Lighter Fix Tips

In my opinion, 90% of the problems that occur with lighters are because of the quality of the butane that is being used. (The most common symptom is sputtering or not lighting)

The reason is that butane contains impurities that cause clogging in the ignitor of the lighter. These impurities can be filtered out during the refining process. That's why I have chosen to carry Vector butane - it's also the cheapest per volume is the most consistantly available.

The MINIMUM number of refinings you should use is at least 3x or "Triple Refined" but the Vector is refined 5x and the Lava is 5x refined. These two are by far the cleanest and best fuels that you can use.

The other most common problem with lighters is having air trapped in the fuel chamber. Most lighters come with instructions on how to "purge" the lighter. That's what it's referring to.

These are simple things to do to tell if the lighter can be repaired or not.

Here are a few tips:

1. Bleed the lighter until it's total empty. Make sure the valve is pointing down. (Do not attempt this while the flame is lit). You have to shake the lighter as you bleed the valve. And may have to repeat many times before it's completely empty.

2. Refill with a MIN. of triple refined butane. This may take two or three shots to totally fill it. Wait several minutes for the butane to come up to room temperature. This is fairly important as cold butane will not ignite.

3. Turn your flame level to the (-) sign on your lighter prior to lighting. I have noticed that after refilling the adjustment is out of whack. So after every refill turn it down and gradually adjust it to the desired level. Many times this is why a lighter doesn't work properly after a refill as well. (Also, generally as your lighter gets low on butane you have to adjust the level higher)

4. Make sure you have a spark. If you have a soft flame (ie flint) the obvious solution would be to replace the flint. If you have a torch lighter, you should see the spark coming from a small wire inside the lighter. If there is not spark, there may be lint from your pocket. Use some compressed air in short spurts to clear it out (try to avoid blowing in it if possible, you usually get small amount of spit on the ignitor which will also prevent a spark).

5. If you are using a flint (soft flame) style lighter and still don't have a flame make sure your burners are clean. Sometimes they get built up with tar from cigars and burning gas residue. You can use a TINY amount of distilled water on a q-tip or a small wire brush to clean them. Be VERY gentle and make sure it's dry before trying to ignite.

If all else fails, use a match! Just make sure you let it burn for a couple of seconds before lighting your cigar with it as the sulfur from the match impart a funky taste into your cigar.

I hope this helps and happy smoking my friends.

~Mark


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Great post Mark...what about if I have a torch lighter...see the spark..I know it's full but it won't light?
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When you say "make sure the valve is pointing down", do you mean purge it with the lighter right-side-up? That's the one thing I haven't been doing, so maybe it is causing some of my issues..
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There are three things that I have typically run across:

1.) Purge the tank. Sometimes a tiny air bubble can get trapped in the tank preventing the gas from coming out. Even if you see the ignitor light, it may not be hitting any gas.

To purge, COMPLETELY remove all fuel that's in the tank. You may have to repeat it several times to get all the existing fuel out. Then refill with a quality fuel (like the Vector Quintuplus - usually available locally at William Sonoma for about $6 for a monster can. It's 5x refined and has "fixed" many of my previously dead lighters).

2.) There is dust or lint preventing the gas from coming out. Try the compressed air trick.

3.) The little ignitor wire isn't over the gas enough. It's VERY thin, so be careful when bending it.

I hope this helps

~Mark

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What if you have a Zippo Blu....I did everything you list (except shake the lighter when purging) and I refilled with Vector 5X and still no lighty
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You answered your own question :-)

Just kidding (sort of). I have heard a lot of people complaining about the ZB's reliability.

Zippo has a great warranty:

http://www.zippo.com/FAQs/How_do_I_s...7-206f696f4df0

Edit for Zippo Blu FAQs:

http://www.zippo.com/FAQs/zippoBLU_FAQs.aspx



I hope this helps

~Mark

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Mark I have a PB-207 that rejects all nozzle types from Vector and it doesn't like the Colibri nozzle either. Any thoughts?
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Hi Al,

I am able to fill the PBs using the Vector standard nozzle....hhhmmm...
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Does Blazer have a warranty program?
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They do have a 1 yr from date of purchase (plmk if you need proof :-))

http://www.blazerproducts.com/blazer.../warranty.html

~Mark
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Too bad its not the one that came from you :-)
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FYI the one I did purchase from you fills fine
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pm coming
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Great info thanks.:-)

What about refilling prior to being totally empty. I refilled my Blazer when about at 10% (upcoming long trip) with high quality butane, but it now has trouble staying lit. I didn't want to purge it as it is full now, but might give it a try.

thanks for all your continued help.
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Prior to refilling any lighter, I have found that it is best to turn the flame all the way down. Then wait a few minutes (5) before relighting and adjusting the flame up.

This seems to work the best at preventing an air bubble from being trapped.

I hope this helps

~Mark
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Update I did the 'shake while purging' and bingo my Zippo Blu is fixed!

THANKS!
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Sweet, so I am the man?! :-)

Glad to help bro

~Mark
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Yes! You da man! :-)
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Yes you are my friend :-)
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Thanks for the tips Mark.
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