[jjirons69]

I must have a dozen lighters (now). The most expensive one is maybe $30 with several Ronsons, Deal Extremes, a Xikar, etc. I have Xikar, Ronson, and Vector fluids. Now comes my dilemma. No what what I try, lighter #1 will only take the Ronson nozzle. It'll fill it to the top, no blowout leaks. Perfect. The other two cans plain or with any of the assorted red tips I've collected over the years will not fill it - at all. All that happens is a sub-arctic liquid drippage and a cloud of frozen gas. No fill. Now lighter #2 will take the Vector and the Ronson can straight up, no red attachments, yet the Vector blows frozen fuel everywhere. Lighter #3 will take all three cans equally. And so on...So now when I have a lighter that needs filling, I know which can goes with which lighter. Sometimes I go against my own proven knowledge and try to see if I can change over - never works. Over the years I seen maybe one or two lighters exhibit a little clog, but they're those cheapo Deal Extreme models and to the landfill they go when they get too bad. I've got some 10+ year old lighters that have been running Ronson exclusively that still work like a champ. The Vector fuel will make a lighter "burn" hotter/higher on a particular setting vs. the Ronson or Xikar and the flame seems to linger after I let go of the trigger, but quality-wise, I personally haven't seen the dreaded clogs folks talk about. Butane is a simple gas, seems a distillation or two would get you some pretty pure product. If not pure butane, as least a low percentage mixture of other flammable gases that shouldn't clog. The Net says contaminate oil is the culprit for clogs, but given the low boiling point of butane vs. these contaminates, it wouldn't take much to separate the two via fractional distillation.

YMMV.