Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.

Which is it: "ignitor" or "igniter"? Discuss.

JohnNY
JohnNY Member Posts: 3,229
edited March 2018 in THE MAIN WALL
Or are those terms and spellings simply interchangeable?
Contact John "JohnNY" Cataneo, NYC Master Plumber, Lic 1784
Consulting & Troubleshooting
Heating in NYC or NJ.
Classes

Comments

  • unclejohn
    unclejohn Member Posts: 1,833
    IGNITOR
    IGNITOR is the Italian name for a nuclear research project of magnetic confinement fusion, developed by ENEA Laboratories in Frascati. Construction (in Russia) is not complete. The project theory is based on ignited plasma in tokamak.

    Wikipedia

    [iɡˈnīdər]
    NOUN
    igniters (plural noun)

    1] a device for igniting a fuel mixture in an engine.
    2] a device for causing an electric arc.

    Wikipeda had no definition for igniter.

  • STEVEusaPA
    STEVEusaPA Member Posts: 6,506
    Are you talking about gas or oil? For oil I say igniter. Spell check seems to dislike ignitor.
    Are ya snowed in today @JohnNY ? 4th Bore'Easter for us in the Philly area. Started at 5:30, dug out my house, my fathers house, just finished the shop...now I have to go to work. Snow...grrr
    steve
  • delta T
    delta T Member Posts: 884
    I feel igniter is correct. Compare to other examples such as lighter, chopper, fryer, opener, seller, mulcher etc.....

    Not a linguistics expert by any means, but usually there are patterns for such things. Though in English the exceptions usually outnumber the rule so......

    manufacturers can't even agree with themselves! Its both ways on the same page :D

    https://customer.honeywell.com/en-US/Pages/Department.aspx?cat=HonECC+Catalog&category=Igniters+and+Sensors&catpath=1.1.30





  • Ironman
    Ironman Member Posts: 7,375
    "You say tomato, is say "tomatto"...
    Bob Boan
    You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.
    Canucker
  • SuperTech
    SuperTech Member Posts: 2,155
    For what it's worth I always spelled it as ignitor. Spell check always changes it to igniter. I believe both spellings represent the same thing, wether it's a hot surface ignitor or an electric igniter for an oil burner. Either way it's a device that that produces ignition.

    I've always wondered about this subject myself.
  • Ironman
    Ironman Member Posts: 7,375
    It's kinda like this: I work a lot in Staunton [pronounced STAN ton] VA, but my father's sister is my aunt [pronounced AWEnt]. That's the way it's pronounced around here. But folks that aren't from here pronounce the two words the exact opposite.

    I spell it ignitor, but I'm also a contractOR.
    Bob Boan
    You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.
  • RayWohlfarth
    RayWohlfarth Member Posts: 1,480
    I believe Ignitor is the person who does the igniting and Igniter is the object which does the igniting. So unless you are replacing the person who lights the boiler you should use the "or" Just my opinion
    Ray Wohlfarth
    Boiler Lessons
    HVACNUTSuperTech
  • MikeG
    MikeG Member Posts: 169
    Websters has it both ways as a noun. Then it also has ignitible and ignitable although the first spelling shows a misspelling on this site.
  • Harvey Ramer
    Harvey Ramer Member Posts: 2,239
    I would think the correct spelling would be "Igniter". The magic "e", serving to turn "i" into a "Long Vowel".

    Not saying I always spell it that way, though.
  • HomerJSmith
    HomerJSmith Member Posts: 2,441
    What really counts is that the person you are talking with understands what you are referring to. Notice I ended my sentence with a preposition or was it a proposition? This language thing is so complicated.
    CanuckerRayWohlfarthSuperTech
  • the_donut
    the_donut Member Posts: 374
    Or for person doing a task, er for device, but it is English. We don’t have farmors and we do have harbors.
    SuperTechj a_2
  • hvacfreak2
    hvacfreak2 Member Posts: 500
    I think it's something like Robertshaw = ignitor , Honeywell = igniter or vice - versa.
    hvacfreak

    Mechanical Enthusiast

    Burnham MST 396 , 60 oz gauge , Tigerloop , Firomatic Check Valve , Mcdonnell Miller 67 lwco , Danfoss RA2k TRV's

    Easyio FG20 Controller

  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 15,517
    spark plug
  • the_donut
    the_donut Member Posts: 374
    Along the same lines: inflammable and flammable.
    JohnNY
  • neilc
    neilc Member Posts: 2,703
    edited March 2018
    i don't think either the ignitor, or inighter, will work on the unflamable.
    known to beat dead horses
    IronmanCanucker
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 15,667
    As long as people know what you mean I don't think it matters. Don't people in your area eat with a fawk? :p
    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
    IronmanCanuckerGordy
  • STEVEusaPA
    STEVEusaPA Member Posts: 6,506
    ChrisJ said:

    As long as people know what you mean I don't think it matters. Don't people in your area eat with a fawk? :p

    After they pahk da cahh.
    steve
    ChrisJSuperTech
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 15,667
    > @STEVEusaPA said:
    > As long as people know what you mean I don't think it matters. Don't people in your area eat with a fawk? :p
    >
    > After they pahk da cahh.

    That's not Brooklyn ;)
    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
    JohnNY
  • STEVEusaPA
    STEVEusaPA Member Posts: 6,506
    ChrisJ said:

    > @STEVEusaPA said:

    > As long as people know what you mean I don't think it matters. Don't people in your area eat with a fawk? :p

    >

    > After they pahk da cahh.



    That's not Brooklyn ;)

    My bad...thought you were going 'Boston'.
    steve
    Canucker
  • the_donut
    the_donut Member Posts: 374
    Bawston.
  • JohnNY
    JohnNY Member Posts: 3,229
    STEVEusaPA said:


    Are ya snowed in today @JohnNY ? 4th Bore'Easter for us in the Philly area. Started at 5:30, dug out my house, my fathers house, just finished the shop...now I have to go to work. Snow...grrr

    My Jeep and I enjoy the snow, but I've had it.

    Contact John "JohnNY" Cataneo, NYC Master Plumber, Lic 1784
    Consulting & Troubleshooting
    Heating in NYC or NJ.
    Classes
  • JohnNY
    JohnNY Member Posts: 3,229
    ChrisJ said:

    As long as people know what you mean I don't think it matters. Don't people in your area eat with a fawk? :p


    Yeah, we eat with fawks. Don't yous?
    Contact John "JohnNY" Cataneo, NYC Master Plumber, Lic 1784
    Consulting & Troubleshooting
    Heating in NYC or NJ.
    Classes
    ChrisJSTEVEusaPACanucker
  • Tim McElwain
    Tim McElwain Member Posts: 4,621
    For what it is worth Honeywell spells it with "ER".

Categories