Zippo Inserts???

[fnord]

Hoo:
I was smug with my first post and I'm sorry I didn't elaborate.
My experience with the Thunderbird insert has been problematical. I love the idea and the engineering concept but my three runs at three different inserts were epic fails. They didn't fit properly and, more importantly, failed to work correctly. (I've been a Zippo user since 1973 and I've always regarded the Zippo lighter as an item that rarely failed: much like C-47s, Model-T's, hammers, POTS lines, pipe nails, etc.)
I'm glad Hakchuma has been happy with his. Mine were a disaster but, man, I wanted them to work.
Fnord
P.S. Wouldn't it be cool if the company in question had an employee monitoring websites like ours - and various social media - to find, correct and possibly assist disgruntled customers? I'd still be trying to find a fix and giving them double "AA's" for effort. F.

 

[hooboy]

Thanks I did not read it as such!
I have tried some of the inserts as well and have Never found one to be satisfactory. .

If so I would of not have started this thread.
One cannot find fault with Zippos durability, reliability and folks fondness for it , My Dad carried one during ww2 (he was wounded in Normandy Not from a weapon but by being battered by a landing rig!) I also carried one in Nam in the Hill country, but that is another story.
When I was addicted to cigarettes I used it and it did not seem to matter for them, But when I became a piper developing a taste for tobacco and not for the Cigarette fix I never could get around the aroma and taste .
If thes offends zippo'ers.. , but its my opinion and Its the only one I am authorized to express

hoo

 

[hooboy]

Mods ... please delete the last post and I will retry leaving out the irrelevent

parts ie. Normandy and Nam ..Sorry

hoo

 

[warren]

Fnord probably answered your question best. The rest of us are just offering suggestions. My apologies for muddying up the waters.

 

[hooboy]

I did not mean to insult the zippo, far from it!

When I was addicted to Cigs I carried a zippo, it does no seem to matter when using with them, BUT when I became a fan of the pipe and Now the taste and flavor of tobacco mixed with the zippo smell is not my cupa .

I use a soft flame Butane instead.

I am ordering a can of the black zippo fluid to try Just maybe I will come back around.

hoo-

 

[jvnshr]

Zippos are one of the best lighters you may find. It has a nice history, it is windproof and very durable. Besides, you may send your Zippo to the Customer Care and they will replace the insert for free (you may ask for the pipe insert) and they will fix it for free as it is said above. Regarding the Zippo smell, I can say that Zippo fluids used to smell worse back in the past, recently they add some kind of scent into the fluid and it doesn't smell that bad, well it disturbs some people, in my case I like it. If you try to light your pipe with a normal insert (even if you wait for few seconds) you will still smell the scent of that Zippo fluid. You may have better results with a pipe insert, however that smell will always be there somewhere.

 

[avail]

I want to try the butane insert, but they seem to be on back order everywhere...

 

[okiescout]

I have NEVER found one that was reliable in all this time .

Ordered one being skeptical about the claims of the insert marketing. Piece of crap!
I stick with a Zippo pipe lighter for wind, Good Ole Boy for low wind. Really like long matches ( Swans) anyway but the Zippo is a life saver on windy days.

I use the new lighter fluid Zippo makes now and really do not think it is highly noticeable. But it would have been nice for the Zippo butane inserts to have worked, just because the butane lasts longer than lighter fluid.

 

[billm67]

I have two of the thunderbird inserts in zippo cases. I have had them for at least four years. I have an old boy and several other more expensive lighters. But the thunderbird insert in a Zippo armored case is what I always end up using. They just work.

 

[hooboy]

found the black can tried it ... conclusions ...still got the fuel taste smell just a little less... It evaporates a lot faster in lighter have to refuel twice as often .Sorry...

Go back to sleep little zippo!

hoo

 

[bonehed]

Try a line of vaseline around the insert before putting it back in the case after a refill. It will slow down evaporation.

 

[warren]

Zippos are obviously not for everyone.

 

[avail]

I got one with the pipe insert. Problem is when I draw, it doesn't seem to draw the flame down upon the tobacco very well...strange.

 

[warren]

Suck harder or flame closer to the tobacco. Maybe both.

 

[avail]

Yeah, I know, and this is with a wide open cob draw hole...

 

[darwin]

Has anyone had any experience with the Zippo lookalike butane job that P&C is selling now under the Hearth & Home brand? It it just a T-bird insert in a clone case or it it something new? As in something new like a soft-flame butane lighter that can handle wind for instance.

 

[ssjones]

I'm a match guy all the way -but when I need a lighter, a Thunderbird insert is my preference. They don't work great in wind, so then I have to go with a fuel zippo insert. I hate the way the fuel inserts are build. The T-bird has flame only on one side, unlike the Zippo fuel which is just an open ring. I have to work too hard drawing to get the fuel flame down into the tobacco. I think the insert, set on low flame also does lesser amount of rim damage. I find the T-bird insert is pretty bulletproof if you purge the air before refilling. For a guy that travels, not having to constantly refill or worry about fuel drying out is a blessing.

 

[erichbaumer]

Not sure there's anything to this, but I've heard of people preferring Ronson fluid to the Zippo brand. It's harder to find, though.

I keep meaning to send my Zippo in for maintenance. The hinge is loose, the chimney is filthy, and I lost the cap to the chimney lighting a cigarette in a less-than-sober-state in college. With what I keep hearing about their service I really should get on that.

I love that lighter. It's easily one of my most treasured worldly posessions. I'd choose to keep it over any single one of my pipes. You can't find many tools that will serve you as long and reliably. But I can fully admit that there is certainly a taste, and it simply doesn't bother me as it may bother others.

 

[phred]

Has anyone had any experience with the Zippo lookalike butane job that P&C is selling now under the Hearth & Home brand?

You mean the Decatur Z-Plus? I picked one up on a recent order to get over the free shipping minimum, and then wound up with another after a PAD purchase of a Stanwell (one was included as a freebie).
Indoors, they're pretty reliable. The adjustment goes from tiny to flamethrower rather suddenly, and I've had some issues getting them to catch and hold outdoors (same as any other butane lighter). The insert should fit a standard Zippo body, but I haven't verified that. Filling with standard butane (I use Xikar) is straightforward, and the tank is transparent, so it's easy to tell how much is in there.
I'll stick with my Zippo for outdoor use (if matches are unworkable, so are most butane lighters, at least here in CO). I've put the Decatur lighters into my pipe bags for backup.

 

[billinsfl]

No better lighter for outdoor use than the Zippo with the pipe insert. If the fuel that comes in the black colored can is used there will be no lighter fluid taste. For indoor use I have a silver Dunhill Unique, which is quite excellent to use indoors.