A stainless upgrade for classic Genesis igniters


 
Jon Tofte

Jon Tofte

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I stumbled across this and decided to take a chance and buy a few. MHP Grill Parts makes this igniter collection box out of apparently real 304 stainless-steel. It definitely passes the magnet test, and the collector box does seem stouter than some of the really thin ones I have seen. Wires are decently thick coated. I am not saying it will last WAY longer, but it seems to be a true upgrade over the normal ones that usually don't last.

What you get is just the box, ceramic igniter, and wires for $9.97 plus shipping. I know that's not a killer deal, but if you have accumulated old Genesis parts like me, I am willing to bet you have some working unmatched igniter button/switches where the collector box had disintegrated and is now gone. So, while you can probably get a complete cheaper-built igniter for a similar price, this is a nice upgrade that can make leftover parts usable and together function and last better than a new full set.


This seller also has other parts for older Weber grills - and other grills as well. Some of the Weber replacement parts look like a good deal, some not. I have never seen these stainless replacement collector boxes anywhere else.

 
Those do look nice and yes, I do have a few extra igniter switches I can use with them. Interestingly, the only actual failure I have ever experienced has been of an igniter switch that was over twenty years old at the time. I threw away another set that still worked after twenty plus years but that I wasn't going to put on a restored grill. I somehow don't think most of the newer ones that are available today will make it that long.
 
LMichaels said:
Those look like they could be worth it. I do think the OEM ones are 304SS but quite thin
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Larry, I have some new Weber OEM ones and some non-OEM ones that I will try to check with my magnet and report back. I will also try to compare how thick they are compared to this version.
 
I have 5 of these coming today from grillparts.
I had asked them if I could buy just the stainless flame catchers and they referred me to Mhp.
Mhp didn’t respond.
These must be made in china as an assembly.
Since the stainless catchers are the only part of these which routinely fails I thought it was worth a try....
 
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Got them bookmarked. I can't afford them now, but I will probably get 5 or so next month. I have lots of orphaned igniters.
 
I used one of the IG13BRs yesterday on the G3000, and used the whole assembly on an orphaned igniter, not just the ss box.
The box which came out was magnetic, and the new one non-magnetic.
Seems like a better stainless (300 vs 400 series) was used in the later production boxes, for obvious reasons....
 
UPDATE:

OK, so I went out in my cold shop and dug out examples of my other igniter purchases in order to make a fair comparison with this new find from MHP:

IMG_1576.jpeg

Basic observations:

This MHP entry was the ONLY one that passed the magnet test:

IMG_1580 (1).jpegIMG_1579.jpegIMG_1578.jpegIMG_1577.jpeg
As far as thickness of the collector box, I couldn't see any real difference among these versions. The Weber ones seemed to have a slightly thicker ceramic igniter. So, it comes down to whether MHP using apparently real 304 stainless-steel will make a difference in how long this part will last. Being subject to a lot of heat, grease, and salts, it seems like a good idea on MHP's part. Only time will tell. I do think this is an attractive option if you, like me, have orphaned igniter switches. I don't know of any other stainless option for this part.
 
Jon Tofte said:
The Weber ones seemed to have a slightly thicker ceramic igniter.
Click to expand...
I guess I should be happy that MHP didn't respond to my "box only" request.
Wires are a couple inches longer on the new ones also but that’s not a problem.
 
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As I sit here roasting coffee I have lots of periods when I just watch so I decided to put my time to use.
I installed a bunch of these over the weekend and it worked well, but there were issues.
A couple of the piezo units had their center wires stuck from rusting, and another would not generate a spark.
Since the ceramic insulators appear different on the ig13s I didn’t try to swap new style boxes with old boxes and just used some decent old ones.
Luckily I had enough used stock to get the job done, and the new assemblies will certainly last longer.
Since new original complete assemblies are now available on Amazon at about the same delivered price it would seem they would be best for flippers and the ig13s for forever grills.
 
Hank,
I am not sure I totally follow. Are you saying that you used some of the MHP ig13 collector box/ceramic igniters connected to a used stock piezo igniter switch and had these issues? Especially trying to understand about the rust you mentioned. I would think that some failure rate among a collection of used piezo igniter switches is to be expected. I looked at this as a way to re-use parts that would have just been sitting around as junk and put someone (including me) in a better place than with a complete unit with the cheaper collector boxes. And at a cost not any higher than buying a cheap full unit on Amazon...

If this method is problematic, then I have to agree with you that it is not worthwhile for flipping since no buyer would really understand it, and the jury is still out as to how much longer the stainless collector boxes will last. Easier to just say "New igniter!"
 
Jon Tofte said:
UPDATE:

OK, so I went out in my cold shop and dug out examples of my other igniter purchases in order to make a fair comparison with this new find from MHP:

View attachment 66424

Basic observations:

This MHP entry was the ONLY one that passed the magnet test:

View attachment 66425View attachment 66426View attachment 66427View attachment 66428
As far as thickness of the collector box, I couldn't see any real difference among these versions. The Weber ones seemed to have a slightly thicker ceramic igniter. So, it comes down to whether MHP using apparently real 304 stainless-steel will make a difference in how long this part will last. Being subject to a lot of heat, grease, and salts, it seems like a good idea on MHP's part. Only time will tell. I do think this is an attractive option if you, like me, have orphaned igniter switches. I don't know of any other stainless option for this part.
Click to expand...
Thanks Jon, I'm going to order a couple of those and give them a try!!
 
Jon Tofte said:
Hank,
I am not sure I totally follow. Are you saying that you used some of the MHP ig13 collector box/ceramic igniters connected to a used stock piezo igniter switch and had these issues? Especially trying to understand about the rust you mentioned. I would think that some failure rate among a collection of used piezo igniter switches is to be expected. I looked at this as a way to re-use parts that would have just been sitting around as junk and put someone (including me) in a better place than with a complete unit with the cheaper collector boxes. And at a cost not any higher than buying a cheap full unit on Amazon...

If this method is problematic, then I have to agree with you that it is not worthwhile for flipping since no buyer would really understand it, and the jury is still out as to how much longer the stainless collector boxes will last. Easier to just say "New igniter!"
Click to expand...
Jon, see my clarification above. I totally agree with all you said, and am quite sure that the new non magnetic boxes will outlast the 20+ year old boxes they replace. Incidentally, all the rusted wire issues were in igniters apparently over 20 years old.
I think that as long as you have a piezo igniter which works and from which you can remove the black wire, the IG13 is an excellent way to go.
 
Hank,
Thanks very much for helping me (and maybe some others) fully understand. I found this item as a kind of obscure listing that I hoped would be a help to others here. It sounds like as long as you are realistic that it can be.
 
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