Had to choose between cheap igniter or the OEM part on a furnace call yesterday

I was out in Bakersfield replacing a gas valve on a 15 year old Rheem and got stuck deciding between a $12 universal igniter from the supply house or the $38 factory Honeywell one. I went with the cheap one to save the customer money and it fired up fine, but I'm worried it'll crack in a month. Anyone else have bad luck with those universal silicon nitride igniters?

3 comments

3 Comments

leehall1mo ago

Those cheap igniters crack fast and the callback eats up any savings pretty quick.

felix4141mo ago

Learned that lesson the hard way with a dryer heating element once cheap parts usually cost you more in callbacks.

smith.parker1mo ago

Yeah, the "cheap parts usually cost you more in callbacks" part really hits home. I mean, you save twenty bucks on a part, and then six months later you're back there replacing it again and the customer is annoyed. Plus your time and gas add up way faster than the cost of a quality part. It's like people forget that their labor is worth something too, not just the price sticker on the component.