Single Torch Butane Insert

I don't smoke, I just like lighters. I mean, they are useful for other things, starting campfires, on heat shrink tube, etc. I have always liked zippos, but never liked the fact that the liquid fuel evaporates. It goes "somewhere" which means the air you breath, your clothes, your skin. And then, when you need to use the lighter 3 months later - it's dry. Zippos are not really made for occasional use, they are for everyday smokers. So this is a PERFECT solution. Fill it with butane, drop it in the zippo housing, done. Now I have a lighter that is useful for the things I do. I can throw it in a backpack, and it will work 6 months later. I can keep it in my pocket without the smell, and with the knowledge that lighter fluid is going "somewhere." This literally takes 10 seconds to install. It fits perfectly, nice and snug, yet easy enough to remove to refill. It still makes that awesome zippo "Click" sound! The flame is rock solid. Height is adjustable, but only to a point. Below aobut 1/2" high, it won't stay lit, so you have to set it a bit higher than that. But actually the factory setting is just about right anyway, at about 1" high. It lights on the first click almost every time. Very reliable. It does not leak when filling. In a pinch, you can use it "bare" without the case, and should your zippo lid fall off, it is still pretty safe to carry without a lid, since the button requires a fair amount of pressure. In works in any position, upside-down, sideways, with no change in flame height or direction (i.e. flame doesn't go "up" if you hold it sideways). It does not get excessively hot if you use it for a bit longer, like 30 seconds. I guess if you kept it going a long time it would get pretty hot, but you wouldn't normally use it like that. The *only* drawback to this insert is that it won't give you candlelight like an old-school zippo. But I'll just remember to bring a flashlight.

Do not forget to purge before your first fill! People that say it doesn't work, it stopped working after X days/weeks, or has weak flame on max, didn't purge before their first. If you already fill some butane purge it outdoor away of open flames. You can watch how to purge on the video on Zippo youtube channel.

after googling a quick fix it works now!!! it is out the package basically not functional, but you can fix it easy, a little pricey for what it is, but it does work good and have a good warranty.

First, let me say I have been a loyal Zippo user for quite some time. I have used - and worn out - any number of Zippos over the years. The classic flint, wheel, fluid style lighter has been in my pocket for a long time. Seemed like, as an acquaintance of mine said, there was always something I had to do with those old classics. I was fiddling, it seemed, with my lighter more often than I wanted to. So, I went in search of something a little less maintenance intensive. Or so I thought. Enter the Zippo butane insert. I thought with a butane insert, built in igniter, fill it, and go. No more dealing with flints or over filled fluid tanks. Right? Not for me. Full disclosure, I did not have "premium" butane on hand when I bought this insert. I'm still not convinced that "premium" butane makes that big a difference on the problems I've had (though, I bought some in my journey with this lighter insert). Out of the box, and after filling with butane for the first time, it worked ... okay. Couldn't get a good flame height out of it, though it was reliable in lighting. Went online, found the "modification" videos out there on this problem and made the mods. Wow. Had to be careful I didn't burn my nose off. Now I'm happy, adjusted the flame just right and burned through my first tank of butane all hunky-dory like. Proud of my fancy Zippo butane lighter. Second fill is when the finicky aspects of this insert began to rear their ugly head. Did my second fill. In my search finding the fix to the flame height issue, I discovered that one must purge the tank of air before filling. No biggie. Purged it. Fill for 3 seconds. Purge. Fill for 3 seconds. Purge. Let sit for a few minutes. Go out back for a smoke. Won't light. I'll get it a flame, which then seems to blow itself out. But no steady flame. Adjust flame height screw lower. Same result. Lights up when I light it with another lighter. But, won't ignite itself. Baffled, I set it aside and used my backup lighter. Next day, on a whim, I pick it up, and lo and behold it worked! Lit first time, and worked fine through a tank of butane. Which lead me to a cycle of going 2 or 3 weeks of perfect performance, and then after a fill the insert being stubborn and not wanting to work. Sometimes, I would get an initial light off which wouldn't last. At some point in this process I did buy "premium" butane after having done every "fix" I could find on the internet. Look, I've made my living over the years off of fixing stuff. Building stuff. It's not like I'm not mechanically inclined. Working with my hands and making stuff work is who I am. Zippo, it shouldn't be this hard. I've had this lighter insert for just over a year. A little over half of the time, it worked just fine. The other half, I had to fiddle with it, re-purge it, set it aside for a day, whatever. What I've found is that every fill cycle I just don't know whether it's going to work or not. I had two, three months of good use after switching to premium butane. Really thought that was the solution. Then, I dropped the lighter. It bounced off a 2x4 on it's way to the ground. And just like that, the problems have returned. It'll light once, and then ... nothing. Set it down, walk away, come back in an hour. It'll light once and then ... nothing. I've adjusted the igniter probe (for lack of a better thing to call it) and got a week's worth of pretty reliable use out of it. Filled it. Now, nothing. Will light if I put another lighter flame to it. But, not on its own. Zippo. It. Shouldn't. Be. This. Hard. Is a year the average lifespan of the igniter on this thing? I don't know. Because I have now determined that has to be what it is: An igniter problem. Paying nearly $20 for a years use of a butane lighter seems a bit expensive to me. Especially when I can buy two Bics to get me through a year for a fraction of the price. Or, just go back to my fluid insert. I gave this thing 2 stars only because when it works, it's the best lighter I've ever owned. Wind resistance is excellent. Flame height easily adjustable. I deducted 3 stars because in the 14 months I've owned it, I've had to fiddle with it far more than any other lighter I've owned. Since I still have a 3/4 full can of premium butane, I'm probably going to buy another one and see whether premium butane from the first use on makes a difference in reliability. I will say this, though. When YouTube is full of videos of people telling you how to get around design flaws just for the privilege/prestige of owning a Zippo ... it doesn't inspire confidence. Update: Decided to order another one of these. Smart decision. Right out of the box, and after filling it, it has worked like a champ. Flame height adjustment was good out of the box. Reliable lights. No modifications necessary. Good right out of the box. Have used the latest through a handful of refills, and still works like a champ. Just like a Zippo should. Manufacturers deserve criticism for when their products don't meet standards. They also deserve credit when it appears they've listened to consumers. It would appear to me they have fixed the problems I, and many on the internet, had been encountering. Kudos to them.

