Even with “bad” wicks that you can’t light with, you may use them as part of a big bonfire.

Can’t use שמן קיק- kik is either oil extracted from a certain bird, cottonseed oil, or oil from kikayon plant from Yonah.

If one adds some good oil into these bad oils, can you light with the mixture? It’s a dispute in the Gemara, and the issue is whether the Rabbis enacted a further decree outlawing it to protect the rule not to use bad oils.

Melted fat and dissolved fish innards are not acceptable as oil bc one may come to use ones that were not meted or dissolved.

For the menorah in the Beis Hamikdash, the pasuk says להעלות נר- to cause candle to go up by itself without any help from other things. This means bad wicks or oils can the used. But for the lights of simchas beis hashoeva on succos, it was fine.

To use bad wicks and oils for Chanukah lights depends on whether כבתה זקוק לה- if the menorah goes out during the 1/2 hour time, must one relight it. If yes, then you can’t use bad wicks bc they may go out and you’ll forget to re-light. But if you don’t have to relight, you could use bad wicks and oils for Chanukah.

There’s a dispute if you can use Chanukah lights for your own benefit or not. If you can’t, then on Friday night of Chanukah the Chanukah lights could be from bad wicks bc you won’t be reading from the light anyhow and won’t come to adjust the light.

There are 3 levels for chanukah. Basic mitzvah is one candle per home. מהדרין is one candle per person in the home. מהדרין מן המהדרין is to change the candles per night.

Beis Shammai says to change the number of Chanukah lights is descending order. Either כנגד ימים הנכנסים- how many days are still to come. Or we find precedent to go down from פרי החג- the bulls on Succos. Beis Hillel says to go up. Either כנגד ימים היוצאים- the days of Chanukah passed, or bc of מעלין בקדש.

Best place for Chanukah lights is outside ones door. If not possible, then at the window facing the street. If that’s dangerous, then even on ones table in their home is fine. There should be a shamash to indicate that the Chanukah lights are not for benefit.

On Chanukah, someone has a “right” to keep their menorah outside. If they put it outside and it caught fire with something, they are not obligated.