Bad ignitor in Mt Vernon - Manual light safe?

[Jbellarmada]

My Mt Vernon stopped working this morning. It filled the ash tray with fresh pellets from multiple failed ignitions. After confirming the fire pot was clean with no cluckers blocking the heating element I noticed that the igniter was not cherry red on startup. I have 120 volts on the igniter leads so i assume it is bad (3 rd winter in use). I removed the igniter to confirm that the wires were not damaged from the fire pot cleaning mechanism movement, they were fine. Is it safe for me to start this stove manually with a propane torch? I will not be able to get a new igniter sooner than Monday. Also, it is safe to run with the igniter removed?

thanks

Jim from Armada Mi.

 

[smoke show]

Is it safe for me to start this stove manually with a propane torch? Also, it is safe to run with the igniter removed?

thanks

Jim from Armada Mi.

yes and I'd make damn sure the ignitor leads don't ground out.

 

[Jbellarmada]

Thanks!! Yes I placed electrical tape on the ends!! Is 3years typical for these igniters?

 

[smoke show]

thats when mine puked.

 

[pfoster]

I also have a Mt Vernon AE stove and have gone thru 5 igniters in 3 yrs. They did a redisign on the fire pot for this problem. I put the new fire pot in last August and it lasted untill the end of January. Luckily I had A spare. I never tried to light the stove manually , The place I bought the stove told me that I could't start it manually. I also would like to know if this is possible.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I also have a Mt Vernon AE stove and have gone thru 5 igniters in 3 yrs. They did a redisign on the fire pot for this problem. I put the new fire pot in last August and it lasted untill the end of January. Luckily I had A spare. I never tried to light the stove manually , The place I bought the stove told me that I could't start it manually. I also would like to know if this is possible.

They may be talking about the non AE version without the dump and restart thingy.

 

[smoke show]

The AE autocleans.
unless your running on DC voltage, you'll hafta start it everytime it autocleans.

 

[gblaue]

It must be that time of year. Today for the second time in 2 weeks, I came home to a smokey, smelly house. My AE, twice now, has missed ignitions, dumped pellets, and retied to start. Then when it fails again, it dumps the partially ignited pellets on top of the other pellets in the ash pan then starts smoldering and smoking. I took everything apart and cleaned it real well. It looks like my igniter isn't "so bright" either. I have never really timed how long it takes for the stove to light up from when it told to start up. It looks like it takes almost 15 minutes to start. My stove isn't even 2 years old yet. Fortunately, I did buy a spare igniter to keep on hand. I think I'll put it in tomorrow and see if it makes a difference.

 

[gblaue]

I put the new igniter in this morning. The stove lights up in 7 minutes.

 

[teddy1971]

I just replaced my second igniter in three years. The first time I told my stove shop to replace it for me (Still under warranty). This time I purchased two (1 for future failures). It took me about 20 minutes. I paid $55 for both is that about right?

 

[kilbury]

Yes 55 is fair. Upgraded firepot extends igniter life and reduces light times. Yes, the AE is designed to light manually if needed (non-AE units can also be lit manually). A little trick I tell my customers if you need to burn for a length of time before you can get an igniter is to hook it up to your battery so the stove is running on battery power, hook your trickle charger up to the battery so it doesn't die. This will keep the stove from trying to light but will also prevent it from going to the autoclean cycle so you can choose when you want to clean the firepot.

 

[gblaue]

I just replaced my second igniter in three years. The first time I told my stove shop to replace it for me (Still under warranty). This time I purchased two (1 for future failures). It took me about 20 minutes. I paid $55 for both is that about right?

I picked it up on fleabay for $45. I'm going to buy a couple more. No new missed lights since installing it.