My Zippo will stay lit when 12 inches or so in front of a box fan on medium speed, which is a pretty strong breeze. Don't mean to overstate the obvious, but the chimney is a windscreen and is what shields the wick. Blowing down into the top will cause a flameout, as the flame is only protected from wind coming from the side. <br><br>I think the windscreen/chimney is what set the Zippo apart from other lighters of the 1930s, when the Zippo was born. <br><br>According to the Zippo website, the wick should be even with the top of the chimney: <br><br>http://www.zippo.com/about/faqs/index.html<br><br>(click on Changing wick)<br><br>The wick does burn away after a lot of use. It can be pulled out with a pair of needle nosed pliers. You can also adjust the flame by trimming the end of the wick, making sure it is centered in the chimney, or flaring out the end of the wick with a straight pin, etc. Experiment and see what works. The above knowledge was gained in my younger days when I had too much time on my hands :-) <br><br>Page for asking repair questions:<br><br>http://www.zippo.com/about/cservice/repairkit.html<br><br>If none of the above helps, there are Zippo lighter collector groups here- they may have some suggestions:<br><br>http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/Hobbies___Crafts/Collecting/Lighters<br><br>Hope this helps!<br>