Zippo 65826 Butane Lighter Insert - Single Torch, Chrome

Recently acquired this nice 2014 brass Armor case Zippo from a friend's estate. I've carried a Zippo before, but since I don't generally use a lighter much, it was often dry and useless when needed. Also, if you've ever had a recently filled Zippo leak fluid into your jean watch pocket, you know what the painful outcome of that can be.So, I found this cool Zippo brand butane insert. It works great, and provides a nice torch flame. Now I didn't notice that one can also get a version that has an old-school flame rather than the torch. I might have gone for that one, but the torch is fine for general purpose fire starting. And, it'll be perfect for the two or three times a year I enjoy a nice cigar. I do sort of like that the soft-flame version uses a wheel and flint, whereas this one uses piezo ignition (which hopefully lasts longer than the pile of cheap piezo lighters littering my junk drawer).As mentioned in some of the other reviews, there are a couple of quirks to this insert. Like others, I had to mess about a bit getting it to work when I first filled it. It would light for a second, then go out. After doing this a few times, and continuing to push in the butane, it finally accepted a fill and works fine. I think it has to purge out the air or whatever before the reservoir can fill properly. A minor thing to deal with on the initial fill.The other quirk has to do with the Armor case. As others have noted, due to the extra thickness of the case, the lid doesn't "quite" fit flush when closed. You can perhaps see the miniscule gap in my first picture. It's not particularly bothersome, but to those with OCD, it may be a tad off-putting. Picture three shows the bottom of the insert. My plan is to run the bottom of the insert across some reasonable grit sandpaper to get the surrounding edges of the insert down flush with the bottom. We're talking less than half a mm here, so it won't take much.Conclusion: I don't know how long this will last, but being an official Zippo product, I hope for quite a while. It does appear to be well made and well designed, and works well. I recommend this item, and would consider buying more for my other Zippos.

Doesn't work out of the box. Looked up a YouTube video and followed the instructions and still doesn't work. It's a joke they will sell this inferior product. I used to trust Zippo. Now not so much. $16 just down the drain.Edit: I got it replaced and the new one works great. I did get a defective one first time around. Just make sure to always use the more refined premium butane for everything that requires butane. Cheap butane sucks. Ge the good stuff.

The Zippo butane lighter insert is a 5-star replacement for the classic Zippo lighter, keeping everything you love about the original while offering some modern advantages. I picked this up to replace my original Zippo, which was confiscated at a concert (note to self: check venue rules next time). Honestly, I was impressed from the first flick.Filling it up is super easy—no messy guesswork here—and once fueled, it works like a charm, even in windy conditions. I’ve tested it on breezy days, and it held strong, lighting reliably without fail. That said, it’s not hurricane-proof. I learned this the hard way when Hurricane Helen made its way through Georgia. But let’s be real—few lighters are.If you’re a fan of Zippo’s iconic design but want the convenience of butane, this insert is a no-brainer. It’s durable, dependable, and just plain cool. Whether you’re a seasoned Zippo user or replacing a confiscated treasure, this lighter insert won’t let you down.

First, let me say I have been a loyal Zippo user for quite some time. I have used - and worn out - any number of Zippos over the years. The classic flint, wheel, fluid style lighter has been in my pocket for a long time. Seemed like, as an acquaintance of mine said, there was always something I had to do with those old classics. I was fiddling, it seemed, with my lighter more often than I wanted to. So, I went in search of something a little less maintenance intensive. Or so I thought.Enter the Zippo butane insert. I thought with a butane insert, built in igniter, fill it, and go. No more dealing with flints or over filled fluid tanks. Right? Not for me. Full disclosure, I did not have "premium" butane on hand when I bought this insert. I'm still not convinced that "premium" butane makes that big a difference on the problems I've had (though, I bought some in my journey with this lighter insert).Out of the box, and after filling with butane for the first time, it worked ... okay. Couldn't get a good flame height out of it, though it was reliable in lighting. Went online, found the "modification" videos out there on this problem and made the mods. Wow. Had to be careful I didn't burn my nose off. Now I'm happy, adjusted the flame just right and burned through my first tank of butane all hunky-dory like. Proud of my fancy Zippo butane lighter.Second fill is when the finicky aspects of this insert began to rear their ugly head. Did my second fill. In my search finding the fix to the flame height issue, I discovered that one must purge the tank of air before filling. No biggie. Purged it. Fill for 3 seconds. Purge. Fill for 3 seconds. Purge. Let sit for a few minutes. Go out back for a smoke. Won't light. I'll get it a flame, which then seems to blow itself out. But no steady flame. Adjust flame height screw lower. Same result. Lights up when I light it with another lighter. But, won't ignite itself. Baffled, I set it aside and used my backup lighter. Next day, on a whim, I pick it up, and lo and behold it worked! Lit first time, and worked fine through a tank of butane.Which lead me to a cycle of going 2 or 3 weeks of perfect performance, and then after a fill the insert being stubborn and not wanting to work. Sometimes, I would get an initial light off which wouldn't last. At some point in this process I did buy "premium" butane after having done every "fix" I could find on the internet. Look, I've made my living over the years off of fixing stuff. Building stuff. It's not like I'm not mechanically inclined. Working with my hands and making stuff work is who I am. Zippo, it shouldn't be this hard.I've had this lighter insert for just over a year. A little over half of the time, it worked just fine. The other half, I had to fiddle with it, re-purge it, set it aside for a day, whatever. What I've found is that every fill cycle I just don't know whether it's going to work or not. I had two, three months of good use after switching to premium butane. Really thought that was the solution. Then, I dropped the lighter. It bounced off a 2x4 on it's way to the ground. And just like that, the problems have returned. It'll light once, and then ... nothing. Set it down, walk away, come back in an hour. It'll light once and then ... nothing. I've adjusted the igniter probe (for lack of a better thing to call it) and got a week's worth of pretty reliable use out of it. Filled it. Now, nothing. Will light if I put another lighter flame to it. But, not on its own.Zippo. It. Shouldn't. Be. This. Hard. Is a year the average lifespan of the igniter on this thing? I don't know. Because I have now determined that has to be what it is: An igniter problem. Paying nearly $20 for a years use of a butane lighter seems a bit expensive to me. Especially when I can buy two Bics to get me through a year for a fraction of the price. Or, just go back to my fluid insert.I gave this thing 2 stars only because when it works, it's the best lighter I've ever owned. Wind resistance is excellent. Flame height easily adjustable. I deducted 3 stars because in the 14 months I've owned it, I've had to fiddle with it far more than any other lighter I've owned. Since I still have a 3/4 full can of premium butane, I'm probably going to buy another one and see whether premium butane from the first use on makes a difference in reliability. I will say this, though. When YouTube is full of videos of people telling you how to get around design flaws just for the privilege/prestige of owning a Zippo ... it doesn't inspire confidence.Update: Decided to order another one of these. Smart decision. Right out of the box, and after filling it, it has worked like a champ. Flame height adjustment was good out of the box. Reliable lights. No modifications necessary. Good right out of the box. Have used the latest through a handful of refills, and still works like a champ. Just like a Zippo should. Manufacturers deserve criticism for when their products don't meet standards. They also deserve credit when it appears they've listened to consumers. It would appear to me they have fixed the problems I, and many on the internet, had been encountering. Kudos to them.