If your lighter has issues even after a refill...

[StogieNinja]

I hope you find this as useful as I did.

Butane refill cans have compressed air as a propellant, which is necessary to push the gas into a lighter during a refill.

If you shake the butane can before refilling your lighter, you can get too much air into the lighter. This creates the wrong ratio of air and butane, which is why when you go to use the lighter after refilling, you may hear "whoosh" but get no flame.

As you use your lighter and refill it, over time, it can also be left with just air inside, which is why the manufacturers always recommend that you bleed it first before filling. I usually ignore this, and find my lighters work fine. But, over time that extra air adds up, so eventually when you add the butane, you end up with the wrong mix, and again, "whoosh" but no flame.

So follow these steps to get a good refill and a working lighter:
1. Bleed lighter to release any excess air
2. Refrigerate your lighter for a few minutes, to create a vacuum
3. Refill the lighter without shaking the refill can first.

Know you know. And knowing is half the battle!

 

[Griz]

Good info Ninja, I was told to purge the lighter every time it was filled, I stopped doing that a while back and get good results also.... Good post.

 

[3/5King]

Nice info Ninja.

I leave the can upside down. This way, I pick it up, pull off the cap and press it down.

 

[wanderer]

mind blowing life hack. i can count, yet it is still an embarrassing number, the amount of times that my "awesome sick lighter" turns into a small wind turbine with no heat....

 

[Cigary43]

What Stogies said....just because your lighter functions by not prepping it right at some point you're going to experience failure. Purging your lighters is necessary and that means you purge completely...and when you do it once wait a few seconds and purge again until you don't hear any hissing sound.

 

[ZaneG]

Great advice. I tend to purge after 3 or 4 refills.