I have a Jetboil. The piezoelectric ignition failed within the first half dozen times I used the stove. Friends have had the same experience. Yet I see here on the forum people using stoves with piezoelectric ignitions.

I also have a Delta Windmill lighter with piezo ignition. It works OK -- up to about 7000' in elevation. Above 7500' or so, it's completely worthless.

QUESTION ONE: If you have a stove with piezo ignition, is that ignition reliable?

QUESTION TWO: If you have a lighter with piezo ignition, what problems if any have you encountered, and has your lighter's ignition worked reliably above 7000'?

As always, your thoughts and insights appreciated.

HJ

I wouldn't call the Piezoelectric ignition particularly reliable but I have yet not had to resort to a lighter, Lucifer stick or firesteel to get the el cheapo Gelert Blaze PZ micro stove to take hold. The trick it seems is to get the stove to fire up is by adjusting the gas regulator to a very low output setting, then a quick few short stabs of the piezo button.

Above 7000 feet you may well need to resort to a firesteel or Lucifer stick. The advantage of the Piezo ignition is it just simply there, attached to the stove. If it doesn't work then you have to start looking in your pockets for the firesteel or non piezo ignition lighter (even a Zippo BLU lighter doesn't cut it to reliably fire up a gas cartridge stove) etc to get the stove to fire up.

Edit ----I have just ran a quick test to see how the el cheapo Gelert Ti stove performs. Piezo ignited first time.

I used a 1 litre Etapower pot this time indoors. Here are the stats;

300ml of water - Just enough for a large mug of Ovaltine.
Water temperature about 14C
No wind
Ambient temperature around 22C
Time to bring to a rolling boil - 1min 20sec
Fuel used = 3-3.5 grams of fuel.

Total projected water to bring to rolling boil for 100gms gas canister = approx 8-9 litres of water in favorable conditions.

I've used my JetBoil every morning and most evenings the last couple of years (nearly 100 nights of camping) and have never had a problem

I just turn the gas up a little, push the button and presto!

Sounds like some quality control issues at JetBoil.

Wow, wanna trade? I've replaced the unit, but the new ignition isn't any better. It too failed after a few weeks and is now as dead as a door nail.

I've read that MSR originally designed their new Reactor stove with a piezo ignition but then removed it because it was unreliable.

Apparently, Jetboil is aware that they have a problem; the new Jetboil is advertised as having an "improved" piezo ignition. I've heard mixed reports as to how good the "improved" ignition on the new Jetboil is, but on the older Jetboil, yours is the first report I've ever heard that indicates that the ignition is reliable.

HJ

I have one on my snow peak stove and it works fine.

The furnace in my 1982 camper has the same, it still works.

It's getting 5 stars on REI. com -- but there is some grumbling about the igniter.

"Presto" is an overstatement. It's often or usually presto but not always. I may have had to push it more than once sometimes to ignite. But not much and not often and have never had to resort to any other means of lighting it. Knock on wood -- lucky so far.

Tomorrow morning I leave for a 9-day camp trip. Will take note of its performance during morning coffee prep.

:-)

My understanding is if the piezo igniter does go out, then you light it just like any stove without the igniter. That's what I was told when I purchased my Snow Peak stove.

Interesting replies from you all. Maybe Jetboil's particular implementation is prone to failure? Seems like people with non-Jetboil piezo's have better luck.

HJ

I've probably owned a half dozen gas grills with piezoelectric ignition over the years and none have worked for more than a year. Frankly, they are more trouble than they are worth to me because they are so undependable, and I have neither the time nor the inclination to troubleshoot them.

Always have fire redundancy; AKA Bic and firesteel.
A sparklight will probably work to start a gas stove if needed.

I haven't used a piezo igniter on a wilderness trip. Guess I'm a bit 'old skool' with my Bic in my pocket (and spares tucked in everywhere).

