Butane (Canada)

throbinson · May 1, 2016

I have a couple of pipe lighters that take butane... nothing expensive. I have a Zippo with a Thunderbird insert, and a BaoFa.
Both started great, now a pain to use. All spark and no light. I drained them, refilled, adjusted +/-, cleaned the tips etc... the BaoFa lights now, a few misfires, the Zippo takes literally 20-30 sparks to ignite. I can hear the gas coming out, and again, cleaned and flushed and adjusted but, mainly just wearing down the skin on my finger.

Was reading that better fluid may be needed. Thunderbird says on it to use Vector Premium only, but, not finding any for sale.
Amazon.ca lists it, but says won't ship to Canada so, kinda a pointless listing.
Right now I use Ronson, I'm not sure if filtered or not.
Do you think switching to another brand that's 4x-5x filtered may work better? If so, in rural Ontario, any ideas on what brands and who may sell them?
Thanks

onestrangeone · May 1, 2016

The Ronson fuel is crap and will clog up pretty much any lighter. I think the Vector fuel has 10% propane mixed in, works better in cold weather, Xikar is also a very good choice.

jpmcwjr · May 1, 2016

I've been told to look for number of times filtered or cleaned, and that Ronson is very low on those points.

phil67 · May 1, 2016

As already mentioned, Ronson butane fuel is crap and most higher end butane lighters will give a warning to ONLY use multi-filtered butane fuel. I personally use Vector Premium Refined which is filtered 5 times, but any other multi-filtered butane fuel will suffice.

shikano53 · May 3, 2016

For what it's worth.

I also live in Canada. I purchased a Vertigo Butane lighter a year ago. The fuel I use is Ronson Ultra butane and it works fine. I have had no issues or problems with the lighter or fuel once I figured out how to adjust the flame on it. Butane has to be warm to work correctly and I keep it in an inner pocket or in my hand while smoking a bowl.

jpmcwjr · May 6, 2016

Butane has to be warm to work correctly and I keep it in an inner pocket or in my hand while smoking a bowl.

Is that true only for the torch variety? That seems to be my experience, but it's a very brief experience; only one torch (Calibri), and a new Old Boy (Xikar) and many other cheapo soft flames.

fmgee · May 6, 2016

I have a middle of the road Regal lighter that took a while to get to know. It likes to be warm, have good butane and be held upright to light it. It takes some adjustments after each fill. Given all the effort I am surprised I keep using it. But when it works well the flame us nice and soft.

shikano53 · May 10, 2016

fmggee, Since I'm a relatively new pipe smoker, (less than a year) all I can tell you is that my Vertigo lighter has worked fine since I purchased it with zero issues. Butane has to be kept warm and works best above 13 C or 55 degrees F or. You can try this. As an example, if I leave my lighter on my garage work bench top when the weather here is on the cool side, it will not light. If I hold it in my hand or put it in my inner pocket for a few minutes it will then work fine. I have also found that I need to adjust the flame seasonally. Again an example. In the winter, I need to turn the flame up higher to get the same flame in the summer at a lower setting. Again butane is very temperature sensitive. All I can say that mine was cheap, it works great and the Ronson Ultra butane that I buy at CTC works just fine, no issues at all.

If you go here to the link below and click the lighter instructions link on the left hand side you can download a PDF file that explains the mechanics and science behind the lighters and butane fuel. I found it helpful but again, I'm a newbie.
http://www.integral-style.com/vertigo.html

newbroom · May 10, 2016

My can of Ronson was getting appreciably low and I picked up another can for back up. The new can was Zippo butane and quite a bit larger. I've got a cheap Ronson lighter that works just fine with either one.

It takes a minute or two after refill for things to settle down before it's back in business.

peckinpahhombre · May 10, 2016

I am in Canada and bought a 12 pack of vector online, though I cant remember from where. Just google it.

shikano53 · May 10, 2016

I have googled it and couldn't find anyone in Canada who sold it, nor could I find any internet retailer who would ship it to Canada.

throbinson · May 14, 2016

Same here... legally I don't think they can ship to Canada, explosive gas in a container and such.
That's the problem, every time I find a thread about this stuff, the recommended butanes are never available in Canada it seems.
I can buy this off Amazon... says filtered, but not how many times.
Colibri Premium

throbinson · May 14, 2016

I was looking at these on Amazon, since no one around here sells anything other than Ronson...
Colibri Butane (5x)
Puretane Butane (says 5x, but can says 9x)
Fasfil Butane (5x)
Annoyingly... Vector shows up on Amazon.ca, has a price and shipping etc... then says "NOTE - THIS ITEM CAN NOT BE SHIPPED OUTSIDE THE USA" ...very annoying.

throbinson · May 19, 2016

Bought the Colibri 5x filtered butane, purged both lighters filly and refilled.
The BaoFa pipe lighter with the built in tools, works great, lights every time, good solid flame.
The Thunderbird insert for the Zippo, is still junk. It's been an issue since day one, and the customer support/warranty it claims to have, seems non-existent. After all the issues with the flint, it now sparks great, but won't ignite. Takes easily 20x of flicking to get it to light. Purged it, used the 5x filtered butane and tried adjusting the flow again, still just a fancy sparkler. :S

gmjabsky · May 20, 2016

Calgary has its own "Flames" but they're not burning very brightly :nana:
I've had bad experience with Ronson fluid, so wouldn't hold much hope for their gas...fluid makes a great solvent, though.

shikano53 · May 21, 2016

I guess the Ronson fuel I buy at CTC and my el-cheapo Vertigo lighter must be flawed because it never fails to light and I have never had a problem with the Ronson fuel.

phil67 · May 21, 2016

I guess the Ronson fuel I buy at CTC and my el-cheapo Vertigo lighter must be flawed because it never fails to light and I have never had a problem with the Ronson fuel.

That's all well and good, but would you care to take a chance with that same Ronson butane fuel in a $100+ Corona lighter which could possibly ruin it?

throbinson · May 21, 2016

I just wish that the better fuel would have fixed my issues with the Thunderbird, especially since it was a gift.
At least now the other lighter is working better, use to take 3-5x to get a flame, not sure if it was the purge or the fuel, but it's lighting every time now.

shikano53 · May 22, 2016

Well Phil, I can't see myself ever spending 100 + on a lighter so I guess I'll just keep on using my Vertigo. If I ever find another source of butane in Canada I will purchase some and post where I found it.

throbinson · May 22, 2016

Amazon worked well, had the 3 I mentioned. Had a few more but sometimes on Amazon sellers have outrageous prices listed.
For people like me in semi-remote areas where our only choices are a 1.5h drive or the local hardware store that only sells Ronson, Amazon is great. I don't smoke much, so this can is going to last me probably more than a year.

Butane (Canada)

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Site Sponsors

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Starting to Get Obsessed

Lifer

Moderator

Lifer

Lifer

Moderator

Part of the Furniture Now

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Starting to Get Obsessed

Starting to Get Obsessed

Starting to Get Obsessed

Starting to Get Obsessed

Lifer

Lifer

Starting to Get Obsessed

Lifer

Starting to Get Obsessed