How Long Does a Cremation Take? It All Depends on These Factors
Is your family pre-planning cremation for a loved one for the very first time? If you are, you might be wondering how long that a cremation is going to take. Generally speaking, most cremation services in Summit, PA are going to last for somewhere between 1 and 3 hours. But the exact time that it takes for a cremation to be carried out will depend on a handful of factors. Learn about these factors below prior to putting your loved one through the cremation process. Here is a list of what you need to know about cremation :
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Cremation times usually last between 1 and 3 hours, but this can depend on various factors.
- The size of the person being cremated is the biggest factor that will determine how long a cremation takes.
- The type of container used during a cremation can also affect how long the process takes, with some containers taking longer to start working than others.
- The crematory’s temperature for cremation also impacts how long it will take – lower temperatures mean longer times.
The size of a person
If you’re choosing a funeral home for cremation, be sure to ask how long they expect the entire process to take. Arguably the biggest factor that will help to determine how long a Summit, PA cremation takes is going to be the size of the person being cremated. The taller and heavier that a person is, the longer that it will take for a crematory to cremate them from start to finish. You should be aware of this if your loved one was on the taller and/or heavier side. You might have to wait a little bit longer for their cremation to be over and done with on the day when it’s scheduled to take place.
The cremation container used during a cremation
Before a crematory puts a person’s body into a cremation chamber, they’ll stick it into a basic cremation container. This cremation container is combustible and will help to kickstart the cremation process once a person’s body is put into the chamber. Different crematories use different cremation containers, though, and some of them are going to take longer to start working than others. The specific type of container that your crematory decides to use could therefore make the cremation process slightly longer than it would be otherwise.
The temperature that a crematory uses for a cremation
The average cremation chamber is going to be anywhere from 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit during a cremation. And while both of those temperatures are obviously on the higher side, those people who are cremated when the temperature is on the lower end of the spectrum are going to have longer cremations than those who are cremated when the temperature is on the higher end of the spectrum. You might want to ask a crematory which temperature they plan on using for your loved one’s cremation so that you have a better idea of how long it might take.
The time when a cremation starts
When cremations take place early on in the day, they tend to take a little longer than cremations that take place later in the day. Why? Well, cremation
chambers are typically hotter later in the day since they’ve been turned on for most of the day. So if your loved one is cremated in the afternoon, you should usually expect for their cremation to be finished sooner than it would be if it had happened in the morning. This is just one more factor to consider when cremating a loved one.
“How long does a cremation take?” is one of the many questions that families have when they’re planning Summit, PA cremations. Burton Quinn-Scott Cremation & Funeral Services can answer this question and many others for you if you’re wondering anything about cremations or the cremation process. Give us a call now to have all your cremation concerns addressed.
