How Does a Refillable Lighter's Ignitor Work?
-
Spark Wheels
-
Refillable lighters, like disposable lighters, can use either spark wheel or piezo ignitors. Spark wheels are the older design, found on classic lighters such as Zippo lighters, as well as most disposable lighters. The user turns a rough wheel of steel with his thumb. A "flint"--actually made of a type of metal called ferrocerium--is held in contact with the wheel by a spring. When the wheel turns, it scrapes against the ferrocerium. The friction heats the metal and sends little sparks flying off.
Piezo Ignitors
-
Push-button piezo ignitors are used on refillable kitchen lighters, as well as many modern refillable cigar and cigarette lighters. A piezo ignitor is powered by piezoelectricity. When a quartz crystal is bent or jarred, it produces a brief electric current. In a piezo lighter, a push button compresses a spring, drawing a hammer up away from a piece of quartz. When the button is pushed all the way down, the hammer gets to the top and releases. The spring pushes it back into the quartz crystal. The sharp shock creates a burst of electricity, creating a spark.
-
Lighting the lighter
-
The sparking mechanism is always near the fuel. In naphtha lighters, the spark hits a wick soaked in naphtha, causing the fluid to light. In butane lighters, a valve lifts up at the same time a spark is made, causing a jet of butane gas to shoot up right next to the sparking mechanism. Either way, the spark is usually enough to set the highly flammable fuel on fire.
-
