Zippos

roland_7707

Whats your favorite Zippo lighter look like? Been thinking about getting one.

Amos Umwhat

I've got the Zippo "Blu" torch, the first one they made, I think. Gave me a lot of problems at first, but once I got it figured out, it's my daily lighter.

LiquidChaos66

My zippo is the classic chrome with my initials etched into it in old English. I'm gonna be getting a butane insert for it so I can use it with my stogies!

Bob Luken

Just to be sure everyone knows this,.........Old style "lighter fluid' zippos will taint your cigars. But the good news is you can get a butane insert for your zippo that someone gifted you with engraving or grandpa's old zippo. Gotta have a butane insert.

roland_7707

Thats cool. Does the Blu and the insert do the same thing? How do you refill an insert?

Amos Umwhat

The Blu is butane right out of the box, fills on the bottom, window on the side, uses flints like a standard Zippo.

Bob Luken

Best I can tell the zippo blu is a zippo made lighter and comes as butane and would not be interchangeable with a traditional zippo. And as far as I know the inserts are sold separately by non-zippo aftermarket producers. zplus is one you can get for about 10 bucks. They have reviews online. I'll post links.

http://www.elighters.com/zplus.html

jimmyv723

My Peterson Zippo set that came with a Peterson pipe and Zippo lighter

The3Stogies

My old man used a Zippo for his pipe and cigars. I used one for cigarettes for a long time, fuel type. Got this one with camel-bucks, got a bunch of them somewhere. Never used them, this one still has the seal on it.

avengethis

For those that have gone to a butane insert...Are they all torch inserts or can you get a butane soft/natural flame?

AshMe

I've been wanting to get a Zippo BLU but I heard they have poor craftsmanship compared to the regular line. Can anyone give their 2 cents?

Amos Umwhat

AshMe:

I've been wanting to get a Zippo BLU but I heard they have poor craftsmanship compared to the regular line. Can anyone give their 2 cents?

You may have noticed my remarks above, specifically "...gave me a lot of problems...".

Until I got it figured out, I was about ready to send it back and demand a refund. It's a combination of things, or was for me, firstly, you have to fire it up correctly. You press the flint wheel down, then the trigger button, then spin the wheel for spark. If you have sufficient fuel, it'll put out a flame about an inch long. Your best bet is to finish toasting with this flame, and not on-and-off. It's kind of like knowing how to kick start a '67 Triumph 650. Follow the rules, and you'll start on the first or second kick. Don't follow the rules, and you're on your new weight loss program.

The other thing was that I think there's some kind of contaminant in the tank. It would spit and sputter, light or not light. Tried several kinds of butanes, same results. Finally, I took it up to the shop, purged it, tied the trigger open with rubber bands, filled the needle of my blow-gun with nitro solvent, a few drops of the same onto the torch-tip, and blew it through with about 40 PSI. Since that time, it's become my favorite of about 4 different torches.

Should I have had to do all that? No! But, I'm a stubborn SOB, and I did, and it does, and I'm OK with that.

Regarding this experiment outlined above, I'd admonish all; "Kids, don't try this at home without an adult lunatic present."