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how does a jet lighter work?


hey im wanting to try and make my own jet lighter but i dont know how the main turbine part works. if someone coud post a few pitures like the shape of the blades the layout of them and how the gas and air mixes that would be a big help thanks    (^_^)

11 answers
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Jul 15, 2010. 8:27 PMfrollard says:
The 'magic' of a jet lighter is a sneaky part called a venturi. (wikipedia it) -- it involves high speed fluid flowing into a tube of similar fluid -- causing the tube of fluid to also flow.

Combustion being a chemical reaction requires an exact amount of fuel and oxygen to be fully complete. (wikipedia: Stoichiometry) Regular lighters just emit the gas into the atmosphere and the flame burns the butane as soon as the fuel comes close enough to some air (containing oxygen) allowing it to burn.  Just fuel or just oxygen wont burn -- hence why the flame never goes into a lighter and explodes it...

The part about the jet lighter that makes it so much more efficient (and hotter) is the venturi pre-mixes the gasses in the ideal (read: Stoicheometric) balance BEFORE combusion, and the higher speed of the gasses forces them through nozzles designed not to let the flame burn backwards toward the gas source. 
Sep 16, 2010. 1:38 AMthe_mad_man says:
From my understanding, jet lighters are basically like mini Bunsen burners. The butane fuel goes through a special nozzle with air intakes in it. The fuel is forced through this nozzle which acts as a carburettor mixing the fuel and air at the right rate, so it burns at maximum efficiency.

There are two kinds of jet lighters that I know of. The first has a little piece of wire with a glob of metal (probably platinum like lemonie said) which has two effects:
one: It changes the colour of the flame to either red or green (that I've seen)
two: it makes the flame extremely wind resistant by heating up and acting kind of like a glow plug.

The second kind is (personally) my favorite. It has a slightly different shaped nozzle and no metal glob in it. It has a flame very similar to an oxy-torch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxy-fuel_welding_and_cutting which means it is fair bit hotter than the first kind. The downside to this kind of lighter is, because of the lack of the metal glob, it is not as wind resistant as the first kind.

I can upload some pictures of the first kind of nozzle, but not right now because I can't find my camera.
Jul 15, 2010. 7:35 AMRe-design says:
THere is no turbine or blades. It's just a pressurized canister of butane and shoots the "jet" of fuel out to ignite.
Jul 22, 2010. 11:17 AMmattbomb says:
and theres also fins in the lighter something like a jet but no moving parts to make the fuel to that special pattern of the flame
Nov 23, 2011. 9:20 AMtylervitale says:
It tends to vary from lighter to lighter. In my experience, higher end lighters do have the "fins" you're talking about to create a sort of fire vortex out of the nozzle. This is the case with my blowtorch.
Jul 15, 2010. 1:32 PMlemonie says:

Are these the ones with a platinum (or other rare-metal) catalytic device?
You'd need precious-metal wire.

L

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