Old Boy Lighter Problems?????

bowler1 · Apr 1, 2014

I have a Corona Old Boy lighter that is only a few months old, but am having some issues with it. Curious to hear if others have the same issues, or if I just got a bad one.
The first issue is with the flame adjustment. It is very difficult to adjust to get a good flame. It seems that it goes from a quarter inch flame to a blow torch 3 inch flame with just a very slight twist of the flame adjustment screw. This does not seem right.
Then just the other day I re-filled it and was unable to adjust the flame to something useable. It either would not light or would light and have a 5 inch flame that would quickly extinguish itself due to the rapid escape of gas from the lighter.
I am wondering if I should return this one under warranty, keep it, or maybe get rid of it and get a Petersons Lighter. Right now I am not sure that I am impressed with the Old Boy's quality and reliability that they are supposedly known for.
thanks

matt

mrenglish · Apr 1, 2014

Try bleeding the lighter. Take the tamp and press down on the fuel nozzle until its empty. Then refill.
It seems like the flame adjustment valve is off. Try setting it to its lowest setting and adjust from there.
If you still have a problem, send it in for warranty, they have a good one.

dochudson · Apr 1, 2014

if bleeding and refueling with quality fuel doesn't clear up the problem..simply return it for another. I tried a lot of lighters thinking why spend so much on the old boy. those are long gone and I now I have 2 old boys an everyday scratched one and a nicer one the wife got me.

apatim · Apr 1, 2014

Wow... I just looked up the price on the Old Boy lighter! What makes them so expensive?
I've been using a zippo pipe lighter which is fine but not great so I'm looking to purchase something better.

carytobacco · Apr 1, 2014

Old Boys are great lighters. If none of the above suggestions work contact the distributor, Music City Marketing, about a repair/return.

msandoval858 · Apr 1, 2014

Proper bleeding is a must for any butane lighter. The only maintanence I do on my Old Boy is bleed it between fills and a few times a year I take a Q-tip with some alcohol and clean off any of the black gunk that accumulates around the top. I've had mine for 14 years and it's still going strong.

lordofthepiperings · Apr 1, 2014

I think the above advice is spot on.
I love my IM Corona Old Boy and my Peterson Old Boy. I will say the Corona is a bit touchier on the flame adjuster. Typically after a refuel I turn it to the lowest setting and gradually increase it till it gets a flame. Then it's usually another minute tinkering with the adjuster to get it to the right length.

Strike Anywhere · Apr 1, 2014

I've had similar issues with mine. I also have a couple other IM Corona lighters with the same/similar issues. I finally decided to give up and go back to my Zippo and matches. If it weren't for the fact that I'm a fire bug, I would have just stayed with Zippo/matches anyway. I don't notice the taste of Zippo fluid, and I never could get the hang of using a butane lighter without darkening the rim of my pipes.

bowler1 · Apr 2, 2014

Well...I have gotten it working now. I did fully bleed the lighter before filling. I tried bleeding out some of the butane in the event that it was perhaps over filled. That seems to have worked.
I guess my main observation is that there is little to no adjustability to the flame on this lighter. It rapidly goes from way too small to way to big in about a sixteenth of a turn on the adjustment knob. Takes very careful adjustment to get something in the middle. Just doesn't seem to me that the adjustability should be that limited and that sensitive, but maybe I am wrong.

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