S.T. Dupont Lighter Owners Club

[BT1974]

And here is how it all began…
This is the first ST Dupont lighter i bought. And I STILL have trouble with it! It is a L1 BR. I have used a variety of nozzles on this-pipe, cigar-but it has a regular nozzle right now.

These are the lighters in the order in which I bought them-left to right, except the second lighter I bought I gave to a friend who is probably checking her bra for a Bic at this very moment. They all run except the Table lighter and the one to the right.
The black lacquer one has a cigar nozzle, which I really like. But twice the flame = twice the buildup.
The one to the left of the Table Lighter is a L1 BS, which I enjoy working on. The one second from the right is a D57 which I do not enjoy working on.

The Gatsby was really beat up but is cleaning up nicely. It has a chip in the lacquer. I am trying to decide what to do about that, but have a few options.

@EA-6B I STILL can’t find the gas shutoff spring that screws into the castle. Thats the one with the delrin spring box. Also, can you get just the D ring for the Gatsby valve and regulator? Both broke trying to get it disassembled, but the rest of the cap is fine.

 

[BT1974]

I've been communicating with the parts-supplier, & he's saying that he's switched his supply to the good Pipe-Flame nozzles that I'm familiar with using, & will be send replacements.

-Current report on testing the rest of the new parts so far:

-The nozzle-tools that I bought are actually for the older 'BS' Line1 models, not the 'BR' models that I work on. That was my mistake, but he is giving me credit for them as a return.

-They made a mistake on the Line1 Tall fill-valve threads, & he's going to send me correct replacements in a couple weeks once he has more made:
(New aftermarket Line1 Tall Fill-Valve above, original below.)
View attachment 433730


-Finally, I noticed that he makes a variety of Line1 slotted & D-ring fill caps, so I'm going to have him add a gold-plated D-Ring fill cap for Line1 Talls, so I can evaluate it.

I've been happy so far with everything else that he sent, although I did mention to him that his L1 Shortie fill-valves might run more reliably if he switches to the 3-eared seal instead of the included circular disc seal.
(I'm not even 100% sure on that one, but that's what I seem to have been noticing in the short amount of time that I've been testing them so far.)

So hopefully in about three weeks I should have some more good news. He said he would even ship the D-ring & nozzles out now, but I said 'just ship them with the replacement L1 Tall fill valves, if that makes more sense', so that's the plan.

Is your supplier making those with a CNC machine? I looked at one of those machines and immediately thought about making replacement valves.

 

[EA-6B]

The black lacquer one has a cigar nozzle, which I really like. But twice the flame = twice the buildup.


@EA-6B I STILL can’t find the gas shutoff spring that screws into the castle. Thats the one with the delrin spring box.

Also, can you get just the D ring for the Gatsby valve and regulator? Both broke trying to get it disassembled, but the rest of the cap is fine.

Never seen just a D-ring available. I've de-pinned & re-pinned an aftermarket D-ring from an aftermarket adjuster cap, onto an authentic L2 gas valve adjustment cap, because the aftermarket gas adjustment cap splines will start skipping over the stock splines after a few uses. At least, that was my experience.

You might have to keep hunting for that spring, but something like that should be common enough to find someone parting one out eventually. Buying an entire parts-lighter for that part can be tough because you won't know what's in there until you get it open; it could be the other style.

I've seen L1 twin-flame Cigar-Flame nozzles on the aftermarket, but the original L1 Cigar Flame nozzles burn with a wide single flame. I've seen those on the aftermarket too, but not for a long time.

Authentic Cigar-Flame nozzle on left:

Cigar-Flame on left:

Is your supplier making those with a CNC machine? I looked at one of those machines and immediately thought about making replacement valves.

I'm not sure exactly how they are making them. Could be digital or analogue machines, but I'm guessing probably some sort of CAD & CNC is being used.

 

[BT1974]

Never seen just a D-ring available. I've de-pinned & re-pinned an aftermarket D-ring from an aftermarket adjuster cap, onto an authentic L2 gas valve adjustment cap, because the aftermarket gas adjustment cap splines will start skipping over the stock splines after a few uses. At least, that was my experience.

