Reply10x more reliable that HSI.
Regular Guest
Rheem has a direct spark ignition. Any thoughts on whether this will be more reliable than hot surface ignition. Do most hot surface ignitors go out at about five years?
Professional Member
10x more reliable that HSI.
Regular Guest
docholiday,
Why do you think DSI is better than HSI? (Just Curious)
heetseeker,
We have had our furnace for 10 years (York Diamond 80) and no HSI problems (Yet!)
Membership Committee*
I love hsi systems, talk about a revenue stream. Some months hs ignitors make my house payment. Doc is right spark is much more reliable. Although not as profitable.
No Heat No Cool You need Action Fast
Professional Member
How many DSI ignitors do you change compaired to HSI (yes you can interpolate (or extrapolate, I never know which is which) based on the numbers of units you sell of each. Its much more reliable. How can I better describe it? I can count on one finger the number of after hours calls I have made on DSI ignition problems, I wish I had a nickle for every HSI I was called away from the dinner table our out of bed to replace.
York HVAC, you are one of the lucky ones, although I bet you just jinxed yourself.
Global Moderator
No kidding, incredible number of service calls each winter for $200 that need a simple ignitor. Average life seems to be 2 to 5 years. 10 years is a rarity. York has used so many different ignitors it is murder to keep track of them. At least most brands have stuck to 1 or 2.
Terry, I'll get you called soon to talk Mods! Been a wild week.
Regular Guest
"York HVAC, you are one of the lucky ones, although I bet you just jinxed yourself."
Gee Thanks!(And I hope I didnt!)
"York has used so many different ignitors it is murder to keep track of them."
Don't worry, I have all the service papers, installation and owners manual's, and replacement part number books all safley in a neat and organized binder. So if you ever service my system in Northern VA, it will be no problemActually came in handy the time the tech needed to know the number of the blower motor.
Professional Member*
You may have the info handy, but will the tech have the part when you call him at 3:00 in the morning? With as many ignitors that york has your chances are not very good.
Karst means cave. So, I search for caves.
Membership Committee*
regarding having the proper ignitor any tech worth his salt will have the proper ignitor 98% of the time unless his company doesn't allow him to pick parts.
No Heat No Cool You need Action Fast
Professional Member*
I just counted 36 ignitors in the RE Michel catalouge.....this does not include oem specific models, and only 1 of these was York.
Karst means cave. So, I search for caves.
God Speed, Jim. We'll miss you - 2-26-23
York bites big time for that.
But hsi's are good for profit.
Professional Member*
spark ignition is the bast thing going almost no problems as long as they are serviced
hot surface ignitors suck
garrentied servie calls and almost always on overtime to when you can be with the family or sleeping
Professional Member*
the newer ignitors that i have seen are getting better as far as reliability.....shorter warm-up times...i find hsi a lot faster to troubleshoot than spark,....and well you know time is money.
Membership Committee*
yeah you can usually look and see the broken ignitor. When I call the customer and they tell me (if they even know) what kind of furnace they have I carry a hsi in with me. Hey maybe I can sue somebody because I've gained weight.
No Heat No Cool You need Action Fast
Regular Guest
I find H.S.I, more reliable. Twilli; Whether it's direct spark or hot surface, shouldn't it be about pride in your work versus how much money you can make in a month. There's nothing like a thank-you note from a customer telling you that he/she will pass your name onto their friends after a job well done.
Membership Committee*
I do take pride in my work. However the question was which is more reliable. My point was simply that hsi is more prone to failure. Many of us have compained about hsi and yet we have racked in thousands of dollars off of this ignition system.
Do I like hsi from a technicains point of view? Yes and no, it's fairly easy to diagnose and it's a quick and profitable repair. But as many have eluded too it's also a very common break down at inconvienent times.
As a business owner I have loved the revenues that we have generated from hsi. My point is that as an owner I am always concerned about revenue. It's what pays the bills. Unfortunately knowone in our area accepts "thank you" notes for payment.
Just for the record we have a wall in our office that is dedicated to notes/letters that customers have written thanking us for variuos things.
Actually I have a tremendous amount of pride in our workmanship and our committment to customer service and satisfaction.
No Heat No Cool You need Action Fast
Professional Member
Well said Twilli.
I wonder if he's comparing HSI to spark-to-pilot, thats a "whole nuther beast". DSI, is just about as foolproof as it gets.
Membership Committee*
I find H.S.I, more reliable.Originally posted by majormickey
I find H.S.I, more reliable. Twilli; Whether it's direct spark or hot surface, shouldn't it be about pride in your work versus how much money you can make in a month. There's nothing like a thank-you note from a customer telling you that he/she will pass your name onto their friends after a job well done.
To generate revenue? Because it definately not as reliable as DSI. Maybe Majormickey is unfamiliar with our rheem DSI it's bullet proof. Ohter than the board going bad it's fail proof. I would think 99% of ruud/rheem dealers would agree.
In fact it works too good.
No Heat No Cool You need Action Fast
Regular Guest
Personally, I think an intermittent pilot system is the best way to ignite a gas furnace as a general rule. Better even than direct spark.
The weakness of DSI tends to be that the electrode is exposed to the burner flame, and tends to erode away after enough years of use, especially if the flame has too much excess primary air.
I have a Honeywell AID kit installed in my furnace in 1985, still working fine. One winter my basement flooded out, including the Honeywell ignition control box. I baked it in a slow oven and its worked fine for fifteen years since that time.
Please don't lecture me about using a box that's been flooded out. I live alone and prefer to live dangerously!
Seattle Pioneer
Regular Guest
Hey guys, I don't know if it's our harsher climate, but the HSI has given me less call outs.
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