Fixing that jet lighter you love

So I was fixing my jet lighter (by now a fairly archaic design but a very good one and it only cost me £1 at a car boot sale) It's a limited edition one of 10,000. I may also write an intructable on how to reapair antique lighters, my dad use to buy hundreds on ebay and fix them and at times could make £300 for a rare one (the best one we had was worth about £3000)

So In this I'll cover diagnosis, repair and also dismantling and assembly (most lighters designs' are a common principle... )
Ok so i got a slightly better camera than my phone, it's an ancient canon powershot A60, only 2MP but check out the macro in the pics, it was top of the range once upon a time and it shows.

Step 1: So what you'll need for this

Tools
- a small philips head screwdriver (the tiny ones) it almost alway philips head.
-a penknife or a small flathead screwdriver (for adjustments)
-a pair of pliers, needle nose are great her but I can do it with my fake leatherman start to finish (make damn sure the pliers aren't magnetized it's annoying)
-a safety pin or some thin tough wire or a drawing pin (you'll see what I mean if it comes up)

Materials
-some sturdy wire about 24awg (anything that fits will do (again you'll understand pretty quick) is handy
-lighter gas, really helps diagnosis, in fact try the first...
-You may need rubber tubing or a piezo spark depending how you broke it (if you dropped I already know whats wrong. the lighter in this is my drinking lighter because it's made of metal and I know how to fix it, also makes a great weapon and no i don't mean burning people)

Comments

[mwirick]

Hey i know this is old and no one may check it. HOWEVER =]

My fuel line in my torch lighter have fracture in it. I have literally searched the interwebs for hours ttrying to find out what kind of hosing it is or where i could get it with ZERO success. If any one has any insight ...i would love you forever (not really) Thanks =]

[killerjackalope]

Get a really cheap bbq lighter, the tubing is the same stuff, just cut to length...

[gilesrobert]

Thanks, that sounds like a good plan as I imagine a new one from Dupont would cost an arm and a leg!, I shall have a go. Incidentally, a few months ago while looking for something in a drawer at my parents house, I found a Ronson Viking piezo lighter belonging to my dad ,who after giving up smoking in 1980, left it there in the drawer, I gave it a quick click, as one would and to my surprise it produced a flame!. He said I could have it and I've been using it ever since, after a few fills it did develop the same problem as described by Johnius (not really surprising after 30+ years in a drawer) so I managed to find a new valve so now it's good as new. The piezo unit seems to be of military quality, they certainly made things to last in those days!

[killerjackalope]

They did indeed...

Well apart from the odd issue of making it fit I've had much less trouble with cheap lighter ones than I have with fancier ones.

[gilesrobert]

Hi , I've got a number of old and new lighters ,this one (sorry about the bad pic) is a Dupont, I was given it new and, after having used it for a couple of months, the piezo stopped clicking, giving it a little tap on the table makes it work once, a couple of years ago my friend took it back to where they bought it and after a couple of months was given a new one the same. Needless to say, the same thing happened to the new one, it must be IMHO a badly designed piezo unit but it's a shame as it is a really nice little lighter. I have opened it up, not completely, but the piezo unit doesn't look a if it will come apart easily, any ideas?
Thanks for now

[killerjackalope]

Really the best things for piezo problems is a replacement - if the unit looks the same as the ones you pull from disposable lighters then try fitting it, certain disposables have longer wires which make them handier for using in other lighters. Usually these last ages.

If not then reshaping a cheapy one might still be the best option - since they're usually so similar it's rare that replacing the whole thing isn't the best option.

[JavierC25]

hi. i just bought a romson jetline that look a lot like the one you have in the photos. and it sparks. the gas comes out trough the nozzle it lights. but dosent stay light. can u help me?

[ahughes19]

hey, i know what im doing with lighters, i have fixed many (but almost certainly not as good as you as i just do it when my lighters occasionally brake) but i have this lighter that i love, i bought it in Turkey off a stall over a year back, now i have fixed it many times, i even had to pull the inside of a spark thingy (the crystal mechanism that produces the arc XD) out of a new lighter to put in the old one as this lighter has a very small area for it. it all works, however the plate thing at the stop that stops the little metal thing from falling out is melting away, is there any way to replace this?

[johnius]

Hello, I hope you still check this one. But I just procured a Ronson Viking 52503 lighter and the filler port leaks all of the butane in a matter of seconds. Is it possible to fix the filler port? Thanks.

[killerjackalope]

Sorry on the slow reply, I must have missed this altogether.

Ebay search for the valves and O rings, various sealants will work, usually mentioned in the article, alternatively unscrew the whole valve piece and find an O ring at the hardware store.

[johnius]

I checked eBay and bought a compatible valve a few months ago. Replaced the whole thing and it works great.

[killerjackalope]

Glad to hear... Nice one.

[Smithers8]

I have taken my Colibri Firebird apart many times, and i get the hissing, and a click, i can see the spark, but no matter what the gas is at it wont light itself. I can light it with another lighter, but the flame is still not that of a jet lighter. Is there anything i can do to make it work? Could I pay you to fix it?

[killerjackalope]

It sounds like the nozzle is the issue there, I imagine they can be fixed as I've mentioned before but I've only found replacing them to be successful - as I remember colibris are similar to the lighter pictured, the nozzle sits in a sort of bowl with an element above.

The removal of the nozzle is a little trickier, but it does unscrew from the ceramic surround.

The nozzles are different in design to the kind that have a simple jet, they actually spray outward from a tiny top piece in to the bowl rather than straight up, however a lighter with well matched parts can be found no doubt.

I've not come across a place to buy parts but try ebay for colibri, they're a bit better known.

