Need A Modder!

[Phyltre]

I'm looking to get as powerful an LED/battery as possible inside a Zippo lighter casing, using the Ziplight idea where the light turns on when the casing is opened, although a pushbutton similar to an actual lighter cartridge is fine too.

Here's a video of the Ziplight cartridge, so you can see what I'm talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XHgbhytUiM

Is anyone willing to attempt this/point me to someone who might be willing to attempt this? This isn't a project I'd ever be able to do on my own. I can supply Zippos and Ziplights if needed, and am certainly willing to pay.

 

[Zeruel]

Sabrewolf perhaps. Check out his Chimera Mini and Mini Tag.
Heck, he might even be able to reinvent Ziplight.

 

[Lyndon]

Hmm.

I just (yesterday) made an Altoids tin into a very floody flashlight that turns on when you open it. The inside of the lid makes a great reflector. I should take some pics when I have it looking a bit prettier.

A cigarette lighter is a lot smaller though. What kind of battery life are you thinking about ? Is it just for a gimmick or do you want a long-term usable light?

Sounds like a fun little project. Which zippo lighter did you have in mind?

 

[alpg88]

you don't need a modder, you need to visit chinatown, i,ve seen zippos lighter\lights there, of course it wasn't real zippo, it was butane tourch and only had 1 5mm led, it was like $5.


now that i think about it, stupid idea, you pbly wouldn't like those crappy lighters.

 

[Phyltre]

Hmm.


A cigarette lighter is a lot smaller though. What kind of battery life are you thinking about ? Is it just for a gimmick or do you want a long-term usable light?

Sounds like a fun little project. Which zippo lighter did you have in mind?

Well, if you go with a cartridge-based design, you can use it for the entire mainstream Zippo lineup. The internal cartridge design has been universal for around 50 years. The only models that are different are the slim (probably .1% of the lighters out there, they don't sell many of those) and the new Zippo Blu butane lighters, which don't have removable cartridges--there aren't too many of those around, either.

I just got into them myself, I'm probably going to end up collecting them. Turns out the Zippo lineup is pretty huge in Japan. Take a look:Gotta be at least a thousand official designs here!

As for usability versus gimmickyness--I say 10-20 minutes runtime would be a good line to draw. It certainly wouldn't be an every-day-use thing, more like something to have around in case of minor emergencies. Also very cool.

 

[Phyltre]

Looks like I can get two 10440 batteries inside the casing without much trouble. The original batteries used for the Ziplight were "VARTA UNIVERSAL ALKALINE No. 4061 - 1.5 V - LR 61", which are somewhat smaller than AAAs both in diameter and length. Having no electrical skills whatsoever, I'm now in need of someone who is willing to source the LED/circuit and pull everything together. I'm not sure if the Ziplight mechanism that turns the LED on when the lighter is opened still functions on this insert, everything is fairly corroded given how long the batteries sat inside (these were discontinued in 2002, but the one I bought was still in original packaging.)

If anyone would like to do this mod, I'm willing to pay $100 for an established modder and send out the parts to them--including the dismantled/partially Dremelled Ziplight insert, Zippo case, two unprotected 10440 lithium rechargeables, and even a fully functional Zippo if you so desire. Which would leave only the LED and whatever other circuit parts might be necessary. I only ask that the cartridge stay modular (which is to say, removable from the case.) Any takers?

 

[JohnF]

I'm no modder, but how about a rectangular appropriatly sized cell phone or digital camera battery, rechargeable li-on for higher energy density than a 10440? NP40 is common for small digital cameras (Panasonic/Konica/Fuji/Samsung) is 3.7v, 1200ma, measures 1.60" H x 1.40" W x .30" D. (Yes, I just dragged out the micrometer.) Looks like $20 will get 2 Chinese batteries w/charger (charger would have to be modded with some kind of mini-connector cable, eh?). Any reason why this type of battery wouldn't work?

John F