Hope you were not tricked into buying small 3 x 3 x 2H cm cube fuel blocks with these lanterns (check the 2009 “Indoneisan Sky Lantern world record” on http://www.youtube.com As you can see, it was raining fire/fuel cubes. Dangerous!). These cubes have asbestos to hold the wax together and often drip like crazy. Non-bio cubes. Many of the string (non-wire) lanterns are also made of asbestos and some are even covered with paper wrap to hide it.

Most people have no idea about these lanterns, WalMart, USA and the person who sold to them actually thought they would lift and disappear in space. Needless to say the lanterns were soon pulled off shelves. People just presume they will be safe. They seldom regulated.

If your lanterns are under 0.40USD FOB China or Thailand, then you may hope for a perfectly still night, if not totally still night they likely will not rise.

I’d do a few test launches with “actual stock” (not the samples sent as production and samples are seldom the same).

I invented the fire-retardant in 2006 opening the market in Europe and then USA a year later, so I do know this business well.

Good Luck!
Mark