Old WWII lighter technology

Like this?

It is very similar. Is this a device available now? I am interested in the wire(s) types, diameters and how they are connected/ isolated form the other parts.

GAH - my reply didn't post!

Could the wire be platinum? And the ignition be the result of a catalytic reaction between the wire and the alcohol fumes? I found a reference to such a thing from Hungary. And also references to using platinum wires because they held their glow allowing for use in the wind.

So, I'll knock this back into the ChemE court.

That is correct. The wire was Platinum and I carried one when I was in service in 1946.

Years later, I worked for a gas and electric company that sold domestic Gas stoves that had a Platinum fuzz or wool at the pilot port that ignited the gas.

The cost and availability of this material is now beyond what my play money can afford.

This is a catalytic device. There are no connections. In present day units I would expect the platinum to be of very fine wire (like fine steel wool) any other wires would be part of a screen to retain it. It works on the same principals that apply in the automotive cataltic converters.

I do not know where they would be available on todays market.

I recall having played with one of those lighters when 10 years old or so. Never saw them again (probably much better and cheaper than current Chinese disposable gas lighters)

That lighter used a very volatile and smelly fuel (some sort of paint thinner? acetone?). If not wrong, the wire looked like a spring, and you had (as you posted) to blow on it to get it lit. The only way of getting it off was to replace the cap.

Smell also could have been due to a substance added to methanol, to prevent people from drinking it.

As I speak German, I did a search under IIWW lighters (2WK Feuerzeuge) in Google Deutschland... but only found references to some using benzine made of empty bullet shells . Perhaps a more thorough search may lead to what you are looking for

1816 first use.

lots of refs here

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=J.W.+Dobereiner++lighter

these things are pretty cool

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%B6bereiner%27s_Lamp

That's way cool! Now if I can just find a ready supply of hydrogen and platinum....

Guest: You're getting good information. I can't imagine a thermocouple or thermopile, in that low temperature environment, providing the energy needed to make a wire glow. However, there used to be (and maybe still is) a product that I believe was called a Jon-E hand warmer that used a catalyst screen and fuel soaked cotton in a flat canister to provide a source of warmth to carry in your pocket. The warmers and fuel were available in sporting goods stores and, if still available, might provide the materials you seek. Good luck. DickL

In my basement somewhere....I have a pocket sized container, On the inside is a Carbon? rod and it rubs against the felt on the inside to make heat. Im not totaly sure if thats how it works but its pretty cool.

That sounds like one of the hand warmers I've used in camping. It's a pouch with iron filings and who knows what else. You shake it up and it gets warm.

That is pretty cool, although probably a lot more expensive than the standard " flint" lighters. It might be an advantage on the battlefield in that there is no flash when you light it.

True, all you need then is a non glowing cigarette, and lets not mention infrared not goggles!

Platinum wire had been used as Igniter from Electric Current since WWII in Exploders for
Rock-breaking & Mines in battle-field, disposal of Out-dated TNT & Ammunition in bulk.
The earliest was Dynamo-Exploder run like Bicycle Air Pump. It was pushed down with rapid strokes which ran a Electric-dynamo to blow a very-fine Platinum wire piece held in a fixture which was connected to line & the wire held between terminal; fixed to an explosive-fuse to explode the lot.
Later a dynamo connected to a step-up transformer, rectified voltage charged a capacitor @ Hi-V, a neon blinked at required voltage. Then fired thru a Push switch to line & to Fuse.

Just as Camera-flashes worked.

I also own a similiar lighter. The lighter works because the fine platinum strips react with the fuel and air to create a catalyst heating up the platinum wire and thus igniting the fuel. It is a great idea demonstrated perfectly in this lighter. I am interested in the possibilities of using this process in order to find a way to create warmth for houses without using very much fuel. The heat produced from the platinum wire, scaled up, could create a lot of heat indeed. The problem I currently face is how to do this without actually igniting the fuel fumes and somehow capturing the fumes so they can be recycled back into the system. Any ideas would be gratefully received.

Keep in mind that Platinum is a rare and very expensive material. You might look at the ceramic catalytic heaters.

Both of these are catalyzed by platinum. The wire has numerous tiny particles of platinum on the surface, but it not ususlly solid Pt.

The ceramic ones also have tiny Pt particles, like catalytuc converters.

In both cases heat comes from true combustion and it is not possible to recycle the fumes, although a high % are unburned in the case of lighters. Ceramic ones consume 100% of their fuel.

You can find these lighters regularly on ebay. Just key in Airflam, Lektrolite or Catalite.

If you buy one, the best source of fuel is the automotive product HEET in the yellow bottle. It is 99% pure Methanol.

For pics and more info on the lighters, email solarone@windstream.net.

put "methanol lighter" in the subject box.

I picked up what seems to be a pretty old LEKTRoLITE US Patent 2.005.47?-7-? for $.50 at a garage sale in Milwaukee, WI and I just started looking it up today. I can't find much information about it aside from whats on here and a Popular Mechanics magazine from 1936 on how this type of lighter works. I tried to use HEET in it, but I had no luck... is there a secret to filling it? Also, if one was to lite a cigarette with this lighter, despite cigarettes being unhealthy for you, isn't it pretty bad for you to inhale the fuel while you lite it? To my understanding that's what you're basically doing when you light it. Unless its not working...

It's not a thermocouple. It's a catalytic reaction between the Platinum/silver wire and the methyl alcohol. I just got one of these amazing lighters and I too wish to recreate it. If anyone has suggested to you how this may be done, especially where the wire may be found, please let me know. Thank you,

David Willey (Mad Scientist for the Tonight Show)

dwilley@pitt.edu

http://www.zeebase.com/blog/2010/11/04/homemade-cigarette-lighter-popular-mechanics-1928/

Hope this might be of some help.

--Martin