Stovetop piezo igniter replacement?

[Rocinante]

The piezoelectric igniter in our stovetop has died because pressing the button no longer gives the snap that activates the spark. It’s a simple mechanical failure.

With that in mind, we’d like to replace it if we can. Seems like it should be relatively straightforward, but a parts search on Amazon comes up with a ton of options and I’m not sure which of them would be a good fit. Has anyone done that replacement? If so what part did you buy, and how difficult was it to swap in the new part?

Ours is a 2016 model year, in case that matters.

[Titus]

I have never done a replacement. But most grills have a battery powered ignitor. I would look into using that as a replacement.

[Rocinante]

If I could power the igniter from the coach batteries that would be interesting, but otherwise I'd prefer to just replace the simple mechanical piezo snapper.

[Wazbro]

If you can remove it, you could try taking it to a propane distributor (the ones that only sell propane and stuff that uses propane). They should have several to compare to.

[SeeMore]

Originally Posted by Rocinante

If I could power the igniter from the coach batteries that would be interesting, but otherwise I'd prefer to just replace the simple mechanical piezo snapper.

This is the OEM ignitor- choose your supplier:
https://www.amazon.com/Dometic-56096.../dp/B01MZZI5NN
https://www.campingworld.com/igniter...nge-24105.html
https://www.adventurerv.net/atwood-s...-p-32587.html?

You can confirm the model number matches the Airstream installed Dometic (part # 56096) by referencing your manual. All Airstream AIs of that era (2013-2018) came equipped with the same cooktop:

https://highskyrvparts.com/new-airst...steel-cook-top

[Rocinante]

Originally Posted by SeeMore

This is the OEM ignitor- choose your supplier:

https://www.amazon.com/Dometic-56096.../dp/B01MZZI5NN

https://www.campingworld.com/igniter...nge-24105.html

https://www.adventurerv.net/atwood-s...-p-32587.html?



You can confirm the model number matches the Airstream installed Dometic (part # 56096) by referencing your manual. All Airstream AIs of that era (2013-2018) came equipped with the same cooktop:



https://highskyrvparts.com/new-airst...steel-cook-top

Thanks. I would never have guessed that part because the description says it is a rotary device, and the stove uses a push button to make the spark. I guess I’ll have to take the unit apart before ordering so I can understand how the linkage between the push button and that rotary component is supposed to work, and what aspect of it actually failed.

[lkm4321]

I replaced the noisy piezo igniter with a battery powered 3 burner gas grill igniter. Had to ream out the mounting hole a tad, rest of installation was no different then replacing original. Works great and virtually noisless. No more waking moma in the morning with that click, click when making coffee---

[Rocinante]

Originally Posted by lkm4321

I replaced the noisy piezo igniter with a battery powered 3 burner gas grill igniter. Had to ream out the mounting hole a tad, rest of installation was no different then replacing original. Works great and virtually noisless. No more waking moma in the morning with that click, click when making coffee---

Very nice. Any details about the igniter and how you got it installed would be much appreciated. Did you remove the stove? Did you have to disconnect / reconnect the propane line? Did you simply connect the new igniter to the existing wires and use them for the sparks, or did you replace the whole thing? And so on. Thanks!

Oh, whoops, was this in an Airstream trailer? That's a different stove from what's in the vans (smaller 2-burner stove), but your experience would still be appreciated.

[StogieMan]

Originally Posted by Rocinante

Very nice. Any details about the igniter and how you got it installed would be much appreciated. Did you remove the stove? Did you have to disconnect / reconnect the propane line? Did you simply connect the new igniter to the existing wires and use them for the sparks, or did you replace the whole thing? And so on. Thanks!

Oh, whoops, was this in an Airstream trailer? That's a different stove from what's in the vans (smaller 2-burner stove), but your experience would still be appreciated.

Rocinante, I checked our shed this evening to see if I kept our LPG unit after our induction cooktop upgrade but I finally gave up and threw it away. I was going to ship it to you for a cigar at some point of a meet up on our travels!

