Butane for torch lighters
Most people, including myself, haven’t ever had a second thought about butane. The only time in life I’ve really thought about butane was when my lighter wasn’t working. If I could see that my lighter had fuel in it, I would assume I just had a bad torch lighter, but this is rarely the case. It is important to know that not all butane is created equal and that’s why I wrote up this list of the best butane for torch lighters.
In today’s world, the butane that is used for lighters is more than just the fuel itself. It is a combination of butane, isobutane, mixed with propane, and some air. Cans of this fuel are pressurized so that when you fill up a lighter the fuel is propelled from the draw vacuumed can into torch lighters.
Does Butane Brand Matter?
In my honest opinion, no, the brand doesn’t matter when it comes to butane. I have used all the different brands of butane on this list for my lighters over the years as well as others. The only thing that matters to me is how clean-burning the butane is. If the butane you put in your torch lighter isn’t clean you are going to end up having issues. Issues like popping and hissing, flameouts, and clogged burners.
I should also mention that no matter what butane brand you use, you will still run into a few common problems from time to time. That’s why it’s so important to keep up with normal lighter maintenance. I’ve got a post on why torches stop working and how to keep them working.
Not all butane is created equal
This is where the quality of butane for your torch lighter makes a difference. Just a second ago I mentioned that if I knew I had fuel in my lighter and it didn’t light up, I assumed I just had a bad torch lighter. Then I learned about the different QUALITIES of refined butane fuel.
Using cheap low-quality butane for torch lighters is like putting cheap low-quality gas in a jet engine. The lower the quality of the fuel the more impurities that are going to be in it. The more impurities you have going through your lighter the faster it’s going to clog up and quit working.
So What Is The Best Butane For Torch Lighters?
There are a lot of companies out there selling 3x to 15x refined butane fuel. As good as 15x refined fuel sounds, it really doesn’t mean anything. What I mean by that is if the process used to “refine” butane fuel isn’t a good quality process then you won’t have clean butane even if you refined it 1000 times.
With all that being said, in no particular order, here are my top 5 recommendations for the best butane for torch lighters on the market today.
- Xikar Purofane
- Colibri Premium Butane
- Lotus Butane
- Newport Butane
- Vector Quintuple Refined Butane
Xikar Purofine 3pack – Check it out at Amazon.com
This is the fuel I use for my favorite lighters. Xikar is an outstanding company that makes high-quality products and has never let me down.
This is my absolute go-to fuel for all my torch lighters. XIKAR Purofine has extremely low levels of impurities. According to the Xikar website, each can only 15 parts per million when it comes to impurities. In comparison, there are brands out there that have levels of impurities as high as 400 parts per million in their fuel. Lastly, Xikar Purofine is 3x refined to ensure that it is free of water and other contaminants. I think you’d agree that Xikar Purofine is definitely worth a shot in your torch lighter. In my opinion, the is the best butane for torch lighters.
Colibri Premium Butane – Costs a little more than the Xikar
Check it out at Amazon.com
Colibri Torch lighter fuel is probably the cleanest butane available on the market today. I can’t stress how amazing this fuel is. I use the Colibri fuel exclusively in my Colibri lighters and again have never been let down by them.
According to the Colibri website, their butane fuel is processed so pure that there are less than 6 parts per million of impurities in their fuel. Their process is so good it does not require more than one filtering to remove the unwanted contaminants. Again these impurities will affect your torch lighters getting clogged up or affect the flavor of whatever you happen to be smoking.
Lotus Premium Butane Gas – Check it our at Amazon.com
I really like this fuel, just not as much as I love the Xikar Purofine. I have probably used the Lotus Premium fuel as much if not more than the Colibri fuel. This is another fuel I use for lighters I consider daily use.
According to the Lotus Lighters website, it is 99.9999% free of impurities and contaminants. They will even send an independent lab MSDS sheet if you want one to prove how pure their fuel is. They also say that filtering alone isn’t enough for clean-burning butane. Apparently, impurities can appear while the production process is happening. Lotus has a 6 stage purity process so they can keep up the quality of their fuel at every step of manufacturing.