You might have to keep hunting for that spring, but something like that should be common enough to find someone parting one out eventually. Buying an entire parts-lighter for that part can be tough because you won't know what's in there until you get it open; it could be the other style.

I've seen L1 twin-flame Cigar-Flame nozzles on the aftermarket, but the original L1 Cigar Flame nozzles burn with a wide single flame. I've seen those on the aftermarket too, but not for a long time.

Authentic Cigar-Flame nozzle on left:

Cigar-Flame on left:

I'm not sure exactly how they are making them. Could be digital or analogue machines, but I'm guessing probably some sort of CAD & CNC is being used.

My dual flame is almost certainly an aftermarket, but works the same.

 

[Sigmund]

Nice lacquer on that one. I have one just like it. It is really hard to find the lacquer mens BR model in good shape. Be careful. Keys and change will wreck it.

 

[EA-6B]

And here is how it all began…View attachment 435528
This is the first ST Dupont lighter i bought. And I STILL have trouble with it! It is a L1 BR. I have used a variety of nozzles on this-pipe, cigar-but it has a regular nozzle right now.
View attachment 435533

Cool pics, Duponts can be fun to shoot. What's going on with the BR shortie?

 

[BT1974]

Cool pics, Duponts can be fun to shoot. What's going on with the BR shortie?

It has a small leak and the flame tends to jump. I just need to go through it again, but I have taken it apart so many times that I‘m kinda done with it right now. It is one of those BRs with the smooth cylinder stopper. Seems like I have no gas or too much gas.

 

[BT1974]

Yeah looks like some of the threads on the valve body & the splines on the end of the small piece got torn up. If you need the splined piece, those are probably easier to find. The valve body - especially a shortie - is going to be scarcer & more $$. You probably have to stick with authentic parts, I've tried an aftermarket tall valve body, & the threads are different. (The internals are trash too, so not even worth it for those). I've seen aftermarket shortie valve assemblies recently as a new thing, so maybe those will fit. I doubt it, but maybe worth it to you to try one.

Going through my Line1 parts to find examples of lid-stop pads:
The two on the left are the flat bare brass surface. The both have some wear from the lid-stop striking them. Eventually that wear would get bad enough to let the lid open far wider than normal. Those two would benefit from my daily-proven custom lid-stop pad upgrade. The next two have the factory thin steel plate+pin, & there's a loose plate+pin below them. One of the springs is broken & you can see the plate more easily. Those are more durable than the bare brass stops, but wear & rust-through can still be an issue. On the right is the factory wide steel pin solution. Those can also rust, but usually just surface rust & not a thin plate rusting through. They also seem to wear better in general than the other two solutions.
View attachment 427201
Below that is the good ol' spring box. The cam is missing its delrin bushing. & the pin is also uninstalled. The delrin bushing from a two-piece lid bearing (in the bag) fits. I'll say one good thing about those delrin bushings, they almost never go bad. Which is good, because have fun changing that one. I tell everyone just leave that whole spring box thing alone! If the bushing goes bad &/or the spring box loosens & starts to float, usually the lid starts clicking through its motion & the spring tension feels off. Sometimes when closing the lid might start bouncing open like this:
View attachment 427200
I worked out another daily-proven solution for the floating spring box, but if that bushing goes, I might think twice about dealing with it. The good thing is that usually they don't go bad. I think I had one high-mileage unit where I'm pretty sure it was bad & was just clicking, & another that I damaged myself when trying to work out my spring box solution, & I actually had one lighter which ran better without it (the delrin bushing) in there, but that unit already had a list of problems, so it didn't surprise me.

so the castle in the middle has a broken spring? I ask because the my L1 tall which has the derlin spring box has a spring which looks exactly the same as that one. That’s the spring I can’t find anywhere.

 

[EA-6B]

so the castle in the middle has a broken spring? I ask because the my L1 tall which has the derlin spring box has a spring which looks exactly the same as that one. That’s the spring I can’t find anywhere.View attachment 436252

I have one of those attached to one of my castles in my spares box, & I've always assumed that it's broken. I have a couple that are full-length, & one of them had some surface rust right around there. I've since cleaned & oiled them. Once the factory bluing/coating starts to wear off of that spring, cleaning & oiling it helps in general. I always figured my shorter spring rusted or broke at that spot. It looks too short for the lid to reach the end to be able to press it down to shut off the gas when the lid is shut. Does the gas keep flowing when the lid is shut? If so, have you tried swapping in a full-length 'screw-in' type spring?

