I just read "THE LOW DOWN ON ELECTRIC IGNITORS", to get a better understanding of exactly how they work and age. I have a 6 year-old Enviro EF5 which has been used a fair bit, although not continuously. I've replaced the igniter certainly once, possibly twice, in that time. I've just ordered a replacement burn pot liner (at a MUCH better price from a US supplier than here in Canada, about 50 mi. from the factory!) and figured I should also think about having an spare ignitor on hand. I think the last time I bought one it was about $118, which I though pretty high. Now I see them at $180 and am thinking, "No way!" What gives here? I doubt very much that the various pellet stove mfrs. have these custom-made (unlike the actual stove parts which are unique to each product). These ignitors are just a resistive element in a ceramic casing- hardly hi-tech. Nor can they be a unique product for the pellet stove market. Hot surface igniters are used in other industries as well.
I found one from U.S. Stoves that dimensionally might be usable for less than $50.00, but it was only 250w and I think I need 400w. But even that can't justify the vastly increased asking prices, in my opinion. There must be a lot of hefty markups along the line between the manufacturer of the igniter and the end user! I'm not against manufacturers and retailers making a profit, as they need to survive, but this seems excessive. (An even more egregious instance was one online source asking $36.75 for a plastic knob for an Enviro Dial-a -Fire stove. I took a close look at the pic and realized I have several of those same knobs in a parts bin in my workshop which I'd bought several years ago for various projects for about $3.00 apiece. Heck, you can get anodized aluminum knobs from Digi-Key for $5.)
So, being the devious and frugal individual that I am, does anyone out there know who actually manufactures these igniters? I am certain they are used in other areas of industry and may well be available from other sources at less grandiose prices. (I've already checked one or two from White-Rogers and they're not suitable.)
Stuart
I found one from U.S. Stoves that dimensionally might be usable for less than $50.00, but it was only 250w and I think I need 400w. But even that can't justify the vastly increased asking prices, in my opinion. There must be a lot of hefty markups along the line between the manufacturer of the igniter and the end user! I'm not against manufacturers and retailers making a profit, as they need to survive, but this seems excessive. (An even more egregious instance was one online source asking $36.75 for a plastic knob for an Enviro Dial-a -Fire stove. I took a close look at the pic and realized I have several of those same knobs in a parts bin in my workshop which I'd bought several years ago for various projects for about $3.00 apiece. Heck, you can get anodized aluminum knobs from Digi-Key for $5.)
So, being the devious and frugal individual that I am, does anyone out there know who actually manufactures these igniters? I am certain they are used in other areas of industry and may well be available from other sources at less grandiose prices. (I've already checked one or two from White-Rogers and they're not suitable.)
Stuart
