Soto Pocket Torch Troubleshooting for No Flame or Weak Flame

If your Soto Pocket Torch has stopped working, or the flame is small or weak, this guide can probably help you fix it -- it's likely not broken! The Soto PT-14SB torch is a great tool for camping, backpacking, and around the house for lighting candles and sealing rope ends. It uses disposable lighters instead of a fuel reservoir, so there is no fussing with refills and more fuel is always available at the local convenience store. I’ve seen two problems occur over the years: small/weak flames, and no flame at all.

A good flame!

If the flame is weak

First check to see that the lighter itself is not set to a low flame setting—move the little lever on the lighters to turn it up.

Most likely that wasn’t the problem if you are reading this. The real trick is to blow compressed air into the nozzle tip to clear out the fuel passage. This can be either from an air compressor or a can of compressed air like an electronics duster. First take the top section of the torch off and use some tweezers to remove the little rubber boot on the fuel connection or it can blow away and be hard to find (ask me how I know this). Then apply the compressed air; typically a few short bursts will do.

Underside of top cap -- use tweezers to remove rubber boot

Blowing compressed air through hose

Example of air duster can

If there is no flame

I’ve also had the trouble of the torch not being able to make a flame at all. By listening, I could tell no fuel was flowing through the torch. Blowing out the line did not help, so I decided to see if the fuel button on the lighter was actually being pressed—it was not. The cause of this was the torch’s metal button-pushing clip being bent.

To access the clip, remove the two small phillips screws on the inside of the torch and remove the plastic cover. Now most of the parts can disassemble and any bends in the clip can be fixed. My working clip looks like what is in the following picture, and I assume that’s about what it looked like new.

Soto torch disassembled, metal clip at center

(An aside: at first glance you would think the metal clip is a spring, but it’s just a simple metal piece that doesn’t really do any spring work. The piezo igniter has its own internal return spring so this metal clip is really there to depress the lighter’s button and also complete the electrical circuit back to the piezo from the nozzle where the spark is.)

I hope everyone’s torches get working again! I’ve heard good things about Soto’s customer service if not. Anyone have any different issues or fixes?

Mike