The New Hotness

Our story so far:

• We installed a Kenmore gas range around the turn of the millennium
• 2006 – Oven burner tube & igniter replaced
• 2014 – Igniter replaced

Apparently igniters last about eight years, regardless of provenance, because the igniter just failed, with the usual symptoms of low current draw (about 2 A), failed ignition, and a faint smell of propane (well, mercaptan) before the safety valve kicked in:

The new igniter, another low-buck Amazon offering, came with half a green plastic connector block that mated neatly with the existing half under the oven. Unfortunately, the new wires had female pins crimped on their ends, rather than the male pins required by the existing connector and the ceramic wire nuts I’d used to join the previous igniter to the OEM connector were non-removable.

So I trimmed the old wires to a usable length and applied the new ceramic wire nuts to the stubs:

Also as before, the new igniter measures 3 A, definitely below the low end of the valve’s 3.3 to 3.6 A range:

If this one lasts eight years, I won’t be the guy replacing it …