Hi Guys and girls. I have some points on Manafont that I was going to put towards a light meter but no one had any suggestions. I will try my luck with Butane torches. Does anyone have a favorite or one I should stay away from. The main use for this item would be copper stars and heating copper pills prior to soldering. Cheers and thanks.
http://www.manafont.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=butane+torch&log=&x=-326&y=-116
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/honest-brand-butane-torch-503jet-pencil-torch-lighter-p-9142 I own this one (bought from DX) and have had it for a few years. Quality is pretty good and I do recommend it. In my little research, many people say that the ‘honest’ brand is good.
Thanks eebowler. Its on the list. Not having owned one of these before are they adjustable for heat output?
Yes, there is a slide switch in the middle that adjusts flame height. With the little red ‘switch’ on the left, you can change the amount of oxygen getting to the flame so it can either be a ‘jet’ or more like that of a candle. I;m completely retarded when it comes to refilling so I usually have no idea if the lighter is full or not (obsessively specific about filling it to the top) so I took it apart, cut two holes in the body and whenever I’m refilling, I shine a light through the hole to check for butane levels. lol.
I own four. I bought them for smoking, and I didn't buy them from Manafont.
I'll list them from worst to best build quality:
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/butane-torch-triple-flame-jet-lighter-flashing-rainbow-color-feature-assorted-1pcset-p-9470
This lighter has the worst build quality of the four, and goes through butane the quickest. The triple flame is overkill.
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/honest-brand-butane-torch-503jet-pencil-torch-lighter-p-9142
The flame level of this lighter is the easiest to adjust, but build quality isn't that great. Mine fell apart.
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/butane-torch-illuminating-blue-light-jet-lighter-fs2601-p-9161
This lighter has a solid build quality, and it's easy to see how much butane is left. I like this one the most. It has a woman's torso.
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/honest-butane-torch-dual-flame-metal-coating-jet-lighter-wkeychain-assorted-1pcset-p-9477
This one has the best build quality of the four, but it has two flames, which might be a con for modding.
I have two of these. One survived several seasons of banging around in my snowmobiles tool kit. They have a lock out in case you want to carry one in your pocket. They also have a nice stable stand, hold a ton of butane and will adjust as high as you need them to go as well both having great build quality especially for the price.
I highly recommend this item.
The one on the left is also an Honest brand lighter but from DX it’s a great lighter but not good for soldering.
you’re buying lumens for minutes or hours and with this you’re buying a high flame temp and BTUs/hr.
I almost bought a battery powered soldering iron once for curbside vehicle work but these things may be more versatile.
It still may come down to watts and watt-hours costs, lump sum dollars to buy plus continuing cost of ownership.
So this place is the Harbor Freight of China? I guess Harbor Freight could be called West China! 
I’m with E on his recommendation. You can get it cheaper from Fasttech though. Probably receive it quicker too. 
http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10000695/1062500-large-butane-iron-melting-handheld-torch
Bought some small Honest torches before and all of them, IMO, have excellent quality, especially for the price 
Can’t go wrong with Honest
Me too.
Got both of them from DX and have been happy with them.
Thanks to everyone for there recommendations. I will check MF for stock availability before I order the one E recommended if nothing more comes through by tonight. It has a lot of followers. I will try and get them down to FT's price if they have it in stock. Cheers all.
if its going to be around the shop, maybe something like this
i have had this one for a while now and it is handy. one thing i wish it had an igniter like the one from manafont. dont got to bother with refills, because the butane tank is the tank for the torch
not from manafont, but I got this one from Fasttech:
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1004/10002630/1196004-mt-100-1300c-butane-gas-brazing-iron
8 dollars, simple, twist to open/close the valve, comes with an additional solder-head that works very well and gets really really hot for whenever my 15W iron does not give off enough heat (for soldering to pills etc., I used it succesfully to reflow a led from the underside through a non-metal board). And you can see through the reservoir how much gas is left and monitor the filling process.
Thanks djozz. Theres always someone that comes along and throw a spanner in the works. So the soldering tip works ok on it. I wonder how it would go on a copper pill? Cheers.
I'd say the solder head provides plenty of heat, you can destroy your electronics with it easily if you are not carefull, but then, you can adjust the gas-output and with some experience get the heat that you want for the job. I would heat up a complete copper pil with the bare flame though, I'm sure that is more efficient.
I was not used to gas solderiron heads before I got this one a few weeks ago, at ignition the flames came out from the side and I thought it was useless, but as the metal fluff inside the head heated up the flames flipped inwards, the fluff started glowing red-hot, heating the head up fast, nice 
.
I have 2, 3 if you include the mapp gas torch I use for plumbing. One of the two is a pencil torch with adjustable flame and the other is more of a lighter on steroids that locks on and is at right angles to the base. Both are handy and sometimes I use both at the same time. I use the pencil for reflow as it adjusts more readily and the other for pretinning large bits of copper as it has it’s own igniter. That one only cost $5 at the local scrap yard. The pencil came with extra tips (solder, heat gun) and cost~$15.
Thanks again guys. I have sent MF a question on availability so we'll see what happens. cheers.