[jiribu]

Hello, I recently tried to fix my twin jet lighter and now it only lights as normal yellow flame (not jet) all over the nozzles. Anybody knows what the problem is? If it is the fact that it is not mixing the gas and air properly, any ideas on adjustment? I also took the nozzles apart to make sure they are not blocked and foolishly didn't take a note of the inner parts and now I have no idea in what order the things should be in and whether I actually still have them all. Can anyone please explain to me how they should be assembled? Thanking you very much in advance. Perhaps the author could include instructions on the nozzle assembly please. Also anybody knows where I can buy spare nozzles?
Tears are coming out at the moment as I can't fix my favourite lighter.

[killerjackalope]

I've never had much luck getting the nozzles to mix properly again after that, there's a tiny piece of mesh that needs to be just right...

Grab a cheap one and nick the nozzles, there tends to be little variation, so just look for the same design in the top of the nozzle and chances are you'll hit it first time, you could dredge up a broken one as well...

[jiribu]

Thanks for the reply.
I have a piece of mesh, copper ring and a tiny piece of metal plate from inside the nozzle. Any idea what order they should be in or whether I am missing some parts?
Also could it be that the fault is somewhere else like air in the tank or something like what I read in this post?
Cheers
Jiri

[mclemm]

What do you do if the lighter won't "click" to if night the fluid? The lighter was fairly expensive and it stays lite fine (with another ignition sorce) also, it refills perfect. The only thing is it will not "click" when the button is depressed. Can this be fixed? I thank you tons.. Mjclemm

[killerjackalope]

You best bet is to replace the piezo bit, the plastic 'clicker' most are the same, so a cheap lighter to steal one from should be all you need...

[jmcneir]

I have tried countless times to get my butane lighter to click i have taken it completely apart going insane i got great gas flow everything else is fine it just wont click to spark

[killerjackalope]

It sounds like the piezo is broken, you can swap one in from another lighter very easily, since almost all of them are the exact same shape

[AustralLord]

I am having the hardest time taking out the main pin that holds it all together, and tips on how to loosen it up?

[AustralLord]

I figured it out, I got a tack, like the kind with a little handle, and then I put the lighter on a vice and hammered out the pin. After I got the last mm out with pliers, I filed one of the edges (the one that's less headlike) round and filed the sides until they were shiny. Now it comes out regular with a paperclip!

[coolit092]

Hey when I try to light my lighter I hear the hissing sound that the fuel is coming out, and I see the spark however no flame comes out. When I light the tip with another lighter it comes out as a regular flame (bic or so) and you said to clean out the "holes" what do you mean by that? Any help would be appreciated I have a Ronson jet lighter, and I fill it with Ronson multiill ultra butane fuel If it's too long to explain please send it to [e-mail]

[thedopeBRIGADE]

ok i had the same problem what you wanna do is try takin all the fuel out of either the front nozzle (where the flame is reproduced) or the back nozzle(which ever one takes out the most fuel) because the problem might be that you have air mixed in with your butane, then try refilling it and shake it up a bit and try it, (watch out though cause a big cloud of flame might occur) i singed my eyebrow's and stache for not watching out. but try that and see if it works :)

[coolit092]

can anyone help

[techno guy]

Is it possible to make a nozzle for this like described in your jet engine instructable?

[Mark B94]

Right i have a jet lighter and i can hear the gas coming out and I can see the spark jumping in the right place however it still wont light, however if I hold the gas release button and use another lighter to light it then a flame is produced but it is not the normal jet flame, do you know waht is wrong?

[killerjackalope]

Could be the nozzle's messed up however they never light properly from another lighter, is it a blue flame that's just a bit messed up or is it yellow?

[Mark B94]

mostly blue with a small yellow tip, its not a jet flame though its sort of a dome shape

[Mark B94]

becuase it looks like a cross between a jet lighter and a standard lighter I checked to make sure the gas nozel wasnt blocked but that was still clean so it wasnt that , any more ideas? Thanks

[da.gadget]

i have a few jet lighters that simply won't stay lit. sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. i have cleaned, adjusted, etc.
any ideas?

[ALEXPYRO]

hey i had a jet lighter that worked great, but after a while the jet started to burn like one of those cheap little bic lighhters without the jet and was wondering if anyone has expireinced this or knows how to fix it, great instructable by the way

[killerjackalope]

The nozzle's no longer mixing the air and gas before it comes out, check for dust or blockages in the two holes on the side of the nozzle assembly, check it's screwed together right. Often when it happens you'll have to swap the nozzle...

[Eric072691]

 Hey! Thanks for this tutorial, its helped me alot in trying to fix my old Prince pocket torch.. but the problem is, it still doesn't light.

I think its the piezoelectric spark, I can see that it jumps from the sparker directly to the lighter body, but I have no idea how to fix that.

[killerjackalope]

If you try moving the spark wire closer to the nozzle and away from the lighter body it may help. Oddly I'm currently using a lighter missing its body and it commonly shocks people that stick their finger against the piezo wire...

[Eric072691]

Well I opened it up again and looked at the piezo wire with a magnifying glass. Its scraped up and I can see the wire.

So I think that needs to be replaced, but I don't know how to do that or where to get a new piezo sparker.

Any ideas?

-Thanks again, the shocking part made me look at the wire more throughly.

[killerjackalope]

Any cheapy electric disposable other than a Bic will have a replacement piezo, the bic electrics have no wire so they're no good as a replacement...

If the spark still fires you might still be able to revive it though...

[Eric072691]

 I went and picked up two Ronson Jetlites, one of them I actually like and it might be my carry lighter.

The other one, I intend to strip down and replace the pocket torch's piezo with the ronson one. Hopefully things work and my favorite lighter will can used once again.

[killerjackalope]

Good stuff, let me know how it goes and if you run in to any problems do ask...