Keeping Your Lighter Clean
A refillable lighter represents an investment. These devices can offer many years of reliable service but, like any product designed to last, they must be maintained and, of course, cleaned from time to time. This process is quite easy and, depending on what type of lighter one has opted to buy, it usually takes no more than a few minutes.
Liquid fuel lighters require more maintenance and cleaning that other types of refillables. While liquid fuel is reliable, will ignite in very high winds and is very inexpensive, even for the highest-end fuels, it does not burn as efficiently as butane. Therefore, it tends to leave behind traces of carbon and other impurities left behind when the lighter is lit. Cleaning this, conveniently enough, is best done with lighter fluid which is an excellent solvent. Lighter fluid may be added to the tip of a cotton swap and used to remove the black patches that tend to develop around the windscreen. Also pass the swab near the areas where the flint wheel and flint are set to ensure that these function correctly.
A lighter, whether it be butane or liquid-fueled, is an enormously simple device. There is a fuel reservoir, an ignition mechanism and either a wick or a fuel jet. All of these elements have to be kept clean if the lighter is expected to function properly. The reservoir on a butane lighter requires no cleaning at all. It is a sealed environment designed to hold pressurized gas. A liquid-fueled lighter's reservoir is usually simple cotton balls help in place by a piece of felt. When these become dirty, they can simply be taken out and replaced.
The flame jets are generally recessed a bit into the lighter. To clean them if they become obstructed, it's preferable to first attempt to tap out the obstruction by rapping the inverted lighter very softly on a hard surface. Make certain not to do this so hard that the finish becomes damaged. Chrome finishes and plastic finishes are very durable but tapping them too hard can result in dents and nicks. If the obstruction is still present after doing this, one may attempt to remove it"very carefully"with a bit of wire or a wooden toothpick. If something becomes deeply-lodged in the jet, it may be possible to blow it out by opening the fuel valve a bit without actually tripping the igniter device.
On an electric lighter, the obstruction can usually be removed by tapping or by pulling the obstruction out with a pair of tweezers or a straightened-out paperclip or other pick type device.
Brian is a business consultant of an online specialty lighters store and has expert knowledge of cigar accessories, including Colibri lighters.
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