Bought two, they smell really nasty, like toxic chinese plastic factory. Can't argue with 2.78 though.

My arc stopped working once again, and I since I was on the verge of throwing it in the garbage anyways, I decided to employ the following technique from Gibran2:



Gibran2, I love you man!!!! My arc now lights every single time on a much lower setting than before. I no longer have to worry I'm going to get stuck in between dimensions with my Arc!

Much love to all you nexians.

Peace and Happy Journeys.

I thought I would post a quick update: my TF ARC has stopped working again... For no apparent reason, it has decided not to light (resulting in an aborted FB session... ). i have fiddled with the nozzle, bent it to and fro, emptied the lighter and refilled it but all to no avail - this expensive curve of burnished metal is determined to finish off its days as a paperweight...

No one else has had problems with their ARC?

JBArc-less

If you remember, I had a problem early on where I couldn’t adjust the flame height. Once I fixed the problem, my Arc has been working perfectly.

I wonder if you got a defective one? Maybe your original fix didn’t really fix it.
Regardless, that’s too bad. Almost losing your finger is one thing, but losing your Arc – now that’s something else.

You can try putting the flame size setting on maximum... Was the butane used with near zero impurities?

I guess I might have to take it apart... If you think about it though, almost losing a finger is actually worse - try holding a GVG and lighting it with one hand!!

@ tele - The flame size setting makes no difference, and no, the fuel is ronsonol, but the "near zero impurities" designation is for long term use - the lighter should not clog after 30-50 ignitions with any appropriate fuel. I was going to use up the ronsonol, then purchase a purer brand, but now maybe I won't need to!

Really sucks though - the lighter was expensive and looks great, but i fear its lustrous finish shall be tarnished when i tire and use it as a doorstop...

JBArc-less (still)

I wonder what can cause it to fail after 30-50 ignitions. Take a look at the nozzle, there is the "sparker" at the tip, make sure it isn't messed up somehow... And that it sparks nicely. Does it make that "gas release" sound when you fire it up?

My arc recently died after I used it for a couple of months... Since I really liked its design, I was about to get a new one but tought it was a bit expensive. After looking on the net for an alternative, I found out on ebay that they have something that looks exactly like the Arc but isnt sold as such for a cheaper price. Just got them today and it seems like they work exactly like the Arc.

So here it is if you wanna pay less for a good torch...

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/3...&hash=item3a63855acb

I ordered those lighters the same day you made this post, and got them today. As far as I can tell, they are identical to the Arc.

In the attached photo, one of the lighters is my trusty Arc, the other is one of the eBay lighters.
Anyhow, they look identical.

They both weigh the same (113g, filled). The switch is identical, the flame is identical. Identical in every way. Except for price: $40+ for the Arc when shipped to the US. $13 each for the eBay lighters. So now I have 4 “Arcs”.

Nice find!






(The lighter on the left is the Arc.)

I agree with gibran2, the only difference I can tell is that they don't have the turboflame trademark and have a made in china sticker instead. I was a little dissappointed I didn't get a gold one in the three pack like the auction, I got silver ones in varying shades of shinyness instead. One chrome, one darker like a pewter, and then one brushed stainless that looks exactly like my regular arc. I'm happy anyway though. I'll need to give at least one away.

I was worried about my arc because it fell into an almost empty trash can where I just dumped an ashtray. The clicker started sticking up and down, which is not good, but it eventually cleared up. Just a warning to treat your nice lighters well...

^ I don't think it's right to buy knock-offs, even if you get a good deal. Instead of paying the people who spent lots of time and effort to develop the innovative design of the Arc lighter, you're giving your money to people who spend their time stealing others' ideas for their own profit.



Anyway, I came to this thread because I'm about to order a GVG, and a torch lighter to pair. However, from the looks of this thread, the Turboflame Arc lighter seems to be a bit finicky, and prone to a number of issues. I don't want to have to diagnose lighter problems, or perform nozzle surgery. Any alternative recommendations?

I've had a Vector Volt for a little over a year now which has been very reliable.

Edit: It also has a lifetime warranty, which makes me feel good about it.

