How Does a Butane Lighter Work?

Operation

On the inside of a lighter there is a wick. This gets soaked in butane and is ultimately what sustains the flame when you use your fingers to light it. When you press down the button on the lighter to ignite the flame a small piece of metal is struck against a flint, which creates a spark. At the same time, a small valve is opened which releases gas into the lighter. The spark ignites the wick which ignites the gas which produces the flame. Letting go of the button stops the process completely by cutting off the gas.

Refilling

The process of refilling a butane lighter is simple. On the bottom of the unit is a hole referred to as the "refill hole." Once you've purchased a can of butane from any gas station or tobacco shop, press the nozzle of the can into the hole. Squeeze the can to release butane into the lighter. The lighter will make a hissing noise as butane is replacing air. When the hissing noise stops, the lighter is full.

Blue Flame

The flame on a butane lighter needs both oxygen and fuel to ignite. A butane lighter ignites 100% of the gas, which is why the flame burns a blue color. The temperature of the flame tops out at around 1300 degrees. On a regular lighter the butane gas does not completely burn, which is why the flame will be an orange color.

Freezing

Butane lighters have been historically hard to light when the weather is approaching freezing levels. This is because to ignite, gas has to vaporize inside the lighter. As the temperature gets colder, the boiling point of butane drops, which makes less gas burn up inside the lighter which in turn makes the lighter more difficult to light. You can temporarily fix this, however, by keeping the lighter in your pocket or making a fist around it to warm up the butane.