refilling Zippo?

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xing

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Sep 12, 2009
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Is it true that you can fill a zippo with virtually any flammable fluid, such as gasoline, paint thinner, or rubbing alcohol?
 
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I tried cheap kingsford bbq lighter fluid and it was aweful. It nearly ruined the thing, luckily it was my old one. Id imagine alcohols would work but carry a weak flame and dry out very fast.
 
gasoline will ruin it... my buddy did it and it destroyed the cotton inside and burnt the wick to a crisp
 
Funny story.... Many years ago, when I worked at Chrysler (about 1967), I was on the "sheet metal" line. We drilled holes in the just-welded-together bodies for tail light assemblies and such.
The bodies would come out of the welding shop with a lot of sealant on 'em, and the guys right across from our station cleaned off the excess sealer with rags which they dipped into 55 gallon drums of naptha. They wore big elbow-length rubber gloves...

These guys would frequently smoke on station, and they refilled their Zippos by just dunking the whole thing into the drum of naptha!
OSHA was apparently not overly concerned with goings-on at Chrysler at the time.....
 
go ahead, experiment...at the very least you'll ruin your lighter...at worse you'll torch your eyebrows off...
 
6.0stroker said:
AKA: White gas/ stove and lighter fluid, latern fuel, etc.:D:p
Click to expand...


Naptha is also the best for removing that sticky residue from your chest from the cardiac monitor leads...

or so I've been told. (that's my story and I am sticking to it);)
 
Because it was a PITA to get the fuel in Iraq, my brother would use GI diesel for his. Said the taste was a little off but it worked. I wouldn't suggets using something that burns as hot/fast as gasoline though and IME alcohol doesn't work very well...
 
And what you fill them with plus overfilling with anything is what leaves those somewhat painful red chemical burns on your thigh when the damned fuel soaks through your pants pocket. I smoked for 50 plus years and was damned glad when they came out with butane lighters only for that reason.
 
Another Zippo collector,I can always tell when people used gasoline in one,they're usually all rusty inside.:DI don't understand why people want to use something other than lighter fluid,I can see it if your stationed in Irag or something like that but an 8oz bottle of Ronson fluid is less than 2 bucks and lasts me over a year and I usually fill mine at least once a week.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Just to clarify things, I am just curious and am not stupid enough to put anything i shouldn't into my zippo. Wikipedia and various other sources mention alternative fuels and i was just wondering if it was true.
 
I used to fill mine with jet fuel, JP-4 and JP-8. Worked pretty good, just gave off black smoke.

Gibby
 
mwerner said:
Funny story.... Many years ago, when I worked at Chrysler (about 1967), I was on the "sheet metal" line. We drilled holes in the just-welded-together bodies for tail light assemblies and such.
The bodies would come out of the welding shop with a lot of sealant on 'em, and the guys right across from our station cleaned off the excess sealer with rags which they dipped into 55 gallon drums of naptha. They wore big elbow-length rubber gloves...

These guys would frequently smoke on station, and they refilled their Zippos by just dunking the whole thing into the drum of naptha!
OSHA was apparently not overly concerned with goings-on at Chrysler at the time.....
Click to expand...



6.0stroker said:
AKA: White gas/ stove and lighter fluid, latern fuel, etc.:D:p
Click to expand...

NOT true. You do NOT want to use white gas, Coleman fuel or gasolene for a Zippo.

While those fit into the broad definition of naphtha (this is the correct spelling BTW) what you want for lighter fluid is something reasonably close to barbecue lighter fluid. The solvent they used at Chrysler to remove that sealant is in there too. That would have been VM&P Naphtha, sometimes called "Stoddard Solvent." You can usually still buy VM&P Naphtha (Varnish Makers and Painters Naphtha) at a good paint store.
 
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