I’m not planning on doing this but I’m curious as to what would happen.
I assume the paint thinner would be wicked up and light the flame of the lighter, but what then?
Would it produce a poisonous smoke? Would it explode?
Zippos can be run on pretty much anything.
Lighter fluid is naptha, but some people use kerosene, gasoline, alcohol, or pretty much any other flammable liquid fuel. Isopropyl alchol is common amongst people who are sensitive to naptha.
I would highly doubt that it would explode.
Do I recommend trying it? If you do it safely, sure. Let us know the results. If it does explode, Zippo fixes any broken lighter, no matter what the cause of the damage. So the only thing you’re going to be out is a couple cents of thinner.
Which one?
I stopped using “Zippo juice” in favor of plain naptha years ago.
AIUI, it’s the same stuff, and cheaper by the quart at the local hardware store than the little yellow bottles at the smoke shop.
CMC +fnord!
White gas, aka Coleman fuel, is 95% naphtha and I think even cheaper by volume than the hardware store stuff.
It doesn’t say what the chemical composition of it is. It’s just a big can of “Odorless Paint Thinner.”
Slightly off topic: Back in my smoking days, I tended to carry a lighter full of Zippo juicce around in my pants pocket. Sometimes I would notice a rash on my upper thigh, especially shortly after a refill. This was likely a reaction to the naphtha, soaking through my pocket, right?
Zippos will burn just about anything. You might get a bit of smoke or smell, but they will still light. That’s why they still sell.
Yes, that’s exactly what it was. The skin in that area is quite sensitive.
It’s also aggravated if you’re wearing jeans, as the cotton wicks the naptha quite well.
The fact that I can’t carry it in my pocket, along with the smell and the weekly refills are why I don’t use Zippos.
More volatile gasses will evaporate off faster, even when the lighter is closed. I’ve used ethanol to fill my zippo in a pinch (we have lots of it in our labs), but it generally only lasts a couple of hours. Same is true for ‘charcoal lighter fluid.’ No explosive risk, but it doesn’t last long enough to be useful -
“Odorless Paint Thinner” is generally mineral spirits, IME.
I actually know one factual answer to this. I once filled my Zippo with turpentine (which can be used as paint thinner) because I didn’t have any lighter fluid and I figured it was flammable.
It did light. But it got all gummy after a couple of days and the little wheel wouldn’t turn. Had to dissassemble and clean it.
A friend of mine in high school filled his Zippo with Old Spice aftershave once. The lighter worked but you could taste the Old Spice when you lit a cigarette with it. Years later, that lighter still smelled like Old Spice.
I found my old Zippo, and have been having fun experimenting with different fuels
Ronsonol, works just as well as Zippo juice, just has a stronger, more pungent aroma, this is old Ronsonol, the container is marked 43¢
I’ve tried 91% Isopropyl alcohol, it burns with a short, hot blue flame, but is tricky to light, relighting after closing the lid is tricky, it actually needs to sit for at least a minute
and my most recent find?
Melaleuca Oil, it’s a highly volatile oil from the Australian Tea Tree, it has a strong pine-y aroma, far more pleasing than the odor of Naptha, the flame is a tall, deep orange flame, it burns incredibly quickly, and is quite hot
Zippo Juice and Ronsonol; medium high flame height (1-1.5" above the chimmney), blue-to-yellow/orange flame, the wick and chimmney part of the flame is blue, the top of the flame is yellowish-orange, average temperature
91% Isopropyl; short flame height (1/2" above the top of the chimmney) flame is almost completely blue, just the absolute tip of the flame is light orange, short burntime, many times it self-extinguishes, flame is quite hot
Melaleuca Oil; very tall flame height (2-3" above the chimmney), very quick, solid burn, high heat, dark orange color, pleasing aroma
Anyone have any good “care & feeding” of your Zippo (or Zippo type device) advice? Tricks to wick adjustment, how often does it need to be done, and that sort of stuff?