# How is it that this cigarette lighter is still working?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-it-that-this-cigarette-lighter-is-still-working/403818>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 12, 2007, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-it-that-this-cigarette-lighter-is-still-working/403818 "2007-05-12T06:45:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-it-that-this-cigarette-lighter-is-still-working/403818/1 "2007-05-12T06:45:59Z")

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In the winter of 2005, my girlfriend gave me a see-thru lighter from the Bally’s casino in Las Vegas. It kind of looks like [these.](http://www.made-in-china.com/servlet/image?compatible=true&tid=2&fid=0&lan_code=0&cache=1&id=dLETgJaygQcB) It has the push-button thing where you have to push down (rather hard) on the top to make the flame, rather than striking the flint and then the gas as you do on a Bic. Anyway, I have been using this lighter all the way from then up until now. I don’t smoke cigarettes, or weed anymore - I just use it to light incense basically.

But I don’t understand how it’s still working. All of the liquid was used up from the inside of it a month ago. Yet, I still use it, maybe 3 times a week to light incense. Is it running on vapors or something?

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**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-it-that-this-cigarette-lighter-is-still-working/403818/2 "2007-05-12T10:44:52Z")

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[QUOTE=Argent Towers]  
In the winter of 2005, my girlfriend gave me a see-thru lighter from the Bally’s casino in Las Vegas. It kind of looks like [these.](http://www.made-in-china.com/servlet/image?compatible=true&tid=2&fid=0&lan_code=0&cache=1&id=dLETgJaygQcB) It has the push-button thing where you have to push down (rather hard) on the top to make the flame, rather than striking the flint and then the gas as you do on a Bic. Anyway, I have been using this lighter all the way from then up until now. I don’t smoke cigarettes, or weed anymore - I just use it to light incense basically.

But I don’t understand how it’s still working. All of the liquid was used up from the inside of it a month ago. Yet, I still use it, maybe 3 times a week to light incense. Is it running on vapors or something?  
[/QUOTE]

Vapors or magic. You’ll have to make up your own mind as to which it is.

I don’t know how much fuel is left in gaseous form in an apparently empty lighter, but I’m sure someone could calculate it, and that it’d explain your experience.

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**Author:** ![solkoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@solkoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solkoe)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-it-that-this-cigarette-lighter-is-still-working/403818/3 "2007-05-12T21:57:50Z")

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Perhaps a significant portion of the fuel has been stored in some sort of wick.