Hi, Harold. Here's a more complete answer which I hope will be helpful. Lighter fluid, whether the zippo brand or Ronsonol is nothing more than naphtha. The Zippo Black label is also naphtha, but the sulfurous impurities have been filtered out, resulting in a significantly lower odor. Some smokers can still detect an odor, but for most of us the odor disappears within a second or two after lighting, thus resulting in a nearly undetectable taste, which quickly dissipates. As to the size of the flame, this is strictly linear, and depends upon how often you're using the lighter after refilling. Immediately after the refilling, the flame will be larger, and will become progressively smaller the more often you use it, since The wick is an extension of the padding inside the lighter. When the flame on the wick becomes too small, that's a signal to refill, and that will usually be about 4 to 7 days, depending upon how much you use the lighter.