Colibri repair

[Zmilin]

Anyone on here do repairs? I emailed Colibri and they referred me to another private repair place. Before I did that I wanted to check and see if there were any brothers here that tinkered.

I have a Colibri Ultra thin bought back in 2002. It stopped working about a year after and as best as I can tell its not accepting fluid. I have taken it apart and can see that all moving parts are good. While the cover was off I tried to fill it and noticed that it never accepts fluid and has nothing in it to drain. It does still spark.

 

[herfdog]

Have you checked that the valve still moved? Maybe it is seized

 

[ZippoGeek]

Unless the lighter has sentimental value, it might be one of those things that's not worth it to repair (but hopefully not!). I personally never had any luck with my Colibris. Just my experience.

 

[mdwest]

sadly, the best repair IMO is to throw it in the trash.. and replace it with a xikar...

every colibri I have ever owned has failed.. usually within a short period of time.. their customer service sucks (again, IMO), and their warranty sucks (once again, IMO)..

I've had a few Xikars fail on me as well (although not with nearly the same failure rate as the colibris I have owned).. but.. their customer service is outstanding... and their warranty cant be beat.. (if their product fails.. they replace or repair it.. at no cost to you at all.. no questions asked...)...

 

[jfettlol]

i had a colibri windstar (very thin). it broke within a couple of months, took it apart, ended up having a cracked tank. repaired it, failed a few weeks later. just toss it in the trash.

 

[luckysaturn13]

I like their cutter due to the cost.They seem to work quite well for me. But I've never had any of there lighters

 

[mdwest]

I like their cutter due to the cost.They seem to work quite well for me. But I've never had any of there lighters

I have several of their cutters.. they are a great value for the cost.. I typically get branded ones off of cbid for less than $6.. or have them given to me for free as part of sampler purchases, etc..

I find they go dull in a fairly short period of time.. but for the price, theyre hard to beat.. and good for keeping in the glove box, desk drawer, etc..

No comparison the a Xikar, or a Palio.. but.. for the money, unlike their lighters, their cutters are worth it (IMO)..

 

[Zmilin]

Have you checked that the valve still moved? Maybe it is seized

As far as I can tell when the cover is removed everything moves as it should. Nothing is hard to move and all internal moving parts seem to be moving smoothly.

Unless the lighter has sentimental value, it might be one of those things that's not worth it to repair (but hopefully not!). I personally never had any luck with my Colibris. Just my experience.

It does have sentimental value. My now wife gave it to me and had it engraved for my 31st Bday. Not a milestone Bday but it was the first thing she ever gave me. Otherwise I agree... I don't buy their lighters anymore because each and every one has failed within months.

 

[CVAC085]

I'd hold onto it and put it away in safe keeping, seeing that it has sentimental value to you. Sadly, I've had nothing but issues with Colibri lighters. I got the hint after buying 2 of them that they just aren't holding up to their performance and just stopped working all together. I never pursued getting it fixed or even called their customer service. I think I still have one of them somewhere which was one of my very first butane cigar lighters.

I now use Jetline, Vertigo, Zippo and Xikar which are all part of my lighter collections. I've had no issues with Vertigo, Zippo or Xikar so far ::knock wood:: and my Jetline lighter had some issues or a defect of some sort, which apparently was common the past few months from the lighter line. I took it to my local B&M and they took care of it for me no questions asked. In turn, I got a replacement and things are good again.