[kscherzi]

Originally Posted by lkm4321

I replaced the noisy piezo igniter with a battery powered 3 burner gas grill igniter. Had to ream out the mounting hole a tad, rest of installation was no different then replacing original. Works great and virtually noisless. No more waking moma in the morning with that click, click when making coffee---

I did the same. Uses a single AA battery I think. Better spark than the old turn and clank piezo lighter. It's just a standard electric sparker used by many outdoor BBQs. Fit into the hole vacated by the noisy piezo lighter with little effort. The wires to each burner plugged straight in.

[lkm4321]

Originally Posted by Rocinante

Very nice. Any details about the igniter and how you got it installed would be much appreciated. Did you remove the stove? Did you have to disconnect / reconnect the propane line? Did you simply connect the new igniter to the existing wires and use them for the sparks, or did you replace the whole thing? And so on. Thanks!

Oh, whoops, was this in an Airstream trailer? That's a different stove from what's in the vans (smaller 2-burner stove), but your experience would still be appreciated.

The 3 burner BBQ igniter ( if your stove has 2 burners order 2 burner igniter) has wires attached, remove top of stove, each burner has a tab that wires plug into, pretty much plug and play. Can order from Amazon. Actually I learned about this repacment, as with most everything Airstream, on this forum.

[Rocinante]

Thanks, folks. As noted, the stove is different on the trailer vs. the van, so clearances are different, and removing the cooktop from the counter will be different vs opening the top of the stove. I know, because I used to have an Airstream trailer. I'll take a closer look at the guts of our 2-burner push-button stove and see whether I can easily replace it with either something similar or a battery-powered solution. The battery-powered solution only holds water if I can easily get to where the battery is stored in the igniter for annual replacements, so I'll see what I find.

[jrowan]

I have a 2010 Sport trailer with the original SMEV stovetop, which has a single push button piezo igniter for the 2 burners. The piezo generates sparks at each burner, but it has never reliably lit the larger burner. It's also very loud. I decided to try to switch to a battery operated igniter to see if it would generate a stronger spark. I found that most battery igniters are packaged in a relatively large box (about 1.5"x1.5"x3") with the button integral to the box. No way this would fit in the space in my stove. Instead I found that some BBQs use a remotely mounted box activated by a simple push button (the button is connected to the box with some long wires). The push button is almost exactly the same form factor as the original piezo igniter button on my stove. I installed it this weekend and it works great - stronger spark, and multiple sparks per second as long as the button is pushed.

If you search for igniters for Weber 210 or 310 BBQs, you'll find lots of choices. I happened to choose this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081ZYPXXL

Here are some pics. I just discarded the spark plug that came with the new igniter and connected the new igniter box to the two original spark plugs on my stove. The button mounted into my stove after a few minutes of filing to enlarge the hole slightly. I just mounted the igniter box up and out of the way under the stove.

[Boxite]

That’s an interesting replacement and Thanks for the post.

Our piezo ignitors on our SMEV two-burner range also has never worked reliably…in fact,…it won’t light either burner if the stove has not been used lately.

We use an ordinary BBQ lighter to ignite it…. after the stove has been used …a RE-lite will work on the piezo’s… Just not first-thing in the morning.

We’ve gotten used-to it and so I’ll not likely do anything about it….just keep using the BBQ ignitor we keep in the little rack above the stove.

[Rocinante]

Thanks again for the input on this.

Went back to the van today and gave the Dometic / SMEV stovetop a hard look. Turns out the piezo igniter is built inside an enclosed section of the unit and is not not easily accessible. We don't want to remove the stove and try to get inside it because the line is copper and we don't want to create any leaks we'd have to fix later. So, we'll be using a butane lighter to light the burners until / unless we someday replace that propane stovetop. OTOH, if we ever decide to replace it, we'll probably have the gas line capped and go with a 2-burner induction unit.