Zippo Hand Warmer

Fantastic price for a brilliantly designed bit of kit.
I've got a couple of Peacock ones which I think were the original makers of these warmers.
Anybody thinking of buying a handwarmer ( or two ) really should avoid the charcoal stick ones & get these as they are brilliant.
 
Fantastic price for a brilliantly designed bit of kit.
I've got a couple of Peacock ones which I think were the original makers of these warmers.
Anybody thinking of buying a handwarmer ( or two ) really should avoid the charcoal stick ones & get these as they are brilliant.
I believe the Peacock ones are a bit better praised, but from what I've read the Zippo ones are good especially for the price above. I'll be ordering some Carbon felt along with the two I purchased from China to 'upgrade' the cotton wadding - apparently makes a huge difference to the efficacy of the heaters.
 
Very good heaters, have had mine 6 years or so. Had to replace the burner last year and I agree they are must better than the charcoal ones or those re-usable gel ones.

Have they gone up in price? I didn't realise they were £22, think I paid about £12 for mine when I got it. To buy a back up or not to buy that is the question...

EDIT Couldn't resist
 
I'm still surprisingly on the fence about buying them, purely on the fact I'm awaiting 2 from China, though one will be a 'tester' model for me (I'll disclose at a later date, perhaps). I'm also tempted to buy some charcoal felt to replace the cotton interior, which apparently chars at the interface with the catalytic burner...
 
Okay my brother has prime so is ordering it for me; I was deliberating over the cost of postage but that's not an issue so there we go.
 
I'm still surprisingly on the fence about buying them, purely on the fact I'm awaiting 2 from China, though one will be a 'tester' model for me (I'll disclose at a later date, perhaps). I'm also tempted to buy some charcoal felt to replace the cotton interior, which apparently chars at the interface with the catalytic burner...

I'd be interetsed to know what the Chinese ones are like, I would assume they would safe and good but for me if I have an ember and lighter fluid in my pocket I think I would want a brand or something I can trust.

Is the felt to replace the lint type of stuff in the burner? Never had any issues with it beyond me burning it last year, it wouldn't light for love nor money which after several years of almost daily use isn't bad. Easily replaced thankfully. Don't know if you have used one but don't overfill or there'll be a few days worth of burning lol

There's this thread too from last year about hand warmers http://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/community/index.php?threads/all-things-hand-warmer.41207/
 
I'd be interetsed to know what the Chinese ones are like, I would assume they would safe and good but for me if I have an ember and lighter fluid in my pocket I think I would want a brand or something I can trust.

Is the felt to replace the lint type of stuff in the burner? Never had any issues with it beyond me burning it last year, it wouldn't light for love nor money which after several years of almost daily use isn't bad. Easily replaced thankfully. Don't know if you have used one but don't overfill or there'll be a few days worth of burning lol

There's this thread too from last year about hand warmers http://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/community/index.php?threads/all-things-hand-warmer.41207/
My research tells me that, as long as they're not overfilled, that they're A-okay. I've access to JB-weld so will be reinforcing any seams I can see... Also, it's a strange one because it's not quite like firing like an ember which smoulders, it's complete combustion.

The stuff in the burner head is the catalyst, it's maybe 1% catalyst on a bed of fibreglass or similar. The catalyst can range from platinum (the best of the bunch) through palladium, vanadium and iron (the worst). This, over time, loses its ability to catalyse the combustion of the lighter fuel so eventually stops working. This is because of something called Ostwald Ripening, whereby the catalyst particulates (very, very small) start 'clumping' together to make bigger particles, on the basis that smaller particles contain more energy, which is unfavourable - everything wants to get rid of its energy, you see.

The catalyst's job is to lower the amount of energy required to combust (oxidise) the fuel into CO2 and H2O, essentially, so rather than it producing a huge flame like you'd see setting alight lighter fluid, the lower energy required to break the bonds = lower energy output, so it'd be a lower temperature. This is through something called a catalytic pathway which I can explain if you want, but will spare you in the likely event of you not wanting. :D

The carbon felt (usually used for high temperature applications - welding etc.) replaces the cotton wadding in the body of the hand warmer, which can sometimes be seen charred underneath the burner head. When the cotton wadding chars, it reduces the effective surface area exposed to the catalyst. The lower surface area means less reaction can occur at any one time, so the amount of heat given off reduces. The carbon felt isn't going to char under this application so not an issue.
 
I came across this thread, and thought I'd offer my experiences with these types of handwarmers.

After a number of years, I believe I've finally "figured them out" .... I have both the zippo
type, and the peacock type - both function fine when setup properly.

