Can I Use Camp Stove Fuel in a Lighter?
- Thread starter mikethompson
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It’s not nearly as pure. Don’t use it. It will gunk up the wheel and top of your lighter. I wouldn’t even use ronson fluids.
Man don’t even think about it, you’ll screw up your lighter for sure, it will work but you won’t get dividends your way.
I’ve used it without problems. I’m not a chemist but I am a lighter and Coleman collector. If you don’t like the results let it evaporate.
MSDS:
Coleman fuel is 100% light hydrotreated distillate.
Zippo fuel is 70% light hydrotreated distillate 30% hydrotreated light naphtha.
MSDS:
Coleman fuel is 100% light hydrotreated distillate.
Zippo fuel is 70% light hydrotreated distillate 30% hydrotreated light naphtha.
Thanks for the advice guys. I'm doing some backyard camping with the family tonight and ran out of fuel for my lighter. I will be using this old girl to roast marshmallows ?
@trudger any idea how old she is?
The expertise on this site is unnerving. And thank you trudger and others for that. I mostly use matches, but I learned something here. This is the pipesmagazine free university.
White gas, as it used to be called, is HIGHLY volatile (the fumes spread and ignite easily). The fumes are also heavier than air so they pool just waiting for an ignition source unlike lighter fluid. Lighter fluid has Naptha to slow down the combustion.
You could use kerosene or Diesel if you could stand the odor and don't mind replacing your wicks more often, but white gas is not recommended.
You could use kerosene or Diesel if you could stand the odor and don't mind replacing your wicks more often, but white gas is not recommended.
I should have said you can use it in an emergency, clean it out with good fuel when you can, more expensive fuel has fewer heavies which tend to soot and gum up lighters.
The pictures really help Mike, I remember us discussing this last year. With what I can dig up on Canadian 4K models the flat windscreen brace was a later production change. So I would put it between 1955 and 1958-9. The 4K started in production in 1951with a wire brace for the windscreens. Not sure when production started (‘58 or’59) on the next model which is the 4M. Great stove!
VM&P Naphtha from the hardware store works fine for me in my Zippos. $8 for a quart. Never owned an IMCO though, so I can’t say how it would do in it.
I sometimes forget that the most interesting people I meet are on this forum. I do remember mentioning the stove to you last year! Its great to get a ballpark date on it, thanks @trudger . Although the backyard camping with the kids didn't go as planned, the stove performed flawlessly making some grilled cheese sandwiches and roasting marshmallows!
As for using the fuel in the lighter, I decided not to risk it. I can wait until I find some Zippo fuel somewhere.
Cheers Mike! Didn’t go as planned = adventure at our house. I thought you guys could get anything at Canadian Tire! ??
This topic came up on another forum back in April. Seems that in some areas you can no longer get lighter fluid at places like CVS, Walgreens, Krogers, etc. There were several posters there who said that they had been using Coleman in their Zippos for years with no issues whatsoever. Some also said it didn’t evaporate as quickly.
From what I gathered from my quick Google search, Zippo and Ronson fuel was the same.
Yup. Same stuff different bottle. Zippo and Ronson are now the same company. There are lots of products that are identical except for packaging and marketing. I'll bet the fuels were identical long before Zippo bought Ronson.
Snot rocket surgery.
You can use whatever floats your boat in your zippo if it burns and doesn't give a bad taste. They are dependable workhorses IMO. Years back, I worked in a place that had 90% isopropyl alcohol in 55 gallon drums. I used that in my zippo while I worked there. It burned really clean, so clean you had a hard time seeing the flame. Only other disadvantage was that, since it was 90%, the alcohol burnt off and left water. After 3-4 fills it did not work as well unless I left it open overnight to evaporate.
I tried gasoline just once. It burnt so dirty that you could see a little soot in the air, but it burnt fine.
OK...now listen up children....as far as I know Ronson & Zippo are the same fuel. But more importantly....how many Zippos went overseas during W W ll ?.....millions? So where did the guys get the official Zippo lighter fluid?....they didn't. They used and burned whatever was available and flammable.....gasoline, AVGAS, diesel, gilly juice and even 100+ proof liquor. There weren't a lot of convenience stores close by.