Newport Butane For Torch Lighters – Check it out at Amazon.com
This is the one fuel on the list that I have the least experience with but is for sure a FANTASTIC fuel. It is made in Britain and only recently widely available in the US.
The Newport Butane website says that the Near Zero logo on each can means this fuel is extra purified. Many reviews say it is comparable to Colibri, Stok, and Lucienne. I couldn’t find anything on their site on how they purify their fuel, but the times I have used it, it was awesome. One of the things I love most about Newport fuel is that in the cap there are 8 different filling adapters. This means there is almost no butane lighter you can’t fill up using Newport.
Vector Quintuple Refined Butane – Pricy but worth it
Check it out at Amazon.com
What can I say about Vector butane? For me, it has been a backup for as long as I’ve had torch lighters. There is nothing wrong with it and it works great, but it’s really never been my first choice. Their website doesn’t have much info except for they say it’s filtered 14x.
It’s weird but somehow I think of butane like a lot of people think of cars. Some people are Ford people and others are Dodge people. Personally, I am a Xikar Purofine guy and not so much a Vector guy. With that being said it is still a quality butane for torch lighters.
**UPDATE ON VECTOR BUTANE FOR TORCH LIGHTERS**
I asked my wife to pick me up some butane and figured she get the Xikar. She didn’t go to my regular cigar shop and Vector butane was recommended to her. She brought home a 2 pack and I was disappointed, to say the least. I shouldn’t have been! It has been a couple of weeks now and I have to say I love this fantastic butane for all my lighters. I’m not saying that I’ll give up XIkar butane, but this stuff is way better than I remembered.
How should you choose the Best Butane for torch Lighters?
The 5 brands I listed I know and trust because I have used all of them. There are many brands of high-quality butane out there. This is by no means do I think you should only choose any of the brands I have shown here. Just google butane for torch lighters and there is a ton of options out there.
My advice would be to read reviews and try some different brands of butane out there. That way you’ll know for sure what works best for you and your torch lighters.
Is there a brand of butane that is better than the ones I’ve listed here? Head over to the Contact Page and let us know what is the best butane for lighters.
Thanks for checking out this post on butane for lighters, I hope you got something useful out of it. If you’re looking for better butane for your torch because your lighter isn’t working the way you need it to, I put together a post that covers how to fix your torch lighter when it’s not working.
Thank you for a clear and understandable article. It will help me buy butane for my husband’s lighters.
Glad I could help!
hi, is it there a difference between isobutane and butane?
i filled my torch with isobutane from clipper, but not sure if it works the same way as with butane.
thank you.
There is a difference between isobutane and butane but it’s at the chemical level. They are very similar from my limited understanding. In all honesty, I can’t tell much more than that. I would say the most important thing to consider is how clean is the isobutane you are using. Isobutane from Clipper is known to be pretty good, so you should be ok. I haven’t had much experience with it so it’s hard for me to comment on it. If you start to have problems with your lighter you might want to a different fuel. At the same time if your lighter works well with isobutane in it, keep using it.
Which butane should I use with a backwoods torch lighter
I would use Vector or maybe Colibri. Any butane that is highly refined and low impurity is good. I also hear many good things about zippo butane but haven’t used it personally.
Why do you prefer xikar over lotus?
To be totally honest, I really don’t have a good answer. They are both really good fuel for lighters. I think a big part of it is that many of my lighters are Xikar and I’m just a fanboy. I got a couple of cans of the Lotus in my office, and always use it for my Ronson Jetlite and my ST Dupont Minijet. For my minijet the Lotus seems to fill easier with the Lotus over the Xikar because of the valve stem on the can. I don’t use them that much, so for me…Xikar wins.
I have bought THREE torch lighters and all I needed to do was read your article. A little late but that’s on me! Duh! Thank you!
When I first got into cigars a million years ago, I went through so many “crappy” lighters. It wasn’t until the old guy at the cigar shop shared his butane wisdom with me that I got it figured out. I am really glad I could help. Thanks for reading!