I recently got a science teaching job and had to buy a cheap see-through lighter to ignite the Bunsens, I don’t understand why the tank has to have two different compartments on the inside. You can tilt it and fill up one or the other, could someone explain why this is necessary instead of one big tank?
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I’ve read through many answers and am surprised I don’t see one reason mentioned.
Lighters have a tube/wick that sucks up lighter fluid to bring it to the top where it fuels the flame.
A secondary purpose for the divided chamber (other than structural support for the pressure inside) is providing a way to keep the tube dipped in the fluid.
Without the two tall chambers separated by the divider, fluid would lay more flat on the bottom of the lighter, making it harder for the tube to dip into it.
You can see this by holding the lighter up to a light source and dipping it to move the fluid around.
No one’s mentioned that it also helps you get that last bit of fuel? Actually great way to squeeze out a little more utility from the design that is there for structural and manufacturing purposes as people have said.
Think about it, it could have a hole in the middle, but that would lead to two separate tanks. A hole at the bottom would allow the fluid to gather at one of the corners away from the tube so it won’t get fuel.
A hole in the top allows the user to invert the lighter, move all remaining fuel to one well and have it pool up in one corner right by the tube.
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