Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[triplebq]

92,000 starts is a lot...92,000/365 = 252.  Knowing my math skills, that cant be right?  252 years?  So you cant start it four times a day and it will last 63 years!

LOL I was thinking the same thing. How did they even test this? 

[LowSlowJoe]

I've got a Traeger Junior that's never had it's normal ignitor fail. I used that grill as my sole grill for 4 years... it got used partially for a 5th season, but doesn't get use these days.


It's my understanding, that the worst thing you can do with a ignitor is to turn it on , when the firepot is still hot.   Now, for the most part , none of us actually have the ability to control this part of things.   However, I personally disable mine on my PG500 sometimes when I cook at really low temperatures ( 170F or bellow ), because it has a 'auto relight' that will take place if the grill thinks it's temperature has droped bellow 140F . The grill can be fooled , thinking the grill is too cool, when you open the doors for long, while cooking at such low temperatures.  My PG500 is going on like 4 years old now, still got it's original igniter in it.

   As for ceramics... at one point I was under the impression they never fail., but that's apparently not the case.   At one point I had seen some Rec Tec users say they had replaced their ceramic igniters with less then 4 years on them...   

 So, in short... I'm not totally sure ceramic necessarily gets rid of 'quality' problems... and I know that quality must play a big role in longevity of igniters...   

By "disable", do you mean an in series switch in the igniter circuit?  That would be handy to have to instantly isolate the igniter for trouble shooting or elimination in the case of a short.

In my case, "disable" was done by unplugging...  At the time, my PG500 was still under warranty and I didn't want to drill any holes to mount a switch...   but I really should install a switch.  I typically only like to disable the igniter rod if I intend to smoke at 180F or lower.  Even so, I actually don't feel need for 're-ignite' ability  in a pellet grill... so if I had my preference, I'd personally go back to the way Traeger controllers did things... the igniter only be operational for like the first 2 or 3 minutes of a cook, and then it just times out. But I don't know of a easy way to install a timer that would do that for me, so switch is the most likely method I'll do if/when I get back around to doing something more eloquent than unplugging it.

[okie smokie]

92,000 starts is a lot...92,000/365 = 252.  Knowing my math skills, that cant be right?  252 years?  So you can start it four times a day and it will last 63 years!

I think your math is correct if you used it once a day.  However, I will agree with most that anything can (and will) fail even if not expected.  Mark (the owner) of Blaz'n made the statement, but did not describe how or who tested it.  Also, there are ceramic starters and there are ceramic starters, so I'll bet quality control in manufacture, is also important.  If their claims are true, then I can see a ceramic starter after 63 years, still working, but the pit is rotted away, and the owner is pushing up daisies.  Oh well!  We would all survive even if the ceramic starter was never invented. Get back to cookin.

[MikeMcQ]

Supposedly ceramic starters are much more reliable. MAK introduced theirs in 2016. I upgraded my 2 Star right after it was released. Worked great with start up times greatly reduced. Worked great for 13 months and died... MAK did send a replacement free of charge.

[okie smokie]

So far, so good on my RecTec 590.  One thing is noticeable, the start up is slower with the ceramic. Probably due to the fact that the igniter element does not touch the pellets directly.  Who cares? Back to cooking. Thanks for the comments. 

[bregent]

>The reality is, if they say an item will last 500,000 hours, or 92,000 starts,
>what they are really saying is that if the item doesn't fail within the first x hours,
>it will probably last a really long time.

The bathtub curve.

[Canadian John]

So far, so good on my RecTec 590.  One thing is noticeable, the start up is slower with the ceramic. Probably due to the fact that the igniter element does not touch the pellets directly.  Who cares? Back to cooking. Thanks for the comments. 

Memphis uses a simple igniter that is housed  just OUTSIDE of the fire box. It is insulated from the metal surroundings to prevent grounding out and tripping the GFCI. The combustion fan blows the super heated air from around the igniter into the fire box resulting in smoke in just over 2 minutes... I believe this set-up adds life to any igniter. 

[lil moose]

Guess I'm very lucky, my RT680 has never failed (old style)    I do clean mine when I clean the burner pot out and get the heavey crud off so maybe that helps me out?

[ArborAgent]

The Rec Tec ceramic igniter is a drop in replacement for some Traeger units. I wonder if it would work in the Blazin grills.

[okie smokie]

The Rec Tec ceramic igniter is a drop in replacement for some Traeger units. I wonder if it would work in the Blazin grills.

The Blaz'n firepot is part of a larger pull out device for emptying the pot. The RT firepot has the ceramic built into it and both are sold a s a unit (reasonable price at $79).  No way to integrate that into the Blaz'n.