Since brewing for me is an outdoor activity not much happens during the cold winter months of the year. It is a good time to dismantle the brewery, including the valves, for a good cleaning. It is also a good time for improvements. In the latest issue of Zymurgy magazine (Jan/Feb 2014), the gadget issue, one of the highlighted gadgets was a burner igniter adapted from the grill industry by Mike McMonagle. Like me, he was tired of using a grill torch to light his burner. Drawing inspiration from Mike's gadget I decided I too should have push button ignition. I went to the local hardware store and returned with a battery powered grill igniter kit. Eager to prove it would work I quickly installed it in the burner under my mash tun. The test being successful, and since the kit included two electrodes, I installed the second one under my HLT. I am able to light both burners simultaneously with just the push of a button. I will continue for now to light the boil kettle burner with the lighter because once it is lit it stays lit for an hour or more. One obstacle left to overcome is how to enclose the igniter assembly and integrate it into the brewery.
