Weber old igniter vs new


 
Greg M

Greg M

TVWBB All-Star
One of the things I like best about the old classic webers is the old push button igniters. They are just so durable and reliable. My Silver A still has it's original igniter. And my dad's old 1000 still had its original igniter that was still functioning when I inherited the grill. I did replace it just because the housing was rusting away after 20 years.

I wonder why weber went away from these extremely reliable and durable piezo push button igniters in favor of the battery powered electronic ones? I've used the electronic ones on friend's newer weber grills and they work fine. I just can't imagine them lasting 20 or more years like the old ones. And with the old ones there isn't a battery to replace.
 
I think there is a dislike of needing to really "push" on a button, and also (especially on the newer grills where Weber foolishly eliminated the crossover) is the need to ignite each burner interdependently. The battery powered ones are just easier to use. Hold it down until it lights
 
LMichaels said:
I think there is a dislike of needing to really "push" ojn a button, and also (especially on the newer grills where Weber foolishly eliminated the crossover) is the need to ignite each burner interdependently. The battery powered ones are just easier to use. Hold it down until it lights
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That's probably right. It does take a little bit of extra effort for the old style. Maybe a few people with limited hand strength might have difficulty with it. Still kind of short sighted in my opinion. I've owned so many grills over the years where the igniter worked for about a year and then quit that I'm still kind of amazed that the ones on my two webers are so reliable.

I agree with you about the crossover burner system. It was simple and worked very well.
 
Speaking of the old style igniters, does anybody remember the thread where two versions of them were compared with one version significantly beefier?
 
THyde said:
Speaking of the old style igniters, does anybody remember the thread where two versions of them were compared with one version significantly beefier?
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Yeah in that thread a couple of posters said the aftermarket igniter was beefier than the weber. I think the aftermarket brand was "onlyfire"? Not sure about that though.

I will say used a weber igniter in my 1000 and its worked well for over 2 1/2 years.
 
I keep a spare Weber #7509 for my older Genesis grills and a Weber#7510 for my Weber Flame Fire Pit but Greg is dead-on...the older igniters just seem to keep on going. I replaced two in almost 20 years on my Spirit 700 and fixed a couple of my neighbors Weber's.

Just a tried-n-true design.

Jeff
 
I have taken out dozens of the old style igniters. I have yet to find one that didn't still work. Any systems that didn't work were due to wiring or the actual igniter in the fire box. But the push button units have always worked. I have seen less than half of the battery powered ones still working on the grills I have collected and they are much newer than any of the old ones. As larry stated, it is just like the crossover system. It was a very simple and highly effective system. But, it wasn't always convienient, so the decision was made to change both. It is called bling. People shopping for grills like Bling. Same thing with vehicles. Put a few electronic options on a vehicle that are inevitably going to have problems down the road. People don't look under the hood of a car any more. Then sit in the seat and play with all the knobs and switches. Same with grills.
 
I'm surprised there isn't an app so you can use your smart phone to light your grill or is there.
 
Better come with app controlled burger flipping and burner controls as well. Otherwise, the app controlled igniter doesn't make much sense.
 
Hell I don't even have igniters on my Wolf. I use a stick lighter. The darn igniters for that beast are $85 EACH! And there are 6 of them!
 
Yah, a couple squirts of lighter fluid and a match are all you need to get all six roaring. :)
 
I do agree that the old push button igniters are definitely more reliable...too many times though, people just toss the electric ones and drop $30 on a new one. I’ve refurbished about 25 Webers this summer, and I’d say 60% of those had failed electric igniters...and I’m yet to purchase a replacement igniter. I’ve gotten 2 or 3 free Webers this summer because people would simply say “it stopped working” when the igniter failed. *face palm*

The electric igniters that Weber made with the battery directly under the push button seem to “fail” the most...obviously because the battery would usually get wet and acid would leak and the terminal would fail.

Weber got smarter and started putting the battery in the cabinet for better protection. These last a lot longer. The key to fixing these is making sure all the terminals are clean. Vinegar on a Q tip is where I always start. Dissolve away as much gunk as you can. Then comes the dremel. With the skinny sanding attachment, just sand away anything left behind and the igniter will be good as new.

Like Bruce previously stated, it’s not usually the wiring that fails, but the terminals.
 
I just fixed a bad electronic igniter on an e 310. It wasn't the battery it was just the connection. It looked fine but I just stuck a small tip screwdriver down and scratched the connector inside the igniter and inside the push button and it worked fine after that
 
It is weird. On the old Weber the manual piezo igniters never failed but the igniter boxes rusted away. On the newer Weber they introduced the ceramic ones which last forever but now the new battery igniters fail. When I restored that E-310 this summer I replaced the missing battery igniter with a piezo one. It fitted perfectly into mount of the electric one.
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Stefan: I have a E320 waiting for some attention. The battery igniter didn't work, but, luckily I was able to get it working. Otherwise, I was going to install an old style Piezo push button as well.
 
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