I've had some piezo igniters that wouldn't quit. Some of the long-nose BBQ/fire lighters kept sparking (and starting the BBQ) long after the butane ran out. A couple of different ones got left out over winter, under snow and snowmelt. Just for laughs, I dried them out and scraped the rust off the 'points' and, voila, they sparked again.

I wonder if higher elevations (thin air) makes it harder to create a hot spark (which is basically a tiny plasma arc AFAIK). Perhaps the gap needs to be adjusted?

None of my stoves have a piezo lighter and I like it that way, you need to carry fire anyway so why bother with a fancy pants lighter.

I've been told that it has to do with the density of the air at altitude, although I don't know for sure.

My observation is that different types of piezoelectric ignitions work at different altitudes. My Delta Windmill lighter quit somewhere in the 7000' range, but I've used the piezo ignition on my Jetboil at 10,000' just fine.

HJ

That about sums it up perfectly. Convenience, but not necessarily dependability.

I also have Piezoelectric Ignition on my SnowPeak stove and have had no problems in the 3 years I have owned it. Being a "suspenders and belt type of outdoorsman" I also keep a mini Bic in the small stove storage box, just in case.

I have had poor luck with piezo ignition on cheap lighters though?

Mike

I thought it was standard operating procedure to do the "piezo dance" every time you try to light up a BBQ grill, etc. You open the lid, squat down for safety, turn on the gas, and depress the push button repreatedly as fast as you can trying to get the grill to light before enough gas builds up for an explosion. It is normal summer entertainment around here to listen for the jackhammer / woodpecker / machinegun sound of one of your neighbors pounding away on their piezo starter trying to get their grill started with their eyebrows still intact.

Isn't this normal???

My new BBQ grill has a battery operated spark generator.It has a quiet but effective cylic rate of aprox.50 clicks p/5seconds.My neighbors thought I was on Jihad, when they heard me cry out,the name of a certain religious sect,time after time,& they smelled something similar to fried pork rinds,immediately thereafter.

Make that reports two and three.

I have two and both work well. One I carry in my work truck 24 / 7 / 365, and use often during the winter months for a cup of coffee in the field. The other is used when camping which is much less often. Both were purchased about 2004 (or so), and the PZ ignition has surprised me by continuing to work.

Now the PZ ignition on the big $$$ outdoor cook station in my back yard is associated with only one flame, a flaming piece of crap....

I have never experienced a piezo lighter that worked longer than about a month, at best. They only add complexity, weight, and cost.

i'll throw in my two cents..i have a Brunton,it's a very small burner head with a Piezo lighter that i picked up on sale as a back up on canoe trips.after five years it is now my main stove and the heavy Coleman stays home.the lighter has always worked.
once i had to move the sparker tip just a tiny-tiny bit closer to the burner to get a spark to jump.cleaning the tip with a few strokes of a knife blade kept the rust and crud cleared off.
a Primus Gaz lamps lighting problem was solved the same way and works fine after years of use.
if the burner head is wet i can't get a spark so a lighter fires it up.
also..i have a super cheap--$5--tank lighter.ASG Pocket Torch that i got at a sale to help hospital volunteers.i thought it was sort of junkie but it's replaced my Bic on camping trips.it's Piezo is sort of "iffy" but it's never failed to light.

I might have to try your idea for "sprucing up" a piezo ignition.

The pocket torch sounds cool although my Delta Windmill is also something of a torch. With the Windmill, the problem for me is altitude. It just won't work starting somewhere above 7000'. I'll drive back later in the day to a lower elevation, and everything will be fine. Frustrating since my Windmill is so much better than a Bic.

HJ

I have a piezo igniter on my GSI stove, and the ceramic insulator cracked, resulting in piezo failure. I removed it, and have reverted to either a lighter, or sparklite, for lighting it.
I liked the piezo, but the ceramic, once cracked, rendered it useless. I found out the hard way about that one. So, I would say no; go without one, and use whatever method you choose to light it.