r/Zippo • u/Secret-Month655 • 22h ago
Show and Tell Trying to recover my Zippo after filling it with gasoline.
So I went out for a ride on my bike and stopped for a smoke, but my zippo was empty.
Instead of just accepting defeat, I decided it was a great idea to pull a fuel line off the bike and use that fuel to fill up my zippo.
Seemed like a genius idea at the time.
Now the lighter smells like it was baptized in gasoline, you can probably smell me coming from a mile away, and when I light it, it produces a smoke screen.
So now Im trying to get the smell out with alcohol, sunlight, and baking soda.
Terrible idea, would probably do it again
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u/MoTeD_UrAss 20h ago
My brother once ran out of Zippo fluid and filled it with lighter fluid for the charcoal briquettes. 😄😄😄😄🥳 Yeah he won't do that again.
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u/lucioux 19h ago
i was pretty much forced to use it when mine ran out at a cabin rental, it was all that was thereðŸ˜ðŸ˜works in a pinch, just burns really dirty, and makes your cigarettes taste bad for the first few drags.
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u/koolaidismything 12h ago
Buy one of those $10 electric ones on amazon that does type-c charging. They are a life saver to have in a cabin or camper. Anywhere really. Guaranteed to work for most part even in wind.
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u/MistaRekt 18h ago
Would that just be shellite (naphtha in some parts)?
I did not mind that as a backup. Heaps cheaper.
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u/JksonBlkson 17h ago
When I was deployed it was all I could get my hands on. Worked fine, if not better, I noticed I didn’t have to refill it nearly as much (used it daily for up to 4 weeks without refills). You tasted it for the first drag, though.
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u/PimentoCheesehead 19h ago
Try filling it with kerosene. The odor from that should completely overpower the gasoline smell.Â
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u/Then-Peanut-3039 Proud Zippo Nerd 22h ago
Wash the metal parts in soapy water, the spray out with denatured alcohol. Replace the flint, cotton, and wick with new ones.
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u/jimkounter 20h ago
A friend of mine made a similar mistake but instead of using gasoline, used aftershave instead! His cigarettes tasted diabolical!
Strip to bare metal, removing the wick and packing materials. Then rinse in alcohol or naptha is your best bet. Naptha is the main ingredient in Zippo lighter fluid and it will dissolve the remaining gasoline.
You'll need to rinse it a few times I think. Then just air it out for an hour is so before threading a new wick and repacking the fiiller.
Job's a good'un.
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u/Possible-Tangelo9344 20h ago
I think I'd probably evaluate my decisions and addiction level if I thought about pulling a fuel line to light a smoke...
But at the same time, I think it would be pretty cool to do.
God that makes decisions so hard.
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u/Secret-Month655 20h ago
First, I tried getting a fire going with my fire steel and some dry grass, but yeah… that didn’t really work out. So I had to switch it up and try a different survival strategy.
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u/MistaRekt 18h ago
I disagree with above. Putting weird shit in a zippo is a right of passage to me.
Part of owning a FUEL lighter is putting FUEL in it. Do some work better than others? Definitely.
Is there a wrong FUEL? Nah! Send it. 🫪😆
When I put petrol (GAS for the Yankees) in my zippo I did not 'clean' it out... Just kept topping it up with regular juice.
Now I could share what I learned about different fuels but that would spoil half the fun mate 😆
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u/couldbeahumanbean 17h ago
By all means, share.
I don't smoke, but I'm very curious about which fuels do what in zippos... It's a survivalist curiosity.
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u/Ronnoc527 17h ago
Axe changes the color of the flame. I'll let you google it or find out yourself.
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u/Beaver_Liquors48 18h ago
Zippo makes a butane insert now. No more having to refill every time your zippo dries out.
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u/Chirishman 6h ago
I’ve found the butane insert kind of drinks butane. It’s much better for intermittent use because it doesn’t dry out but if you’re actively using it you get a hell of a lot less burn time from it. I went back to using the torch insert for several situations.
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u/Beaver_Liquors48 5h ago
I think the one in my zippo must be a non-zippo brand butane insert then because I hadn’t touched mine in years and went back to it to see if it was still functional and it lit right up. I think the brand was called Thunderbird or something. Uses a flint wheel too still.
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u/HollowStool 8h ago
Lol this is why I always make sure I double up with a butane bic just so if I have to I can abandon being a cool guy to get my doink lit lol.
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u/AlSmitheesGhost 9h ago
These things are too cheap for me to wanna do anything but throw that away and start over
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u/Superb_Judge4773 3h ago
Hey no way I did something similar last week. Just topped off the bike, my zippo and the bic were out. I really wanted that cigarette... genius idea, dip that cotton in the gasoline. She was full up so I could reach itt easy.
Worked like a charm. Lit really well it was great. Didn't even have to wait for it to wick.
10/10 would do again in that scenario. Fantastic.
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u/fullraph 18h ago
Just get new cottons and wicks. Wash the metal parts with dish soap and dry them off well.
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u/JohnMcD3482 17h ago
Take it apart. Wash with dishwasher detergent. Pack with new cotton, or whatever you like, refill with fluid and use.
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u/Sasquatch_000 20h ago
Do you have your hand still?
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u/Secret-Month655 20h ago
It runs well on gasoline and burns properly, it’s just very smelly and smoky.
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u/Sasquatch_000 20h ago
I did not know that. I still probably won't try it though. But thank you for the information
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u/phantomzx3 20h ago
Remember kids, gasoline does not burn, it explodes
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u/Reaper_boninfante666 19h ago edited 19h ago
Tell us you nothing about gasoline without telling us you know nothing about gasoline…
Not even remotely enough pressure in a zippo to cause any form of explosion from using gasoline…
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u/MonstaMayhem black crackle/butane insert 22h ago
With the current price of gasoline, I would have settled for buying a match.