy Boat STEM Lab, contact Educational Instrument.
