From a smoker to non-smokers - disposable lighter tips

[HunterNurturer]

A lot of us will have disposable lighters in BOBs, caches etc. but those of you who don't smoke may not have used them enough to know them well. So here's a couple of tips:

One of the most common issues with a well used disposable lighter is that either the flint will gradually give less and less spark, making it harder to ignite the gas, or a combination of the weakening spark and increasing lack of sensitivity in the gas lever will make the spark "out of sync". In other words, the spark will die before any gas has started coming out.
Stupidly simple fix: hold the gas lever down with index finger of left hand, then spark the wheel with index finger of your right hand.
I thought this would be common sense, but you'd be amazed at how many smokers I've seen who don't realize to do this, and end up having to throw away half-full lighters.

Leading on from the point mentioned about the gas lever becoming desensitized, we can also do the old schoolboy trick of increasing the amount of gas being pushed out (note - you need the disposable lighters with adjustable flames to do this).
Simply bend away the windproof casing and take it off, so the lighter looks like this:

Notice the adjustable flame lever that turns the white/translucent plastic cog, this is what we're manipulating.
Turn the cog until it's at the max the lighter will allow (when the lever hits the edge). Then lift the lever up and over the cog, so you can now move the lever independantly of the cog.

Without letting the cog turn back (which would reduce the flame again), wiggle the lever back over to the left, and push it back down onto the cog. Now you can turn it all the way to the right again. Effectively all we've done is turn the cog twice as far round as the lighter would normally allow, allowing more gas through the valve.

Obviously this makes a huge flame when done normally, but that isn't the objective here. This is a trick that can be used:
a) when the gas level desensitizes and isn't pushing enough gas through to make a flame (even when there's enough gas in the lighter)
b) when the gas is running out. This trick can help you light a flame at the very end of the lighter's life when there's zero liquid visible, and the lighter wouldn't normally light. Note - you need to play around to get the level just right for this, too much or too little and it won't light. In my experience you need to turn it up just a little more than the lighter will normally allow, so around 140% of it's normal capacity.

Last but not least another common sense one - as the lighter starts running out, make sure the liquid is on the same side as the tube the sucks it up. Disposable lighters are usually divided down the middle, and by tipping it one way or another you can put more liquid into one side than the other. As the liquid runs out, if you just pull it out and try to light it, the liquid may be in the opposite side, with the suction tube thing not dipped in the liquid, and it'll be harder to get the flame. Just tip it so the suction tube is dipped in the liquid or so the liquid is directly under the tube (if it's nearly empty) to improve your chances of getting a flame.

I took some pics of the stages but my phone is downloading pics from my computer instead of the other way around... damn technology.
Anyway, hope this is helpful for somebody to get the most out of their disposable lighters when they may need it most.

[bigpaul]

or just buy a lot of them-their cheap enough!

[Skean Dhude]

BP,

They are now but what about when they are not.

Knowledge is always useful.

[bigpaul]

(21 July 2012, 18:07)Skean Dhude Wrote: BP,

They are now but what about when they are not.

Knowledge is always useful.

when they are not i will be selling them to you!!

[Hrusai]

good tips dude, stuff any smoker or non smoker should know (being a smoker i know them )

another thing i'd add is buy bic lighters! they are fabulous, they last a very long time, ive been using 3 for nearly 4 months, thats smoking roughly 10 a day, and also pissing around with them, burning random stuff, sealing paracord ends and all sorts of other things! the other thing about bic lighters is that the flame stays large all the way to the end of their life, and they also have really really good sparks on them, ive never worn out a flint on those things! i still use the spark after the lighters gone to light fires in a similar fashion to a firesteel ....so if you got lighters in your bob, dont throw them away until the sparks gones as well as the fluid

oh and another thing, you can take the safety catch off them really easily, just whack a knife under push the knife up so it bends the prongs out the way, and grab the metal safety and pull straight up, it comes right out, making it both easier to spark and improving gas and air flow giving a better flame ...just make sure you push the metal prongs back down so you dont cut yourself when you spark it xD...or leave them up if you wanna be a bastard to your mate lol

also always buy the sparky type, its alot more useful than the electric ones

[bigpaul]

you can buy disposable lighters on Amazon-50 for £4.87 with free postage, thats less than 10p each..get a stock in...life's too short

[HunterNurturer]

(22 July 2012, 10:03)bigpaul Wrote: you can buy disposable lighters on Amazon-50 for £4.87 with free postage, thats less than 10p each..get a stock in...life's too short

Point taken, but these tips aren't meant to be instead of adequate stockpiles, they're a way to help your stocks last longer if TSHTF in a major way and a lighter will be worth it's weight in gold.
Lighters can break, or get wet, or get lost or stolen.
I guess it just ties into my mindset that having the tool isn't enough, you need to know how and why that tool works, so if you ever need to you can fix it or improvise.

[Hrusai]

its a good mindset too! im trying to learn as much as i can about traditional crafts, like preparing those deer pelts, or making bows and arrows, or making cordage, glue, soap, toothpaste, its all important, and supplies are finite, but with the knowledge to replenish our supplies we'll be alot better off! not to mention being able to make soap and glue and stuff would mean you'd be able to get alot of stuff by trading! those things would be like gold

[bigpaul]

Oh dont get me wrong guys, the original thread was excellent, i'm just saying that on the odd occasion when my disposable lighter wont work its not something i'm going to lose sleep over, i've got a stock of them and shall be adding to that stock, as long as you can get a spark off it you can light dry material even if no fuel, otherwise throw it away and get another one from my stores, i also stock spark strikers, waterproof matches and other fire starters so that i have an adequete supply come SHTF.

[Skean Dhude]

(21 July 2012, 18:12)bigpaul Wrote:

(21 July 2012, 18:07)Skean Dhude Wrote: BP,

They are now but what about when they are not.

Knowledge is always useful.

when they are not i will be selling them to you!!

I'm not so sure. I have lots myself as well as other forms of lighters.