Public Safety Announcement

[icehog3]

Quick story about my little mishap last night.

Been using the same DealeXtreme lighter for about a year now, bought around 10, gifted some, have some others new in bags. No need to bust one out because these things last forever.



It was just about empty, and I was heading out so I got out my Vector and filled it up. Purged the excess air and filled it the rest of the way...usuallly there is a little bubble of air, but this time it looked like I got close to 100% capacity. Threw it in my jeans pocket, and sat down to answer some e-mail.

If you've ever spilled a little butane out of the can, you know it feels ice cold. Didn't think much about quick heat expansion and such until about 5 minutes later, when I heard a loud cussion and felt a burst in my pocket. The lighter "blew up" in my pocket...Thank goodness these are made of plastic and not glass. The liquid butane fooled me into thinking perhaps I was bleeding, but a quick check revealed no injuries at all. Lucky. The reservoir just ended up in two big pieces.

So from now on I will:

Only fill my lighters to 95% capacity or less.
Leave my lighter to warm up somewhere other than my clothing after a refill.