A quick disclaimer: I do NOT work for MAK Grills, I am just a happy customer who gets to do some testing for them once in a while.
Just when you thought that your MAK grill couldn't get any better, MAK has gone and done it again!
A few months back I got a phone call from Matt, at MAK Grills asking if I'd be willing to install and test a new ignitor system they had developed. This came at a good time since my current ignitor was starting to bulge and most likely getting ready to fail.
Matt said it was something totally new that no-one else had. I agreed, and ever since using it for the first time, I've been chomping at the bit to post about it. But since it was in the testing phase I had to keep it on the down low.
Matt finally gave me the OK, so I am proud to introduce the new FlashFire
TM Ignitor from MAK Grills.
The FlashFire Ignitor is a ceramic rod that sits in a housing tube behind the firepot. It reaches 2,000° in about 10 seconds and allows extremely hot air to be blown into the firepot to ignite the pellets. No longer is there a metal ignitor rod sitting inside the firepot.
After my son and I installed it (which took less than a half hour), we started up the grill to test it.
All I can say is WOW was I pleasantly surprised! I should've known there was a reason they named it the "FlashFire Ignitor!" Within 2 1/2 minutes the pellets were lit and the grill was up and running!
Here are the parts I received: The ceramic FlashFire ignitor, the housing tube, a new firepot (to fit the housing) and a replacement Fuse and drill bit (for drilling out the rivets for the original ignitor holder). It also came with very clear instructions.
Here it is installed in our MAK 1 Star. The firepot, which has a matching slot for the ignitor housing, slides into place even easier than before.
Here is a video, we shot, showing just how fast the ignitor works.
All I can say is I am continually impressed with MAK's ability to always be on the front edge of Pellet Grill technology, and this is no exception!
I believe this will be the new ignitor in all MAK Grills, and as should be available as a retro-fit for any current MAK owners. I will let Matt or SmokinKat share any more details, specs, etc.
Cliff