Lighters for Dummies

[mingc]

You want to fill the lighter with liquid butane, not gas, which is less dense than the liquid. That is why you fill with the refill canister pointed down, so that the gaseous butane and propellant goes to the top of the refill canister and the liquid butane at the bottom flows into the lighter rather than the gas and propellant.

Getting the lighter really cold in the freezer first helps the liquid butane stay liquid as it flows in rather than turning into gas when it hits a warm lighter tank. And as greeneyes mentions, it lowers the chamber pressure. Another way to get the lighter cold is to refill it just a little and then purge it before refilling it completely. Obviously, this second method is wasteful. This second method is a best practice for filling CO2 tanks. With CO2 tanks, which are larger than lighters, you can tell if a method is effective because you can weigh before and after to see how much you've managed to fill the tank. A cold tank will fill up more than a warm tank.

 

[Briarcutter]

put the lighters in the freezer

This makes a huge difference! I do this with my Duponts.

 

[zercules]

I’d stick with Bic disposable lighters but clippers don’t need an adapter. I prefer gas with a plastic filler. The plastic seems to mate better. You could throw the lighters in the freezer and warm up the gas to get a complete fill. I put the can under my arm but I’d just throw them out and get a Bic.

My issue with Bic is that it’s unnecessary plastic waste Unless Bic sells a refillable lighter I don’t know about.

 

[Dixie Piper]

Bic make a no- name brand lighter that my local Dollar General sales. $2.95 plus tax for a 3 pack and they work well for me.

 

[Dixie Piper]

Bic make a no- name brand lighter that my local Dollar General sales. $2.95 plus tax for a 3 pack and they work well for me.

 

[Briarcutter]

I recently purchased 14 USA made Bic's for $15.72 shipped from Amazon.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Yeah if you buy Bics right they should only cost about a dollar.

"A good light for a buck"

Same thing with the Clippers, but they're refillable.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I was able to get 10 of the Clippers filled by purging them and getting them cold.

No sense in filling all at once.

I was also able to shine a flashlight through the tank to make sure I got them full.

For those of you who would throw them away...

Every man is entiltled to his opinion, but I'm glad to use these for a couple more years.

But hey, I'm a smoker, not a hobbyist who smokes twice a month.

I'll update here in a year, God willing.

Thanks for the helpful tips.

 

[mingc]

I was able to get 10 of the Clippers filled by purging them and getting them cold.

No sense in filling all at once.

I was also able to shine a flashlight through the tank to make sure I got them full.

For those of you who would throw them away...

Every man is entiltled to his opinion, but I'm glad to use these for a couple more years.

But hey, I'm a smoker, not a hobbyist who smokes twice a month.

I'll update here in a year, God willing.

Thanks for the helpful tips.

I like my Clipper and the fact that they are refillable and can take new flints. You can even buy new striker/flint holder assemblies. I didn't like throwing things away if I didn't have to. I've twenty year old socks and underwear!

 

[hobie1dog]

I don't have enough strength to push down normal lighters. The pipe shop owner gave me a Rocky Patel lighter that I just have to put my thumb on the window to light it

 

[pipersalmanac]

First things first. Bleed the air out with a simple tool. You don’t need the tool, but since you’re filling 8,352 lighters it’ll make your life easier.

The trick to a full fill, is a full purge.

This is, in my experience, almost always the issue.