I've found that filling and lighting are the two critical aspects - over filling
will stymie the function - you only want vapors, no liquid should be present.
Two aspects to light them - first, warm the body of the hand warmer ....
a warm to hot body is what keeps the vapor path working from the body
to the head cap of the unit. If I have time, I lay the unit on top of a baseboard
heater for 5 minutes - or if in a hurry, use a lighter and apply the heat to
the body of the heater near the top outlet - for 30-40 seconds, rotating the
body so both sides get warm/hot. When the body is well warmed, I'll
apply the flame to just below the fibers in the top - early on I put the
flame on the fibers, and eventually the fibers char and the catalytic
combustion stopped working.

Again, make sure the body is warm - even hot - it makes lighting
a breeze, and fast tracks the vapor movement setup. When the
body is hot, it "feeds" the vapor generation, and keeps the
catalyst steadily supplied.

I've also found that it's important to use the felt-like carriers
they include - once the unit starts working, these carriers keep
the body warm/hot, which in turns keeps the warmer going very
steadily. They also prevent the unit from being "cold shocked" ...
if you drop a "bare" warmer on the cold ground, chances are it
will go out - not so if they are in their cloth carriers.

By keeping direct flames away from the catalyst fibers when lighting,
the heads last a very long time - if you apply the flame directly
to the fibers, they will clog quickly and stop working.

Also, I found a source for the platinum fiber that can be used
to re-pack a worn out head - google:

Platinum Bright Embers by Advanced Catalyst Systems

There's a great video on repacking a warmer head at:


Finally - all this talk about how to gauge the amount
of fuel so they don't burn forever .... just pull the
head off the body - it immediately stops the process.
If you're concerned about the head being hot, use
gloves or pliers, but I've found if I pull it off
quickly, it's no big deal using my bare fingers.

Hope this helps, folks
 
I came across this thread, and thought I'd offer my experiences with these types of handwarmers.

After a number of years, I believe I've finally "figured them out" .... I have both the zippo
type, and the peacock type - both function fine when setup properly.

I've found that filling and lighting are the two critical aspects - over filling
will stymie the function - you only want vapors, no liquid should be present.
Two aspects to light them - first, warm the body of the hand warmer ....
a warm to hot body is what keeps the vapor path working from the body
to the head cap of the unit. If I have time, I lay the unit on top of a baseboard
heater for 5 minutes - or if in a hurry, use a lighter and apply the heat to
the body of the heater near the top outlet - for 30-40 seconds, rotating the
body so both sides get warm/hot. When the body is well warmed, I'll
apply the flame to just below the fibers in the top - early on I put the
flame on the fibers, and eventually the fibers char and the catalytic
combustion stopped working.

Again, make sure the body is warm - even hot - it makes lighting
a breeze, and fast tracks the vapor movement setup. When the
body is hot, it "feeds" the vapor generation, and keeps the
catalyst steadily supplied.

I've also found that it's important to use the felt-like carriers
they include - once the unit starts working, these carriers keep
the body warm/hot, which in turns keeps the warmer going very
steadily. They also prevent the unit from being "cold shocked" ...
if you drop a "bare" warmer on the cold ground, chances are it
will go out - not so if they are in their cloth carriers.

By keeping direct flames away from the catalyst fibers when lighting,
the heads last a very long time - if you apply the flame directly
to the fibers, they will clog quickly and stop working.

Also, I found a source for the platinum fiber that can be used
to re-pack a worn out head - google:

Platinum Bright Embers by Advanced Catalyst Systems

There's a great video on repacking a warmer head at:


Finally - all this talk about how to gauge the amount
of fuel so they don't burn forever .... just pull the
head off the body - it immediately stops the process.
If you're concerned about the head being hot, use
gloves or pliers, but I've found if I pull it off
quickly, it's no big deal using my bare fingers.

Hope this helps, folks
Great comprehensive reply. I've some of the platinum catalyst sheets and they really do bump up the performance. :)
 
Benz3ne ... the catalyst sheets you mention - are they different then
the ones I mention from Advanced Catalyst Systems?

If so, could you post some info on where to purchase?
I'd like to compare them
 
OK - that's the site I referred to in the video - if you look up the
catalysts supplier I noted, Advanced Catalyst Systems, at
amazon, you'll find that you can get a lifetime's supply
of the fibers for around 17 dollars - it seemed to me to
be far less expensive then the mparam site's costs.

https://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Catalyst-Systems-Platinum-Bright/dp/B0000E2ROU/ref=sr_1_1

The fibers aren't billed as hand warmer replacement material, but I've used
them with good success.
 
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