Hot Surface Igniter issues....

Crispy · October 6

Twenty or so years ago we were lucky to become the owners of a Garland 30" residential kitchen range. We love it! Garland didn't stay in the residential appliance business long but a company, Adco Service did pick up their parts business so parts are available.

I am struggling with Hot Surface Igniters that don't last long. My understanding is, with this paticular appliance, if the igniter isn't pulling 3.3-3.6A, then the gas valve won't open. Our present igniter, the third one, didn't light the broiler today and sure enough, I got 2.9A with an amp clamp.

My question…. Are there different quality options with these things? Put another way, should I avoid generic units made in <insert country with low labor costs> and buy from <these guys>?

Granted, heating a chunk of silicon carbide to red hot over and over probably isn't a great design but I'm stuck with it. Anyone wrestled with these? Thanks in advance, C.

109A_5 · October 6

Since your appliance has that specific current requirement for the igniter, you may have to sample a few different brands to find what works reliable for that application.

Are the Garland / Adco Service ones still available, they may be made specifically with the current requirement in mind and the more generic ones (although they may physically fit and get hot) may not work reliably.

109A_5 · October 6

Are the Voltage and Current specifications published on the packaging or in a cross reference guide? I have not looked at one in a while.

EBEBRATT-Ed · October 6

They used to say not to touch the silicon carbide when installing. Those parts must be made by someone like Honeywell, Robert Shaw is big in the appliance end and their are a few others. Who makes the gas valve?

Crispy · October 6

I'm going to pay-up through Adco ($150). I'm glad to have them for our out-of-production Garland. I had to buy an electronic control box for the burners a few years back and they had it.

I did check and the last igniter was a year ago and was a Norton product for $22. Don't remember how I spec'ed it.

mattmia2 · 12:41AM

make sure the connections are all clean. if the socket or the connections to the wiring or even the terminals crimped to the wire are corroded you could get a lower current draw. i'd try measuring the cold resistance of the ignitor with the meter probes directly on it(scrape them in a little so they make a good connection) and through the wiring and socket.

109A_5 · 1:46AM

As much as modifications makes folks heads explode. If the equipment is in good condition and the Hot Surface Igniter is the only issue. And if the OEM Hot Surface Igniter is becoming unobtainium or excessively costly. And you just have to make up about 0.5 Amps to make a more reasonable substitute work. I would simply add a power resistor to the circuit. The power resistor would be wired in parallel with the Hot Surface Igniter.

Since you are only adding 0.5 Amps to the circuit (2.9 + 0.5 = 3.4) and the circuit needs 3.3-3.6A to open the Gas Valve I don't see any safety issue if the more reasonable substitute Hot Surface Igniter eventually fails. Since 0.5 Amps is not enough current to activate the Gas Valve.

I would use a 240 Ohm 100 Watt resistor and the appropriate wiring. This type of resistor needs to be mounted to a heatsink. But since the duty cycle of a Hot Surface Igniter is pretty low, you may get away with minimal heatsinking. There are other resistor types that could be used. Even a 60 Watt incandescent lamp. However the resistor may last forever and lamps are getting harder to get.

Hot Surface Igniter issues....

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