Honest review on my experience with Zippo’s new Arc Lighter Insert. Talking about my likes and dislikes of it, some tips for charging the battery as well as expectation for the life of the product.
Was looking at getting one of these, to avoid refilling over and over again. Glad to finally find a review from the viewpoint of another smoker (seen so many where it's just people reviewing it "without any use-case", so to speak) The "issue" with it not really fitting for cigarettes, leaving residue on the lighter/inside, is a deal-breaker for me. That would need cleaning far too often, I would assume. Thanks for the review. Guess I'll be sticking to my regular old trusty Zippo still. This just seems like too much of a hassle, if I'm being honest.
The bit about discharging the battery completely is no longer true. It was for older batteries, but newer ones should stay as close to 50% for maximum longevity.
about a month old at 10 cigs a day it looks like it needs cleaning of the electron arc posts. What is the suggested way of cleaning that part of the lighter? I am pleased so far and happy with the quality itself. Overall very nice. I haven't found or use it in a case yet so can't speak to that. Thank you. I'm thing an old toothbrush using great care but don't want to wreck it before I even get started. Any ideas?
I'd try a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol. It works really well for removing all the tar from my pipes and bongs. It should work for regular tobacco tar just as well.
I don't think you will ever be able to replace the battery either ??? or find one ??? examine how that case is installed onto the insert. removing that one screw on the backside below the lid hinge does not help
Honestly, it’s probably going to be worth it for most people to just buy a replacement insert. It’s only about 22 dollars for a new insert. For the vast majority of people who want to use a Zippo arc lighter, 15 dollars difference every few years or so isn’t significant enough for the time and know-how with how to replace LiPo batteries. It’s more effective for the company to keep costs down and profits up by not making the battery replaceable. (The same way Apple does) They wouldn’t profit from people making their own replacement, so why give them an easy way to do so? Market forces sometimes encourage user hostility.
