flamingdog

I was searching high and low for my keys this morning after a heavy night of consumption, and happened across a zippo lighter under one of my sofa cushions. must have been left here by someone at a party or something...

thing is, i've never owned one before and it won't light, so i'm wondering how you fill them/change the wicks etc.

are there any websites that tell you?

(initial searches proved fruitless)

Thanks.

IC3

It may need a new flint..If you open it and pull the actual lighter out of the case you will see a screw on the bottom. Take that out and that's how you change the flints.

If it's out of fluid..On the bottom of the lighter you pull the soft stuff over to one side and squirt the fluid into it...Once it's full put it back inside the case and it should light.

As far as changing the wicks go...I have no clue, haven't had to do that to mine yet.

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ARTelevision

www.zippo.com is worth a visit.

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Fremen

Just don't overfill the lighter.

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Hanxter

give it a ten count when you fill it - that's sufficient...

to change the wick remove all the packing from the cartridge - you'll see the wick - it has a thin wire in it to feed it thru the hole - chances sre your wick is fine but to trim it use tweezers to pull it up from the fire chamber and snip it with scissors...

look on the bottom of the case - you'll notice some markings - either straight lines like |||| or slanted lines like //// - the number of lines determines the year it was made up to1986 - after 1986 they used Roman numerals along with a letter A thru L - letters indicates the month, i.e. A = January, B = Febuary etc. - let me know what markings are on it and I'll tell you what year...

ZIPPO's are guaranteed for life and can be returned to ZIPPO, 33 Barbour St., Bradford, PA 06701 for repairs or replacement

flamingdog

unfortunately, i've since discovered who owns it and returned it to them. thanks for your help though!

davidc209

Semi off topic question. All this talk about changing fluid, wicks, flint, etc on Zippo lighters... Why not pick up a Bic Lighter and toss it when it runs out of fluid? Replacement will cost you a quarter at most.

flamingdog

because there's something cool about a zippo. the weight, the finish, the sound it makes when you flip it and click it shut, and the action when you light it. plus it's a once-in-a-lifetime purchase. if you enjoy smoking, why shouldn't you enjoy lighting your smoke?

Thraeryn

Zippos are cool. I think Colibri lighters are cooler. You can burn a man's nose off with one of those things.

ARTelevision

for a real fun time, go to ebay and search for Zippo.
You'll be amazed at the variety and the deals!

some of us collect these lighters...

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bermuDa

when you try to light it is there a spark?

if yes then it's probably just out of fluid.

if no then go to a pipe shop and get a new flint. Last time I went they gave it to me free and even changed it for me

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hawkeye

From what my friends who smoke tell me, cigs lit with a zippo taste better too. (anyone want to confirm//deny this for me?)

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battlemouth

there is a certain persona associated with a zippo, owning one is an enjoyable experience, how many tricks can you do with a bic lighter? also the sound they make is therapeutic hehe

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bermuDa

i can open a beer bottle with a bic... that's about it.

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jhericurl21

it gives me something to twiddle in my hands while waiting, just opening it and closin it is satisfyin

monty121052

Zippo garantees thier lighters for life' If you have a problem with it send it to them and they repair them free of charge

Hanxter

i think i said that...

drawerfixer

Because there are more important concerns besides monetary cost.

This rock we're on, for one.

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majik_6

Zippos are ultra cool, no denying that.

But I have to agree with what's been said: for taste, especially with cigars, a butane lighter such as Colibri, Prometheus, or Pac-Golf is preferable.

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flamingdog

My ex-girlfriend reacted to my saying I was thinking about getting a zippo with these words: 'God, that's such a cliche'.

Note the 'ex'.

Comments?

Midlandmadman

I don't smoke and never owned a lighter. So, some of you may ask yourselves " Why is this dumbass posting here then???" Good damn question.......... I have some friends with Zippos and they are pretty slick......... oh, and I felt sad that not one person ever stuck up for the pack of matches....


You people with your fancy lighters and flints and fluids.... Talking about how great they are. Well, i for one will always appreciate the sad little pack of matches. They have the pop fissssssssss sound when you start them up..... and the great smell when you blow them out. I think we all should revert back to matches!!!
MATCHES!!!!!!
MATCHES!!!!!!!!
MATCHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!



OK, I am done....

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Bill O'Rights

I use a Zippo. I wouldn't use anything else. Does it make my smokes taste any better? No. Does it make me look cooler? I'd guess not. The reason I use a Zippo is because it is a quality, well crafted, once in a lifetime purchase. My Zippo is literally a part of me. I can identify every scuff, scrape, dent, nick and ding in the case. It is an extension of who I am, and where I have been.

I'm quite certain that a great number of the younger of you, that use disposable lighters, and the non-smokers amoung you, wonder how I can wax so sentimental over a cigarette lighter. The only answer I have to that is you just have to own and use one every day to fully understand and appreciate what I'm saying. You don't simply "have" a Zippo...you "own" a Zippo.

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IC3

Zippo's are pretty much all I use, I have bought my stepfather a few different anniversary zippo's and things like that...Very nice ones. He doesn't use those ones, They come in neat little cases for displaying them.