Recently acquired this nice 2014 brass Armor case Zippo from a friend's estate. I've carried a Zippo before, but since I don't generally use a lighter much, it was often dry and useless when needed. Also, if you've ever had a recently filled Zippo leak fluid into your jean watch pocket, you know what the painful outcome of that can be. So, I found this cool Zippo brand butane insert. It works great, and provides a nice torch flame. Now I didn't notice that one can also get a version that has an old-school flame rather than the torch. I might have gone for that one, but the torch is fine for general purpose fire starting. And, it'll be perfect for the two or three times a year I enjoy a nice cigar. I do sort of like that the soft-flame version uses a wheel and flint, whereas this one uses piezo ignition (which hopefully lasts longer than the pile of cheap piezo lighters littering my junk drawer). As mentioned in some of the other reviews, there are a couple of quirks to this insert. Like others, I had to mess about a bit getting it to work when I first filled it. It would light for a second, then go out. After doing this a few times, and continuing to push in the butane, it finally accepted a fill and works fine. I think it has to purge out the air or whatever before the reservoir can fill properly. A minor thing to deal with on the initial fill. The other quirk has to do with the Armor case. As others have noted, due to the extra thickness of the case, the lid doesn't "quite" fit flush when closed. You can perhaps see the miniscule gap in my first picture. It's not particularly bothersome, but to those with OCD, it may be a tad off-putting. Picture three shows the bottom of the insert. My plan is to run the bottom of the insert across some reasonable grit sandpaper to get the surrounding edges of the insert down flush with the bottom. We're talking less than half a mm here, so it won't take much. Conclusion: I don't know how long this will last, but being an official Zippo product, I hope for quite a while. It does appear to be well made and well designed, and works well. I recommend this item, and would consider buying more for my other Zippos.

Update 7/17/2020 - Well, it's finally just stopped working altogether. Cannot recommend. It's something with the mechanism as I can't even light it with an external source when the gas is being depressed. I can hold down the button, hear gas escaping, light it with another lighter and it never catches. The gas doe ignite as long as the flame is near, but remove the flame and it won't stay lit (actually it never lights, just burns off the gas.) Piece of crap!!! Updated: Well, things haven't improved. I didn't use it for a while but have recently begun using it more frequently. It's just not a good lighter. Completely unreliable and very hard to get a flame. Even if I hold it down with the gas escaping and try to light it with an external source, it still fails to light (the igniter is not the problem). There's something wrong with the pressure of it or turbulence created by the escaping gas that keeps causing the flame to extinguish almost as soon as it lights. Look for something better. Well, I've been using the single flame version for a few weeks now and have mixed feelings about it. It works, for the most part, but there are times when it is difficult to light and can't seem to stay lit for long. Furthermore, the flame adjuster is useless as the entire first half of the adjustment does nothing and won't produce a flame. Adjusting too high results in the same, no flame. There's a sweet spot where it seems to work best, but that's NOT what an adjustable flame is all about. Now, I live at altitude over 5000 feet and it's clearly indicated in the product info that it may not work as well in those situations, but I'm not so sure that's what is happening here. It just seems a bit fiddly and difficult to light at times. If it was the altitude, I would expect it to be fiddly all the time and that's not the case. I've seen some people recommend filling, purging then refilling to see if that helps. I'll try that out and if it improves the reliability I will return and edit my review.