 

[BT1974]

I have one of those attached to one of my castles in my spares box, & I've always assumed that it's broken. I have a couple that are full-length, & one of them had some surface rust right around there. I've since cleaned & oiled them. Once the factory bluing/coating starts to wear off of that spring, cleaning & oiling it helps in general. I always figured my shorter spring rusted or broke at that spot. It looks too short for the lid to reach the end to be able to press it down to shut off the gas when the lid is shut. Does the gas keep flowing when the lid is shut? If so, have you tried swapping in a full-length 'screw-in' type spring?

Ok. I'm sure the spring is broken. I just wanted to check in case this was just ANOTHER iteration of the Ligne 1.

 

[EA-6B]

I'm pretty sure it's broken, I don't think the lid could reach it in order to cut off the gas when the lid is shut.

 

[Sigmund]

BTW, sometimes when a flame jumps its not a leak but rather the piston hanging and first and then working its way open mid flame. Really clean that and get a really smooth up and down slide on that puppy.

 

[BT1974]

I'm pretty sure it's broken, I don't think the lid could reach it in order to cut off the gas when the lid is shut.

I am having trouble with a BR with the smooth cylinder plunger. I think my issue is the gasket. Is it supposed to be the same diameter as the top of the barrel (and plunger, for that matter) or is it supposed to be a little larger so it squeezes between the barrel and gas valve? Also, about how thick should it be? For whatever reason this one gives me trouble and seems to have a persistent slow leak from the barrel.

 

[Sigmund]

No, the gasget...dot...supposed to fit inside the tube end. It should be smaller than the piston. It just goes down and touches the top of the gas jet....super tiny. It does not seal the whole chamber. It pressed down on the jet and prevents gas from coming out. Its about a half mm thick. If you have something larger than the piston its not closing all the way.

 

[EA-6B]

The flat-bottomed piston setups take more consideration than the other style, in order to get running smoothly.

 

[BT1974]

No, the gasget...dot...supposed to fit inside the tube end. It should be smaller than the piston. It just goes down and touches the top of the gas jet....super tiny. It does not seal the whole chamber. It pressed down on the jet and prevents gas from coming out. Its about a half mm thick. If you have something larger than the piston its not closing all the way.

this one is a different piston/plunger. It is a smooth cylinder which does not hook into the gas shutoff spring at the top. Different from the ones with an opening at the bottom which holds a gasket.

 

[EA-6B]

Is it a direct swap to switch to the other style of regulator & flat spring, + whatever parts are needed? I've never had to try it, but maybe that would be easier if you're having trouble finding that particular flat spring &/or having problems with the flat-bottomed piston.

 

[BT1974]

Is it a direct swap to switch to the other style of regulator & flat spring, + whatever parts are needed? I've never had to try it, but maybe that would be easier if you're having trouble finding that particular flat spring &/or having problems with the flat-bottomed piston.

I don’t think it is. I fixed it. The gasket for the smooth cylinder is much larger than the one which attaches to the bottom of the piston. Plus the underside of the castle is different, so I doubt that the angled shutoff spring that goes around the nozzle would fit.

 

[EA-6B]

I was imagining that the castle would need to be swapped, along with the flat spring, & cylinder (with appropriate smaller dot seal), & maybe the outer regulator body if there's some difference there, but I'm wondering if the top of the monoblock/plug would allow for it.

Either way, so you fixed the seal, & still need the flat spring to get it going, is where you're at? If the Tall has the same spring but still has the screwed-up spring box, maybe swap the spring from the tall into the one you're working on now to get one going.

 

[Sigmund]

I swapped the castle on one of those from a lighter with a lot of exterior dings. The castle fit perfectly and the more modern spring and piston worked as well. The little gas shut off lever and spring that locks the flint slide in place did not fit. I used the one from the old castle and it fit well. The modern push down thingy was a little wide for the hole in the main body.