Life of a Zippo Wick?

[sugardaddy]

Do you have to pull up the wick on some kind of regular basis?

...Clip off the "used" part because it's too gunky, or something like that?

...And then eventually replace the whole thing when the part inside gets too short?

I have a pipe lighter which I've used for months and love it. Prior to now, it would light up on the first strike easily during a smoking session. But now it takes several.

 

[trudger]

Good forever pretty much. Only cut if frayed and crazy from messing with it. Won’t gunk up if you’re NOT using gasoline.

 

[warren]

Lengthen when necessary (the size of the flame you want/require will dictate when) and replace as required. When you smoke as I do, you replace wicks now and then.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I've never pulled one up, nor needed to replace one.

 

[craig61a]

Decades

 

[Chasing Embers]

But now it takes several.

Clean the striking wheel or replace the flint.

 

[didimauw]

Do you have to pull up the wick on some kind of regular basis?

...Clip off the "used" part because it's too gunky, or something like that?

...And then eventually replace the whole thing when the part inside gets too short?

I have a pipe lighter which I've used for months and love it. Prior to now, it would light up on the first strike easily during a smoking session. But now it takes several.

Yup I go through a wick every 8 months to a year. Trimmed usually every couple months. Mine gets extreme use every single day.

 

[didimauw]

A couple months ago, I put a new flint in my Zippo thinking that's why it wouldn't light. I go through flints maybe every 2 months. This time it still wouldn't light, and I pulled everything out, and the wick was about 2 1/2 inches long. The new one I put it was about 4 1/2 inches long. The old wick couldn't wrap around the cotton inside to absorb the fluid anymore.

 

[Coreios]

Just trim and pull up as need but itll be a long time.

 

[Bob the bear]

If you use a pipe insert they tend to gunk up us the wick is held directly over the bowl and carbon etc from the smoke of lighting up collects on it and makes it progressive harder and harder to light and thus need to be trimmed occasionally , if you are using a normal Zippo they last a long time

 

[Briar Tuck]

Make sure it is full of fluid as well. When they run low they can be tougher to light.

 

[hyperstar]

You can try zippo soft flame butane insert.
They are super strong and last long between every refill.
No fluid stinks when you lit a pipe.

 

[sugardaddy]

If you use a pipe insert they tend to gunk up us the wick is held directly over the bowl and carbon etc from the smoke of lighting up collects on it and makes it progressive harder and harder to light and thus need to be trimmed occasionally , if you are using a normal Zippo they last a long time

makes sense!

 

[crashthegrey]

Here I was expecting to hear about the crazy life of partying and drinking that your Zippo wick went through.

 

[Streeper541]

I've been using the same wick in one Zippo since I bought it at the Cape May Exchange when I was in boot camp in 2001. I've only ever changed out a Zippo wick once.

 

[didimauw]

Here I was expecting to hear about the crazy life of partying and drinking that your Zippo wick went through.

We try to keep this forum at a sort of PG rating most of the time. So things like that usually can't be discussed.

 

[bullet08]

Been using Zippos since 80s. Only charged the wick once. It was wet and wouldn't dry, so replaced it. If too much soot builds up on it, I just brush it off.

 

[crashthegrey]

We try to keep this forum at a sort of PG rating most of the time. So things like that usually can't be discussed.

Have I got a story for you...

 

[Don_Muertos]

bro...you need a zippo forum more than a pipe forum. Check in with this mess of snark

r/Zippo

r/Zippo: A place to discuss Zippo lighters and other Zippo products

www.reddit.com

 

[sugardaddy]

AFter advice from here, I took a qtip and just wiped off the wick, especially the flint side, and it really improved the lighting reliability!

Thanks guys. That should help my wicks to last longer, I would think.