direct spark ignition

[Twilly]

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.

[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.

[Twilly]

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.

[docholiday]

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.

[Twilly]

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.

I find H.S.I, more reliable.

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.

[SeattlePioneer]

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

[majormickey]

Hey guys, I don't know if it's our harsher climate, but the HSI has given me less call outs.

[dec]

hummm I put in a ton of Heil spark to pilots and never had troubles with them other then a few modules. Cant say the same on hsi or smart valves altho it is always the valve , not ignitor on a sm

[heetseeker]

Thanks for the information on hot surface ignitors. Do your comments on the frequent failures[2-5yr lifespan] apply to the silicon nitride ignitors as well as the silicon carbide ignitors?

[ajscharper]

spark ignition is not terribly reliable here in the southeast of NC. High humidity and salt air seem to take a toll on em faster than it does on hsi.. least that's been my experience.

[berad]

In my experience, as long as the furnace is connected to properly sized duct work, has clean filters, coils, and secondary heat exchangers the hsi will last 7 to 10 years. If the home owner does not regularly change their filter and/or has a dirt or duct issue, it will eat ignitors over and over. When I find a broken igniter I look at all ot the things named if it's not one of my regular maintenance customers. I clean as many dirty evaporators in the winter as I do in the summer. For the same reasons, spark units will eat control boards and ignition modules due to limiting and such. Bottom line is the unit will be fine if it's clean and connected to a good duct system with the exception of a few models out there that will eat igniters regardless due to poor design or operation sequence or timing.

[jpb2]

As a 18 year vetran with a Ruud dist. I think direct spark is one of the best improvements made. p/n. 62-22868-93 is burned in my memory. i would have to go to rhemote to look up d.s.i. #'s.