I have a Thermador range with the star burners. It works very well
for the most part but it seems that the spark igniters often have
trouble lighting the burners. They appear to be sparking just fine,
but it frequently takes 10 to 15 sparks before the burners ignite.
There is a strong odor of gas when it does this, so it doesn't appear
that it's being starved. When lit, the flame appears to be adjusted
correctly - no yellow flame tips or any other symptoms of
misadjustment. The flame envelops the igniter, so the spark is
certainly in the right place. This problem is not unique to one
burner - all four have the same problem. This is particularly
disturbing when using the X-Lo setting (the burner switches on and
off on a 1-minute cycle) when typically no one is standing at the
stove to turn it off if there's a problem. What might be the problem
and how might I go about fixing this?

-Mike

Mike Hartigan wrote:
I have a Thermador range with the star burners. It works very well
for the most part but it seems that the spark igniters often have
trouble lighting the burners. They appear to be sparking just fine,
but it frequently takes 10 to 15 sparks before the burners ignite.
There is a strong odor of gas when it does this, so it doesn't appear
that it's being starved. When lit, the flame appears to be adjusted
correctly - no yellow flame tips or any other symptoms of
misadjustment. The flame envelops the igniter, so the spark is
certainly in the right place. This problem is not unique to one
burner - all four have the same problem. This is particularly
disturbing when using the X-Lo setting (the burner switches on and
off on a 1-minute cycle) when typically no one is standing at the
stove to turn it off if there's a problem. What might be the problem
and how might I go about fixing this?

-Mike

The burners are probably dirty (the holes in them are clogged). Clear
them with a piece of wire.

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In article ,
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Mike Hartigan wrote:
I have a Thermador range with the star burners. It works very well
for the most part but it seems that the spark igniters often have
trouble lighting the burners. They appear to be sparking just fine,
but it frequently takes 10 to 15 sparks before the burners ignite.
There is a strong odor of gas when it does this, so it doesn't appear
that it's being starved. When lit, the flame appears to be adjusted
correctly - no yellow flame tips or any other symptoms of
misadjustment. The flame envelops the igniter, so the spark is
certainly in the right place. This problem is not unique to one
burner - all four have the same problem. This is particularly
disturbing when using the X-Lo setting (the burner switches on and
off on a 1-minute cycle) when typically no one is standing at the
stove to turn it off if there's a problem. What might be the problem
and how might I go about fixing this?

-Mike

The burners are probably dirty (the holes in them are clogged). Clear
them with a piece of wire.

No - the burners are the type where the holes, such as they are, are
channels (for lack of a better word) cast into the bottom portion of
the burner, with a cap on top of that. So there are no holes, as
such, and the 'channels' are as clean as a whistle. As I said, the
igniter is bathed in flame when it's lit, so there's no problem
getting the spark and the gas together.