Zippo lighter fuel?

[wazza]

Hello,

I picked up a cheap zippo off bay rather than keep using matches. It arrived today after taking a while, I had forgotten about it actually.
Well it arrived unfueled, so my question is, do I need zippo fuel or can I use Swan lighter fuel, which I can pick up tomorrow rather than ordering online for the Zippo fuel.
I have searched online which many say No! and vice versa but they dont seem like reliable sources, other than Zippo which I guess are bias. So Im asking you chaps as I trust your opinions.
Cheers

 

[KnurledNut]

It looks like Swan is the British version of Zippo.

Give it a sniff test first. If it smells like lighter fluid, then it's lighter fluid.

I would say go for it.

 

[01HDFXD]

The current Zippo fuel is almost odor-free, so a sniff test is definitely in order. Try it. If the odor disappears a second or two after lighting, go for it. If not, buy the Zippo stuff.

 

[wazza]

Cheers guys!
The reason I ask is because I read people saying that they tried defferent fuel and it wouldn't light. Will give the swan stuff a try tomorrow.

 

[alpster]

I don't know if you can get it in the UK, but I use "Ronson". Its readily available where I am and it works great.

 

[ctr]

Cheers. Here across the pond I have used Ronson and Zippo fuel. Zippo fuel definetly has less odor and seems to burn cleaner. Rather odd, given that Zippo now owns both companies I believe.

 

[Shave_Rat]

Cheers. Here across the pond I have used Ronson and Zippo fuel. Zippo fuel definetly has less odor and seems to burn cleaner. Rather odd, given that Zippo now owns both companies I believe.

The best info I could find indicated that after Zippo bought out Ronson, they actually reformulated the Zippo brand fuel and it's more like the original Ronson brand was pre-buy out. No one mentioned (or seemed to care much) how/if the Ronson fuel changed at that point.

My personal experience from well before the buyout was that the original Zippo formula was a much better lighter fluid. I tried the Ronson once, half way through the bottle I swapped back to Zippo brand and never looked back. I haven't tried any of the other brands in the last... 16 or 17 years, so no opinion on that part, just wanted to add the information I'd dug up on the Zippo/Ronson part of it.

 

[nymtber]

Zippo fuel. When i had a pipe (don't smoke, drink, and play with a fire...haha) It added no taste at all. Once I get my own house, i'm getting a humidor, and another pipe.

It also works VERY well in the Jon-e handwarmers (and, probably, zippo handwarmers). Those things get HOT and run for hours!

 

[wazza]

Picked up some swan fuel from the shop today as Im impatient. Will give that a go. The zippo fuel turned out to be cheaper but I would have to wait for the postman.

 

[jlmraider]

I say give it a shot. I've used and am currently using Ronson fuel. If it turns out that the swan fuel doesn't work to your liking I can speak from experience that you can leave (or forget) your Zippo in your pocket while it runs through your washer and dryer. You'll hear when it's ready to come out of the dryer, makes a heck of a racket tumbling around in the dryer. Comes out clean and ready for fresh fuel.

 

[captp]

Never liked Ronson. Didn't work well at all when I was in Denver and higher up in the mountains. That was 10 or more years ago, so I don't know what it's like now