What makes you think they’re knock-offs? I don’t think you understand how large international manufacturing businesses work.

It is likely that a single company in China, perhaps using it’s own design, manufactures “Arc”-style lighters. They then supply these lighters, perhaps under what was originally an exclusive agreement, to retailers. The retailers put their own name on the lighter and sell them under their brand.

I don’t think the Arc-look-alikes are knockoffs. I think they are the same lighters sold by the UK company that calls their lighters the “Arc Turboflame”.

It’s really not any different from many businesses now – for example, there are only a few companies in the world that manufacture LCD TV screens. These companies supply nearly every TV manufacturer with screens, and each retailer takes the screens and slaps their own brand label on them.

Another example is the “American Weigh Gemini-20” milligram scale. They are identical to scales available directly from suppliers in China. The only difference is that American Weigh probably sorts through scales, tests them, and rejects those that don’t meet their specifications. They also offer a lifetime warranty. But the Chinese scales aren’t knockoffs of American Weigh scales. Rather, the American Weigh scales are Chinese scales with the “American Weigh” brand on them.

Thanks for the suggestion. =)



Good to know. =) Now I won't feel so bad about buying these rebranded products. Unfortunately, it looks like the price on those Arc lighters coming from the U.S. has been drastically increased, to the point of being even more expensive than the original Arc.

Well, I've done some experimentation with my new GVG, and I must admit that I'm having a lot more success with a disposable flint lighter (Bic) than my Turboflame Arc.

I tend to get one good hit out of my VaporGenie with the Arc, and after that it just kinda poops out, and refuses to light. It seems like it must have some sort of heat-sensor that doesn't allow the lighter to get excessively hot. Which is fine, but I can't seem to get my entire dose vaporized before the lighter gets too hot and shuts off.

With more practice, I might see myself getting skilled enough to quickly vape the entire dose in one hit, and thereby circumvent the problem. But right now, the process is slow enough that the Arc just doesn't seem to do it for me.

On the other hand, my little Bic lighter is working beautifully. Seems easy enough to control the vaporization temperature by inhaling more or less quickly. However I'm a little worried about soot building up inside the ceramic filter, which I don't really want to have to deal with. Any suggestions?

Hmm... wish I'd seen this thread before purchasing my Arc. Same problem as jbark, pretty much.

I remember the last turboflame lighter I purchased some years ago was also not so reliable after a bit of usage. They never seem to be the same after I have refilled them for the first time. I can't think what I could be doing wrong. The gas is there, the spark works, yet I only get about 0.5 seconds of flame.

Now looking into alternatives. Vectors look quite nice and a little less clunky.

I found when refilling them you have to kind of pump them. Meaning push the refill can up and down until the liquid is spilling out. (upside down) Then you have a good charge of liquid in the unit. Then you might have to let it sit a while. Then when you try and light it, you might have to hold the gas on a bit then click. Thats what happened to mine. Then over a couple of uses then it back to normal. Mine actually glows a red now after a refill. Kinda weird to use it to light spice with a blood red flame!

Hope this helps on refilling torch lighters!

So I was going to pick up the Ebay 3 pack, but they are now $99.99 + 35 bucks shipping... wow, that's supply and demand for you.

still jbARCless

I'm still Arcless too!

I'm really liking the look of the vector volt with the flame cover and from the picture at least it seems a little less chunky than the Arc. I'm just having trouble sourcing one locally and I'm quite reluctant to pay shipping charges with the high possibility of having to pay customs on top of that.

I may have to go offline to complete this mission.

I'm finding it strange how little adequate torch lighters there are out there that are up to the task.

At the moment though I've been having good success with a regular lighter. I think the GVG holds heat much better than the classic, as with the latter I had to get the flame quite close to the ceramic filter to the point where I'd often create soot. So far with my GVG I haven't found a single black mark on it

Really? Mine's getting rather sooty. =( It can be easily cleaned from the glass. I'm just worried about clogging the filter. Do non-disposable, standard-flame (as opposed to torch) lighters also create this soot? Or do you only get that with the cheap plastic disposable kind?