My butane/platinum lighter has no wicking material. But if it will help, the filament is probably no thicker than .001" and is zig-zag'd across the flame outlet about 4 times. Stretched out it's probably 1/2" long, soldered across a typical butane blue torch outlet. The second the piezo spark ignites the butane, the filament takes over and glows white hot, keeping the butane lit. It may be the thinner the wire, the quicker the catalyst action happens. You need about as much as a model engine glow plugs (also platinum/tungsten) worth to do what you want.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glow_plug_(model_engine)



Edited by Dryer (02/22/13 12:18 PM)
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