I admittedly bought a “knock-off” Zippo lighter, emblazoned with the majestic crest of the KGB’s ‘Sword and Shield’ at a Soviet-laden flea market, here in Afghanistan. It cost me all of $15, but looks cooler than hell.
Anyway, I’ve already found out that this thing is high maintenance. You have to refill fairly often, but here’s my question: does the fuel in the lighter tend to evaporate out of the case over time? I use it fairly often, but I wouldn’t think often enough that I ought to refill the darn thing maybe once a week.
I refilled it today, wiped the outside clean, and put it in my pocket—only to develop a small, burning rash on my right thigh. I figured it was my lighter, so I took it out and the rash went away in an hour—yet there were no liquid leaks I could see.
Is there something I’m missing? I’ve never heard of any of the ‘regular smokers’ mention anything about this. . .
Tripler
How do I know it’s a knock off? Besides the obvious, they misspelled “Bradpord”, PA.
Those pre-butane lighters were all a pain to keep up with. And I got that same rash any number of times.
The one good thing about old lighter fluid: you can pour some in your mouth and spew it over a match and make like a magician. Tastes bad so don’t swallow.
I always found that fluid lighter evaporated quickly, even the real Zippo I had back in the 80’s. Never cared for the taste, either.
Is it a knock-off? ‘Bradpord’ is a good clue; are there any other numbers/letters stamped on the bottom? You can check out This Chart. A ‘real’ Zippo has the manufacture code stamped on the bottom.
I carried a Zippo for years and loved it. Much more wind resistant than that sissy throw-away stuff. On real Zippo lighters there are (used to be) small marks next to the name on the bottom. Seemed like the more marks, the better made the model of lighter. The best I ever had was and llll ZIPPO llll.
I kept and extra flint or two in the bottom and carried it in a pouch on my belt. Still have a couple of those. The best ones have a small spring inside that lifts the lighter up when you unsnap the cover.
The life of the fuel refill I think also depends on the make. The better the stuffing inside and the type of wick, the better the performance. Also depends on how may times you light it and how long you keep it burning.
Another tip: I used to strip the flint out of used butane lighters I’d find laying around. Seems like those flints last longer than the typical ones.
YMMV of course
Well, I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one having ‘refueling issues’ with my lighter. I wonder if it’s something with the wick. Which, leads me into my next couple ‘o’ questions:
How easy is it to change out the wick? How easy is it to replace a flint?
Tripler
I don’t want to lose this case. I really, really like the KGB case.
*NOTE: Band name!! I call! [sub]I’m also lead singer! Dibs!![/sub].
I had several Zippos over the years and if you overfill them they will leak and cause the burning rash. I had the bad habit of squirting fluid onto the top layer of cotton until it was completely saturated - it couldn’t help but leak. After I changed to lifting the first layer before adding fluid I never had any more burns.
As to the excessive fuel consumption, I have no idea how much fluid, if any, evaporates. How long is the wick? I think a shorter wick uses less fluid than a longer wick, so you might try trimming it down a little.
I also had refillable butanes before I finally switched to Bics during the last several years before I quit smoking. They were relatively cheap and I didn’t have to worry about refills, fluid or flint.
On the ones I had, the screw in the middle of the cotton/stuffing would undo and there’d be a springlike thing in there that pushed the flint up to the wheel. Unless the flint was down to a nub you could take it out and replace it with another. If it was a nub you’d have to tamp it out or dig it out with a paper clip (infolded) or something like that. Once it quits sparking is the time to see if it will come out.
(looks like the sub tags aren’t working any better than the spoilers.)
I have a (real) zippo I tend to misplace relatively often. I find I have to refill it after about two weeks; it does not seem to matter if I have been using it to light every single cigarette I smoke (about a pack a day) or if it has been sitting, ‘lost’, on a shelf somewhere. I used to have a knockoff that didn’t even ‘pretend’ to be a zippo - it had some different brand name I never heard of and was of really cheap construction. I carried lighter fluid in my backpack because it seemed I had to refill it every few days. I don’t think the ‘wadding’ held as much fluid as a real zippo.
As for the rash, I only get it if I muff the fill (overfill) and don’t wipe it off well. If you are sure you wiped it off well, I would assume it is leaking lighter fluid into your pocket. Yowch! Been there.
Ah, yes. The Great Traffic Jam Of 1986. (Or thereabouts.) I’d filled my Zippo to the top and headed home from L.A. to Lancaster. Unfortunately, someone had decided to jump off of a bridge in the Sepulveda Pass. Normally it’s a 45 minute trip from LAX through the Pass during rush hour. By the time I finally gave up and headed to a friend’s place just north of Culver City, three hours had gone by. The lighter fluid was causing quite a bit of discomfort by the time I got there.
I still use a genuine Zippo and love it. I fill it up about once every week and a half to two weeks, and keep an extra flint in the wadding. I’ve never had to replace the wick (I’ve had it about three years) I’m pretty sure the naptha evaporates over time whether it’s used or not (though more rapidly with greater usage). Naptha evaporates pretty quickly even just flipping open the lid, so it’s not hard to imagine losing quite a bit to evaporation as it’s used.
I don’t think very much seeps out whe it’s closed though, unless it was recently filled. Cheap imitations may leak more though if there are gaps in the lid or hinge.
IME with real Zippos, leakage is always a result of overfilling. Two or three squirts of fluid is plenty for a lighter that has been filled before. A brand new one, where the “cotton” is dry, will require somewhat more fluid on the first filling.
I have one that my first wife bought me in 1991. It’s still going strong. I’ve had to replace the flint from time to time, but the original wick is just fine. Burning the lighter completely out of fluid seems to destroy wicks. I’d guess because the last gasp of flame is the wick itself, rather than naptha, burning.
After smoking cheap cigars for years I finally got my first Zippo and I love it! I also find that it needs refilling every 2 weeks or so. I’ve not yet had a rash-problem.
For outdoor windproof lighters I really like the WW1 Trench Lighter . I’ve used them for years while camping and they always light in the wind. And they make cool conversation pieces too.
Perhaps you could buy a real Zippo and see if the inner works fit into your KGB cover?
I’ve had nothing but had luck with those. I’ve bought maybe half a dozen of those, and in every single case – even the $70 Kolibri I bought – they all died in under 6 months. Either they’d become impossible to light even filled with butane, or the spark element would die, or the heater element would die. It was always something. I eventually gave up on those type of lighters, because as much as I thought they were kinda cool, not a single one has lasted much longer than a $1 disposable.
Go Zippo. They have an eternity guarantee. If it stops working for your great grandchild they will replace it. I actually visited their plant (there is only one and it is in Bradford, PA) and they have on display some of the more interesting returns, like the one that met the wrong end of a 16 ton press and was paper thin. They also have a window into the room of people opening packages of returned lighters and repairing them. Pretty cool.
More annoying than hard. I’ve never needed to replace a wick but I have rebuilt mine.
The better wicks have copper wire in the braid. In theory it helps warm the fuel in the wadding and bring it up to evaporating temperature faster (warm Zippo’s light easier than cold ones).
I replaced the cotton stuffing with 3 or 4 of the felt top pads (they (pads, and wicks) are available but tough to find). I get at least 2 weeks between refills.
Refill trick: after you fill it and put the guts back in the case, open the lighter and shake it once or twice towards the floor, excess fuel will come out.
