Refilling Butane Lighters

[Strike Anywhere]

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule 9)

I know a lot of us enjoy having rules to follow with our hobby, but I think a lot of it is unneeded fuss.

Take for instance the idea that you need to use all your butane and purge with each fill.

I had been doing that for years, but lately I wanted to see what would happen if I just top off every few days. I’ve been doing that for a couple months with no problems. After several top offs and I start noticing carbon buildup, I’ll run it dry so I can clean it with alcohol. That’s when I’ll purge and refill.

Anyone else doing it like that? I think as long as you’re not nursing an almost empty butane canister, not shaking the butane before refilling, etc. you’re not getting nearly as much propellant/air in your tank as some think.

 

[coming to_falling too]

?

 

[ray47]

I gave up on refillable butane lighters because even if I purge the lighter before refilling I still have trouble relighting and the flame is never as high as when the lighter was new. I've followed all the suggestions on refilling and nothing works. I now use Bics and Zippos and my world is happy.

 

[elessar]

I've got a Xikar Resource II butane and it works and refills great. The flame oscillates when it gets low. I vent the butane and refill with Xikar high altitude butane. I usually have to turn the flame down on a fresh refill.

 

[elessar]

I know a lot of us enjoy having rules to follow with our hobby, but I think a lot of it is unneeded fuss.

Take for instance the idea that you need to use all your butane and purge with each fill.

I had been doing that for years, but lately I wanted to see what would happen if I just top off every few days. I’ve been doing that for a couple months with no problems. After several top offs and I start noticing carbon buildup, I’ll run it dry so I can clean it with alcohol. That’s when I’ll purge and refill.

Anyone else doing it like that? I think as long as you’re not nursing an almost empty butane canister, not shaking the butane before refilling, etc. you’re not getting nearly as much propellant/air in your tank as some think.

I did try topping up but I didn't like having to fill all the time. I prefer refilling when empty.

 

[BROBS]

I mainly just refill when empty because that’s when I think about it. But I’ve topped off too with no ill effects.
the main thing that matters is to turn the flame down to the lowest setting when filling. Then adjust. Otherwise your flame constantly shrinks.

 

[Kozeman]

I mainly just refill when empty because that’s when I think about it. But I’ve topped off too with no ill effects.
the main thing that matters is to turn the flame down to the lowest setting when filling. Then adjust. Otherwise your flame constantly shrinks.

Can you explain the theory on this action? Thanks.

 

[BROBS]

Can you explain the theory on this action? Thanks.

I honestly don’t understand it but it was posted by Russ Oulette about ST DuPont lighters and I’ve found to to be true with all adjustable butane lighters. I can’t understand why it matters but it does.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Can you explain the theory on this action? Thanks.

He's just saying to calibrate for pressure.
Freshly filled you get about twice as much flame than when it's half empty, just from my experience playing with a few Dupont style lighters you need to adjust the flame fairly often.

In other pressurized gas release systems they'd have a few regulators to ensure consistency, but lighter fuel is either too harsh for that kind of valve system or the lighter companies just never bothered to put any more thought into it.

 

[BROBS]

He's just saying to calibrate for pressure.
Freshly filled you get about twice as much flame than when it's half empty, just from my experience playing with a few Dupont style lighters you need to adjust the flame fairly often.

When filled incorrectly you need to adjust the flame often. If you don’t put the flame to zero when you fill the flame will constantly be shrinking as you use it. I don’t know why but it does and I couldn’t figure out why my flame was always getting smaller and I would have to adjust it up all the time. Now when I fill this way, I adjust the flame one time (barring any huge temp changes) and I never adjust it again until it’s empty. The flame always stays consistent.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

My lighter's performance has improved substantially since I started using Xikar High Performance butane. I still purge before filling. Works well for me, no need to mess with success.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Yeah, purging adds all of 5-10 seconds, so I do it 90% of the time.

Setting to low is also a very good idea. One of my lighters, when just filled, if the flame is turned up even a bit, the butane rushes out too quick to be ignited— at least by the flint and wheel. (It can be ignited from another flame source).

 

[Gecko]

I never knew that purging the lighter was a thing. Have had the same IM Corona lighter for 10 years now, never purged, just hold it upside down and top off when needed. No problems so far.

 

[tbradsim1]

The old dog of purging is just that, after the first fill, pressure inside the lighter is higher than atmospheric pressure, no air can get in if tank holds pressure. The reason most people can’t get a full charge is pressure, put lighter in refrigerator lowering the internal pressure of the lighter, take your butane can and run hot water on sides, you are raising the pressure. Fill counting to 10, if you have others fill them too, do this 3 times. You have filled them as full as they can be. How do I know this, 31.5 years of mashing gas for Exxon, pressure and desiring 200 to 250 ft towers , it’s all about pressure, more goes into less. Oh use refined butane, as it’s refined they knock out the heavies that gum up and coke lighters, the more refining, up to a point the cleaner butane you will have,

 

[Strike Anywhere]

I never knew that purging the lighter was a thing. Have had the same IM Corona lighter for 10 years now, never purged, just hold it upside down and top off when needed. No problems so far.

Exactly!

 

[Strike Anywhere]

The old dog of purging is just that, after the first fill, pressure inside the lighter is higher than atmospheric pressure, no air can get in if tank holds pressure. The reason most people can’t get a full charge is pressure, put lighter in refrigerator lowering the internal pressure of the lighter, take your butane can and run hot water on sides, you are raising the pressure. Fill counting to 10, if you have others fill them too, do this 3 times. You have filled them as full as they can be. How do I know this, 31.5 years of mashing gas for Exxon, pressure and desiring 200 to 250 ft towers , it’s all about pressure, more goes into less. Oh use refined butane, as it’s refined they knock out the heavies that gum up and coke lighters, the more refining, up to a point the cleaner butane you will have,

Thank you for sharing this real-world, valuable experience. Some great insights here.

Do you have any tips for knowing how full your butane refill canister is?

 

[tbradsim1]

It’s like a butane bottle, where it feels cold is where the level is.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

I almost forgot that I keep using camping stove fuel (you can't ship normal cheap butane to remote locations, so the camping stuff is my only cost effective source).
The Dupont knockoffs actually use the same fill nozzle as a camp stove.
Problem there is I'm pretty sure the camp fuel canisters are designed not to release fluid, I get around that a little bit by shaking it but it's never a great fill.

So yes if you can get a real proper fill the gass pressure should be moderately consistent (thought still fluctuating with temperature).

 

[dcon]

I believe that tbradsim1 adequately expressed the science of this. I will say that, experentially from 40+ years, I have lighters that old that I have religiously purged and are still in my lighter rotation. I have seen others go by the wayside where I have not been as diligent. When I was in “the business” manufacturers always insisted upon purging at each refill. Like hoosierpipeguy, I don’t argue with what works.

 

[tbradsim1]

Seals get old and are prone to fail, the purging may make the seals leak by lowering pressure, it may not affect a newer lighter, but as lighter gets old so does the seal. Purging is not necessary.