Handwarmers, S01E05: Hacks: Improve Perfomance of your Zippo, Jon-e, or Peacock.
Channel: Mountain Parameters
Date: 2016-12-17

In our series on Handwarmers we discussed the value and advantages for using platinum catalyst, carbon felt, and terpenes in your handwarmer. Now we go one step further and remove some of the other problems inherent to this 100 year old design. By permanently affixing the head and improving its thermal conductivity we address reliability and heat output issues. By adding an independant fill portal we make it much easier to fill while facilitating the ability to fix the head. We see how this hack is compatible throughout the entire handwarmer universe from Zippos to Chinese knock-offs, and can be done with the 6 or the 12 hour models, for mere pennies.

Update: A couple of weeks down the road and I've found that this mod does seem to make these units get incredibly hot. However, I've also found that if I squirt the naptha into the grommet too aggressively, it will soak the head in naptha. After I did that, even though I let it dry out, it did not subsequently work very well. So I removed the catalyst and it appeared to be damaged, it was all brown on the inside. Replacing it solved the problem. So now I am more carefull to fill the reservoir slowly. If you use those bottles that the vapers use for their juice, another technique that works is to insert the nozzle into the grommet, and just let the naptha gravity feed into the handwarmer. It takes a long time so you have to go away and leave it, but when you come back, the bottle has emptied, and the catalyst head is still dry. I seem to recall watching one of the handwarmer videos that recommends squirting naptha onto the head, and then lighting it: not a good idea! Especially when you consider that the head's are not 'burners'. Nothing burns, it reacts, and it is the exothermic reaction that produces the heat.