Plasma Lighter for kitchen stove or bbq grill

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Vikas

Joined
Jul 22, 2005
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I am impressed with El Cheapo plasma igniter with built-in battery and USB charger. Having to replace glow-red flame igniters in clothes dryer and in gas furnace, I want to know why this plasma ignitor technology is NOT yet used on larger scale. I am obviously only talking about the plasma glowing part and NOT USB or battery part!

I googled but did not come up with any good hits except some automotive based usage which I really do not believe is similar. May be I need beef up on google skills?
 
My mom has an old stove that takes 20 clicks to finally light. I swear the house will explode when it finally wicks off.
I got her one of these form amazon and she LOVES it. Lights up the stove right away.

The only thing I can think of here has the HSI (Hot surface igniter) is certified for that application. Almost any application that lights gas in an appliance has one. They are very well integrated into the gas valve. If the HSI is burned out (aged) until it no longer pulls the required amount of amps, the gas valve will not stay open or open at all. This is a safety feature for enclosed places.

Now what I'm not impressed with is the stove top lighters. Tick tick tick (whoooofff!!!) even on a brand new unit. If you turn the knob either to the not "tick tick" part (not enough or too far) you can fill the house with gas with no safety protocols to save you. I HATE that. I had to pull the knobs off the stove when my kids were toddlers or they would turn on knobs and let gas into the house. :(
 
danez_yoda said:
My mom has an old stove that takes 20 clicks to finally light. I swear the house will explode when it finally wicks off.
I got her one of these form amazon and she LOVES it. Lights up the stove right away.

The only thing I can think of here has the HSI (Hot surface igniter) is certified for that application. Almost any application that lights gas in an appliance has one. They are very well integrated into the gas valve. If the HSI is burned out (aged) until it no longer pulls the required amount of amps, the gas valve will not stay open or open at all. This is a safety feature for enclosed places.

Now what I'm not impressed with is the stove top lighters. Tick tick tick (whoooofff!!!) even on a brand new unit. If you turn the knob either to the not "tick tick" part (not enough or too far) you can fill the house with gas with no safety protocols to save you. I HATE that. I had to pull the knobs off the stove when my kids were toddlers or they would turn on knobs and let gas into the house. :(
Click to expand...
That reminds me. Growing up we had a ng wall oven and it didn't have a pilot light. You had to stuck a lit match in a hole to light the oven. My older cousin, older than my mother, was over the house for some get together and lit our oven trying to help out. Except all she didn't know about the match so all she did was turn the gas on. The stove next to oven had a pilot light. Good thing we realized what she did before the house went boom.
 
I just picked one up from Amazon in nice pink color! It was $10 gamble, like one of my flashlight!

The thing about this plasma igniter is it is literally lights the gas up in blink of eye (milliseconds?); The safety mechanism currently used in appliance takes more time to establish the flame. I suppose there could be another "eye" watching the plasma arc or establishment of the plasma arc can be detected by current in the circuit.

I suspect it is mostly "not invented here" or "we don't want to do it" resistance from the industry.
 
1643828417369.jpg
 
danez_yoda said:
My mom has an old stove that takes 20 clicks to finally light. I swear the house will explode when it finally wicks off.
I got her one of these form amazon and she LOVES it. Lights up the stove right away.

The only thing I can think of here has the HSI (Hot surface igniter) is certified for that application. Almost any application that lights gas in an appliance has one. They are very well integrated into the gas valve. If the HSI is burned out (aged) until it no longer pulls the required amount of amps, the gas valve will not stay open or open at all. This is a safety feature for enclosed places.

Now what I'm not impressed with is the stove top lighters. Tick tick tick (whoooofff!!!) even on a brand new unit. If you turn the knob either to the not "tick tick" part (not enough or too far) you can fill the house with gas with no safety protocols to save you. I HATE that. I had to pull the knobs off the stove when my kids were toddlers or they would turn on knobs and let gas into the house. :(
Click to expand...
That type of ceramic high voltage jump spark needs to go away. This pasma arc is stable aka constant as long as you keep the button pressed.
 
I did not look at the reviews too closely but I can understand that people who are using this for lighting candles might not be too thrilled with it. We only use it for lighting the gas stove where you only need to press it for a fraction of second. The arc will need to touch the wick for lighting candles and I suspect it will take many seconds and it will get dirty.
 
Vikas said:
I did not look at the reviews too closely but I can understand that people who are using this for lighting candles might not be too thrilled with it. We only use it for lighting the gas stove where you only need to press it for a fraction of second. The arc will need to touch the wick for lighting candles and I suspect it will take many seconds and it will get dirty.
Click to expand...
Yeah, quite a few reviews stating that it stopped working within weeks, or that it needed to be recharged before every use. Could be user error, who knows. Anyway, at this price, it's worth a try. I've got a portable gas stove outside that I can use it on.
 
Vikas said:
That type of ceramic high voltage jump spark needs to go away. This pasma arc is stable aka constant as long as you keep the button pressed.
Click to expand...

It's the same thing, except stove/etc sparker is only momentary to not wear it out over the decades of expected lifespan. Keep the handheld plasma lighter lit continuously for a long time and you'll prematurely blow up the coil or electrodes on it too.

I prefer the dollar store butane lighters that are refillable, though not as good in wind.
 
Dave9 said:
It's the same thing, except stove/etc sparker is only momentary to not wear it out over the decades of expected lifespan. Keep the handheld plasma lighter lit continuously for a long time and you'll prematurely blow up the coil or electrodes on it too.

I prefer the dollar store butane lighters that are refillable, though not as good in wind.
Click to expand...
I don't remember if I flunked my Physics or not (!) but arc and spark are NOT the same thing.
 
^ Both operate from creating a large voltage difference between a positive and negative electrode. The "arc" just sustains it long enough for you to see better, probably also a lower voltage because of the limitations of coil space inside a hand held 3.7V powered lighter. Spark ignition, even lightning in the sky, creates plasma too but relative to the momentary design power, not as much because the moment (duration) of the spark is much shorter.
 
Vikas said:
I am impressed with El Cheapo plasma igniter with built-in battery and USB charger.
Click to expand...
I've heard these things also work well as teenager/kid deterrent. Apparently they emit an annoying loud high pitched noise that younger ears can still hear.
 
Vikas said:
I did not look at the reviews too closely but I can understand that people who are using this for lighting candles might not be too thrilled with it. We only use it for lighting the gas stove where you only need to press it for a fraction of second. The arc will need to touch the wick for lighting candles and I suspect it will take many seconds and it will get dirty.
Click to expand...
They actually work well for candles once the candle has already been lit for the fist time.
But it takes a steady hand to hold the arc on or just below the wick.
 
I bought two more three weeks ago.

Can't even open it to see what could be wrong. Removing the two visible screws does not disassemble the unit.
 
A fellow desi guy explains how to take apart this device on youtube. If all fails, I will just carry the lighter to my village repair shop in Mumbai on my next trip and get it fixed :) (I am kidding, I don't think it is allowed on airlines)
 
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