How Long Does Cremation Take?

Is your family going to be carrying out cremation services in Overland Park, KS for a loved one for the first time soon? If so, one of the most commonly asked questions that families have is, “How long does cremation take?” Families aren’t always sure how long they’re going to have to wait for their loved one’s actual cremation to be complete. This can, however, be a difficult question to answer since the length of a cremation is going to depend on several key factors. A simple cremation takes lesser time compared to cremations with funerals. Other than that, discover more about these factors below.

The size of a person

A person’s size is going to play a big part in how long their Overland Park, KS cremation takes. If a person is very tall and/or very heavy, their cremation is going to take a lot longer than a cremation for someone who is very short and/or very light. Most people’s cremations will last for between one and three hours. But if a person is on the bigger or smaller side, they might land outside of that window. You should ask a funeral home how your loved one’s size will impact the length of their cremation.

The temperature inside a cremation chamber

Despite what you might think, not all funeral homes set their cremation chambers to the same temperatures. Some of them will make the temperatures in their cremation chambers right around 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit while others will raise them up to around 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. And as you might imagine, a warmer cremation chamber is ultimately going to lead to a faster cremation. You should inquire as to which temperature your funeral home will set a cremation chamber for prior to your loved one’s cremation.

The time a cremation starts

You might not think that the time a cremation starts would have much of an impact on how long that it lasts. But cremations that take place early in the morning are usually a little longer than those that take place later on in the day. Why? Well, it’s often because cremation chambers haven’t had a chance to warm up just yet when they’re used in the morning. Cremation chambers that have been on all day long, meanwhile, will be plenty warm enough and will carry out cremations much quicker than they would be able to otherwise.

The cremation process that a funeral home follows

Every funeral home uses a slightly different process when cremating people. If yours has a straightforward and keep it simple cremation process, they should be able to cremate your loved one in no time at all. But if they have a slightly more complex process, it might be a different story. You may have to prepare to wait longer for this entire process to play out from beginning to end. Don’t be afraid to check in with your funeral home to see which kind of process they use.

Is your family wondering how long it’s going to take to cremate a loved one? Our funeral home has tons of experience when it comes to conducting Overland Park, KS cremations check our testimonials, so we can tell you about how long you’ll have to wait for your loved one’s cremation to conclude. Give us a call to start putting cremation plans for your loved one into place.