I feel like I have a one of a kind zippo (I know I don't) I have never seen one like it. The colour of the case is like a metalic chromy metal silver...The finish of the case is amazing. Everybody that ever used my zippo has complimented on how nice it is.

I have actually went to a a number of different places that sell zippo's to see if they had one like mine...But I can't seem to find one like it or anything similar.

Sometimes I wanna just stop using it and put it on display, I am always worried about losing it.

tinfoil

I have one of my father's zippos, but his neighbour stole the one he tried to give me a week before he died, the bitch.

I have a couple old war-era lighters as well that are really cool.

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Liquor Dealer

And if all else proves fruitless send it back to Zippo - It's guaranteed for life - They'll replace everything but the case and send it back to you.

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flamingdog

All this talk of zippos made me kick out the jams and buy one.

Here's what i went for:

my new zippo

nice ain't it.

Moonduck

Dig that Blue Note Zippo!

flamingdog

okay i got it, and it's short a flint and some fuel. now i can see how to change the flint.

but i can't push the packing material over to one side like you said above. it's too dense. there is however, a little hole in its bottom surface. am i supposed to use that to fill it? is it just a case of soaking the material with fluid?

splck

A Zippo is like a Harley and a Bic is like a Honda. If you don't see a difference between a Harley and a Honda you'll probably never see the difference between a Bic and a Zippo.
I don't smoke cigs, but I still own a Zippo. Now all I need is a Harley.

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gonadman

I received a promotional item from zippo recently. Looks just like a lighter, but you flip it open and its a little flashlight!

cool

But it'll never replace the engraved zippo I lost two decades ago on the ski slopes of the Pocono mtns...I still think about that lighter...

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toxic515

Funny. I collect zippos, but only carry the first cheap-ass brushed stainless that I've had since high school... It's made one trip back to Bradford PA, as I managed to knock the lid off while hammering in some shit or prying something with it. I have several Zippo knives and some other promotional items from them, and damned if they don't all just keep on working. The zippo is a conscious choice to have a peice of engineering that lasts in my pocket rather than something I'll throw away. My zippo is immediately identifiable as MINE, because like most of us that own them, we use them, and for much more than sparking up a cigarrette, pipe, bong, cigar, whatever! Buy a zippo, you'll know the difference. It's the difference between that old leather biker jacket that just won't give up, and the nylon windbreaker you bought because you wanted to advertise someone else's logo.... :-) Rock on!

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Journeyman

http://www.extraextra.de/harr/updown...ction=download

The videos here are nice, only thing I can find since zippotricks.com went under.

Sion

another reason for owning a Zippo, aside from all the excellent ones already mentioned, is it's ability to light in a windy environment. ever tried to light a bic in even a mild breeze? damned near impossible. But a Zippo, with a good flint and plenty of fluid, will light under almost ANY circumstances. At most, you might need to cup your hand around it a bit, but other than that...

plus, they stay lit without having to hold a butane button down. that has come in handy to me on many occasions. in a pinch, they can be used as a candle to find the flashlight when the power goes out. I've used them to read by when spelunking. Try that with a bic and you'll burn the tip of your thumb before you finish 3 sentences.


another: like most people, I tended to lose bic lighters ALL the time. I didnt care about them much, because they cost almost nothing. However, a Zippo will set you back anywhere from about $15 to $45 (depending on the case) so you tend to KEEP TRACK of it. I have three Zippos, and I can tell you exactly where each one is right now.

finally, as to cost, in the long run, a Zippo is actually cheaper than bics, IF you have it long enough.

in short, Zippos RULE!

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Snakebyt

i used to collect them, i had about 75 of them that had vever had fluid in them, i would just buy them and put them on my shelf, but the Ex wife took off with every damn one of them

philthy

Thank you Sion, the only person to mention the wind factor... I love going out side to smoke at work, and being the only one who can light my smoke the 1st time out.

My zippo is one item among many that I rarely leave home without... another is my leatherman wave. not much I can't do with my leatherman and my zippo.

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Cycler

I don't smoke and I never have won't say I never will because who knows right. But, I do own a Zippo. Like others have saidf there is just something about the weight, finish, sound, of when you light a Zippo that you can't get with anything else. I'm going to pick up another one here pretty soon. I've got a chrome one and I think I am going to go matte black or some sort of design with the new one.

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dog1

I had a zippo for several years that had an imperial german eagle engraved on the side. Damn I miss that thing ....

clavus

Some very cool zippos are sold at:
http://www.flamerite.com

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Drider_it

ok my one and only trick with a zippo.. place it on your right hand.. bottom resting on your thumb and your index and middle finger resting on tom.. have it so that it will open to your right.. now the trick is to sorta snap your fingers.. if you do it right.. the top will open the light will do a 180 and youll catch it with the three fingers you started with.. then after that ..snap your left middle finger and thumb.. i.e. snap your fingers and make a downward pass on the zippo "wheel" if you do this right it will light.. cool to do when your bored at parties..

i usually say after doing that and exhaling my now lit smoke.. "is that gasoline i smell?" a.k.a. crow the movie

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