Jumping right into the goods: • I was sure to do my research before purchasing this — finding all I could on the ins and outs; and I suggest you do the same :) I.] Coming to understand the single flame option is most economical (i.e. when the insert is filled to capacity it truly does last as long as advertised) when compared to the dual-torch as to my understanding - would just be burning through fuel twice as fast. II.] Knowing to ‘bleed’ the insert before filling with butane for the first time was essential. III.] Being aware of butane purity & just what that means for the life of the insert, and also keeping its integrity intact to prolong its utility as much as possible. This was a key-factor. I chose Xikar as it seems to be the #1 go-to as far as research suggests. The high-performance formula was a fun introduction to butane for me :) • I opted to look even further into the insert prior to deciding to own one (and glad that I did) and highly suggest you do as well. If you love Zippos as they are, I’m sure you’ll want a Zippo product you buy for it to actually be a quality addition to your investment. I.] Reading so many negative reviews speaking on this insert’s failures/malfunctions/source of production and it’s ‘poor’ construction, etc — motivated me to see what was up with these accusations. I found they were all asinine. Total ignorance, and proof of the lack of trust in such a coveted brand by the fool’s mind :) II.] Research suggested a ‘modification’ ..if you could even call it that; but unfortunately under Zippo’s warranty it would constitute it being ‘voiding the warranty’ - but it’s worth it. The mod I’m talking about is of course the limiter/retainer ring adjustment you can find on YouTube. Just search something like ‘Fix for Zippo Butane insert’ and watch the most viewed one. Overall, finding out and learning about butane and just how to get the most out of your Zippo product was fun in and of itself. I couldn’t recommend this product more - it’s a great addition to the timelessness and renown of a genuine Zippo lighter - and the honor it is to own one. Such rich history. Even more valuable that family members before me used the same technology, I’m proud to carry the torch onward :) 10/10 Would buy again. And again. And again. Oh. And I’d ‘void the warranty’ again too, because it’s pretty cool to ‘unlimit’ the limiter on the flame height :) and it’s pretty funny it being the main reason people think these inserts are crap and die/malfunction when it doesn’t light. Firstly, do your research. Inquire. Learn. Grow ;-) Secondly. Have fun! Take care,

[Update 2021]: I swear someone responded to this (previously 1 star) review suggesting to purge fuel by holding down the button while refilling. I thought it sounds dangerous and i think that reply got deleted somehow but it made me want to try something again anyway. These are the things i tried doing and eventually it works okay now: - i tried initiating flames after shaking the zippo like a paint can, sometimes worked. - i tried initiating flames while holding the zippo sideways or upside down, sometimes worked. - i tried fully purging butane by holding down the ignition button (when no flame happens) while holding it upside down, this may be all thats needed to fix BUT - (POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS) for a few seconds i tried the reply/suggestion i mentioned by refilling butane while purging. I initiated it then decided it might be dangerous so i stopped midway. I cannot reliably say if this was a factor in it suddenly working later since i still continued the upsidedown purge until i couldnt sense anymore butane coming out. [Update 20200413]: After around 4 months, the flame won't last for a half second even at full refill. I know the sparking mechanism works because a split second of burning butane comes out. Somehow this will not keep the flame going anymore when the button is depressed. I can still smell the butane (and hear it if i listen close enough) when the flame stops while the button is depressed. I purged the butane inside through the refill valve and refilled it to check if it's a problem with fuel contamination- it still doesn't work. - Full tank last longer than i expected. Single torch is all you need as it does not waste much butane when you're just using this to light cigarettes (or anything else in general). Don't be fooled by the lack of brightness of the single torch, this can burn things easily. I think they just want you to keep buying more butane on the dual torch. - This eliminates unnecessary fluid odor, flint particle build-up, and carbon that plagues the classic insert. No discernible butane leaks. - This insert will make your zippo feel heavier with all the metal thats supposed to hold pressurized butane. Fits snuggly and even better in my zippo than the classic insert that came with it. - This will not light as bright as the classic inserts and you cannot leave it on a table surface as a temp candle. You need to hold down the ignition button as it controls the amount/longevity of the flame. Might be annoying for emergency lighting use but is needed for fuel efficiency. - Im not familliar with the sparking mechanism of this one that makes a very small but sufficient spark. I dont see anywhere where i can easily replace a flint or whatever sparking equivalent this has. Maybe there's a way, i just never looked for it. Speaking of which, not having flint particle build-up makes this operate cleaner. - Refill is easy and clean. No messy leaking. The refill valve/port works well with non-zippo branded butane that i have, unlike the valve/port of a thunderbird butane insert i tried that spits out almost everything when refilling. The manual says refill this for only 6 seconds, i have been refilling for 10 to 15 seconds and i don't get any strong back pressure to let me know it's completely full. I haven't seen any problems from this so far. It may explain the minor problem below, cant confirm. - There are times when the flame controller would just not hold the minimized flame size that i set.

Really great and solid insert for your Zippo! A must if you EDC. Beautiful big flame when turned to the max! Like a tiny lightsaber. The very common problem people here have, seem to come from the fact that many people are unaware of the air that builds up while filling. To fix this issue, you just fire up the lighter for 2-3 second to let all the air out. Everytime II've filled and cleansed it from air, it has worked absolutely flawlessly.

Brilliant

perfectly fit into zippo lighter

Really upsetting to pay such a high price for a product that works only for a month… what a waste of money! Return window was closed by the time it stopped working. Stay away from this item.

Gaz çabuk bitiyor. Gerisi mükemmel.