[Observation/Review]Colibri Lighters

[air1070]

I have two Colibri Lighters. One is an "Elite Flint" and the other is the "Firebird"


Elite Flint - This is a standard flame butane lighter that looks similar to the classic ST Dupont with the side roller. It's a really nice looking lighter that accepts standard Zippo or Ronson flints. Cost is around $50.00 and comes with a Lifetime Warranty. The lighter has worked flawlessly. It's classy looking, and lights up every time without a hitch. The only drawback is that it isn't a torch, so it takes a little extra care and time to light a Cigar with it. I love this lighter.


Firebird - Torch Lighter with a very small Resevoir. Bought this one for around 14 bucks. It worked great at first, but turned into a Royal POS about a week later. It still works, but requires about 20 trys to get the torch going. And it GUZZLES gas to boot. Junk.

[n2advnture]

I recently wrote this as my contribution to the DogWatch Social Club podcast (www.dogwatchsocialclub.com), hope it helps bro.

90% of the problems that occur with lighters are because of the quality of the butane that is being used. (The most common symptom is sputtering)

The reason is that butane contains impurities that cause clogging in the ignitor of the lighter. These impurities can be filtered out during the refining process. That's why I have chosen to carry Vector & Prometheus butane (and eventually Lava).

The MINIMUM number of refinings you should use is "Triple Refined" but the VecTor is refined 4x and the Lava is 5x refined. These two are by far the cleanest and best fuels that you can use.

The other most common problem with lighters is having air trapped in the fuel chamber. Most lighters come with instructions on how to "purge" the lighter. That's what it's referring to.

These are simple things to do to tell if the lighter can be repaired or not. Here are just a few;

1. Bleed the lighter until it's total empty. Make sure the valve is pointing down. (Do not attempt this while the flame is lit). You have to shake the lighter as you bleed the valve. And may have to repeat many times before it's completely empty.

2. Refill with a MIN. of triple refined butane. This may take two or three shots to totally fill it. Wait several minutes for the butane to come up to room temperature. This is fairly important as cold butane will not ignite.

3. Turn your flame level to the (-) sign on your lighter prior to lighting. I have noticed that after refilling the adjustment is out of whack. So after every refill turn it down and gradually adjust it to the desired level. Many times this is why a lighter doesn't work properly after a refill as well. (Also, generally as your lighter gets low on butane you have to adjust the level higher)

4. Make sure you have a spark. If you have a soft flame (ie flint) the obvious solution would be to replace the flint. If you have a torch lighter, you should see the spark coming from a small wire inside the lighter. If there is not spark, there may be lint from your pocket. Use some compressed air in short spurts to clear it out (try to avoid blowing in it if possible, you usually get small amount of spit on the ignitor which will also prevent a spark).

5. If you are using a flint (soft flame) style lighter and still don't have a flame make sure your burners are clean. Sometimes they get built up with tar from cigars and burning gas residue. You can use a TINY amount of distilled water on a q-tip or a small wire brush to clean them. Be VERY gentle and make sure it's dry before trying to ignite.

If all else fails, use a match! Just make sure you let it burn for a couple of seconds before lighting your cigar with it as the sulfur from the match impart a funky taste into your stick!

Happy smoking!

~Mark

[Stogiefanatic182]

great info Mark, never realized there were so many different types of Butane

[RPB67]

Ever since I started using Vector Fuel I never have a problem with any of my lighters.

I do believe as well that it makes a difference in the performance of the lighter.

I also have a Colibri. But my favorite is my $22.00 Blazer torch ! You cant beat it.

[air1070]

i bought some Vector Butane on Friday...refined 5 times or something like that.

[Full Bodied Bruce]

Thanks for the review, I am looking for a lighter and this really helps. I have grown dissatisfied with my $3.95 drugstore special. Suprised?

[Full Bodied Bruce]

I recently wrote this as my contribution to the DogWatch Social Club podcast (www.dogwatchsocialclub.com), hope it helps bro.

90% of the problems that occur with lighters are because of the quality of the butane that is being used. (The most common symptom is sputtering)

The reason is that butane contains impurities that cause clogging in the ignitor of the lighter. These impurities can be filtered out during the refining process. That's why I have chosen to carry Vector & Prometheus butane (and eventually Lava).

The MINIMUM number of refinings you should use is "Triple Refined" but the VecTor is refined 4x and the Lava is 5x refined. These two are by far the cleanest and best fuels that you can use.

The other most common problem with lighters is having air trapped in the fuel chamber. Most lighters come with instructions on how to "purge" the lighter. That's what it's referring to.

These are simple things to do to tell if the lighter can be repaired or not. Here are just a few;

1. Bleed the lighter until it's total empty. Make sure the valve is pointing down. (Do not attempt this while the flame is lit). You have to shake the lighter as you bleed the valve. And may have to repeat many times before it's completely empty.

2. Refill with a MIN. of triple refined butane. This may take two or three shots to totally fill it. Wait several minutes for the butane to come up to room temperature. This is fairly important as cold butane will not ignite.

3. Turn your flame level to the (-) sign on your lighter prior to lighting. I have noticed that after refilling the adjustment is out of whack. So after every refill turn it down and gradually adjust it to the desired level. Many times this is why a lighter doesn't work properly after a refill as well. (Also, generally as your lighter gets low on butane you have to adjust the level higher)

4. Make sure you have a spark. If you have a soft flame (ie flint) the obvious solution would be to replace the flint. If you have a torch lighter, you should see the spark coming from a small wire inside the lighter. If there is not spark, there may be lint from your pocket. Use some compressed air in short spurts to clear it out (try to avoid blowing in it if possible, you usually get small amount of spit on the ignitor which will also prevent a spark).

5. If you are using a flint (soft flame) style lighter and still don't have a flame make sure your burners are clean. Sometimes they get built up with tar from cigars and burning gas residue. You can use a TINY amount of distilled water on a q-tip or a small wire brush to clean them. Be VERY gentle and make sure it's dry before trying to ignite.

If all else fails, use a match! Just make sure you let it burn for a couple of seconds before lighting your cigar with it as the sulfur from the match impart a funky taste into your stick!

Happy smoking!

~Mark
Thanks for the information, very timely for me, and as usual very helpful.

[air1070]

*Update*

After Refilling the Firebird with Vector Butane, it seems to be working just a tad better. It still is acting up, but I can actually get it to light somewhat consistently.

Still gonna pick up a Prince on payday, blew my fun money on 2 recent orders...

[Teninx]

Here's my observation: Colibri lighters are crap. I've had three of them and the all failed. I followed the directions exactly...I used Colibri branded butane or another triple-refined butane...and they all fail after about a month.

[Baric]

Ever since I started using Vector Fuel I never have a problem with any of my lighters.

I do believe as well that it makes a difference in the performance of the lighter.

I also have a Colibri. But my favorite is my $22.00 Blazer torch ! You cant beat it.


:tpd: i love my blazer PB-207, very good lighter, but not got the 'executive' looks of a colibri.