UKC

I've taken my vetran Jetboil out a couple of times in the last week and noticed it isn't starting as reliably as it used to from the piezo lighter. Sometimes you see a spark but not always despite a proper "click" from the button. I don't actually understand the science of piezo electricity, but is there something that can wear out or run out in the lighter assembly? You can buy replacement ones I see so they obviously break if not actually run out or wear out. Just wondering whether coughing up 6 quid for a new one is worth it, as it has always worked well up to now but the stove must be 10 years old now.

In reply to TobyA:

There is normally a quartz crystal that is struck and this generates the spark. I would imagine it would be something mechanical inside the mechanism that would wear before the crystal.

Al

In reply to TobyA:
Google it , is my advice .
From school, of you squeeze it (hit it) it produced an electrical charge (and the other way round)

Maybe your squeezer/striker , is not working

EDIT
Just remembered, by Grill stopped working (made the same noice) turned out the spade connection had come loose, re attached and it works fine, so mich be a loose wire

In reply to TobyA:

What about oxidation/carbonisation on the spark gap?

In reply to TobyA:

Jetboil piezos are useless, and have a long reputation for failing just looking at them.

The main problem seems to be their fitting, rather than the actual igniter unit.

On my mk1 Jetboil, I have to push the button in a very particular way to get it to spark (I think it's push up towards the cup, rather than pushing down towards the burner.

In reply to TobyA:

Sounds like something is worn. You could try cleaning the gubbins if accessible (esp spark conducting parts as H mentioned).

If you've had 10 years use out of it and 6 quid will get you another 10, then replacing the part seems like a bargain anyhow.

In reply to TobyA:

As others have pointed out...

It ain't the actual element, but more like the supporting material wearing out/gettin' loose/etc.

And as has also been pointed out... ditch it, and use a flint/lighter/whatever...

In reply to captain paranoia:


Might have just been lucky, but the piezo is one of the few user-replaceable parts of my MK1 Jetboil which hasn't needed replacing.

Main issue with mine (and this does affect the piezo) is the mesh on the burner gradually failing - think we're on our fourth burner unit now and in their infinite wisdom Jetboil have now discontinued the part

In reply to Jenny C:


It's funny, I think my jet boil has been brilliant. I don't use it heavily as I have some other choices of stove but it does get used pretty often and having just looked it up, I got it in 2007 so 9 years old.

In reply to TobyA:

It was the plastic housing on the button that died on my Flash.

Replacement steps here:

http://originaloutdoors.co.uk/bushcraft-general/replacing-piezo-igniter-jet...

In reply to TobyA:

Replacement igniter maintenance kit does cost $ 5.95 in the US. Seems reasonable to me for the time it was working. € 8 at Bergfreunde.de for a piezo system. Currently it seems not available in the UK.

Can I ask a related question, but one that seems slightly different to TobyA's description of the problem? In our two jetboil burners a spark is consistently visible but this almost never results in gas ignition. Can anyone offer an explanation and possible solution for this? Could the spark be too weak (too low voltage? why...?) to ignite the gas, or is it more likely that the gas is not coming out in that region of the burner, or something else?

In reply to TobyA:

Yes absolutely brilliant stove - mostly gets used as a travel kettle from the back of the car instead of making up flasks.

Really unsure what to do when current burner mesh insert fails, totally pissed off that Jetboil have discontinued a (<£10) user replaceable part and expect me to fork out £35 for a whole new burner unit.

In reply to jonny taylor:


That is happening with mine currently too. Also, I can see a spark on the first click, but then subsequent clicks don't seem to make a spark at all. Give up and turn the gas off, wait a bit, then try again and after the 'rest', again one visible spark but still not igniting the gas.

In reply to Jenny C:

Yes, I guess they have redesigned the whole burners or something?

I was looking in an outdoor shop yesterday at the new Jetboil models and the MSR and Primus alternatives and they are all rather pricey these days. Hope my current one keeps going.

In reply to jonny taylor:

On my crappy camping stove, I was having problems just the other day with the spark failing to light the gas. The spark was present but was jumping along the surface of the ceramic insulator it protruded from rather than jumping to the head of the burner. Consequently the spark was just slightly too low to light the gas. I tried cleaning the insulator, and bending the electrode (I actually cracked the insulator doing this; not a good idea!). It subsequently fixed itself for no reason.

In reply to TobyA:

Mine broke pretty early on in it's life. I managed to get a new one FOC from Lyon. Never fitted it and now use a firesteel instead. It's a bit of a leap of faith relying on just the igniter to light the Jet Boil IMO. (I know it shouldn't be) Much better to have a second means of lighting it, just in case.

In reply to arch:

Yeah, I always have a couple of lighters with me anyway, but I like being able to have the pot on and full of water, when you start up the stove. Trickier to do with a lighter.

In reply to Jenny C:




Companies doing that kind of thing is one of my pet hates. Flints and strikers don't take so long to acquire the knack for.

Primus piezo igniters are not any better - the one on my Eta Lite went useless after a few weeks.
I suspect all piezo igniters are manufactured by the same factory - they look too similar...

In reply to Sir Stefan:


Mine lasted longer, but when the ceramic insulation broke it was done for... Why can't they use something a bit more flexible as the insulation (like thick heat resistant rubber or something).

In reply to TobyA:

I have an MSR piezo - couldn't get the bugger to work - not even once. Had a think about spark plugs and (oh happy days) time spent freezing my backside off with dad in the garage with him trying to show me about spark plug gauges.

With the end of a screwdriver I adjusted the arc gap. It's worked every time since.

I reckon with general rucksack based abuse, the arc gap could change and make it ineffective. Easy fix if it works and probably can't make it any worse

cheers

b

In reply to ben b:


Actually you can, by breakin' the porcelain insulator... So the sparks start coming from the wrong place...

In reply to HeMa:

Only if you're completely cack-handed

b

In reply to HeMa:

Voltage I suspect - the spark will be a very high voltage to jump the gap, and many materials are not sufficiently insulating to make jumping through the air a more appealing option than running through the material or over the surface.

Apparently around 10 kilovolt-ish.

In reply to andrewmcleod:


Nah, not voltage... as I managed to fix the issue with just heat resistive silicone putty... that is until it broke completely.