ideas for something to replace matches for lighting burners on gas cook stove?

We have a propane gas stove and at the moment use wooden kitchen matches to light the burners.  We've tried the long plastic 'lighters' and an all metal flint lighter that you squeeze and the spark lights the gas...  

In the end we keep coming back to matches.  This summer has been so wet and humid that the strike part of the box disintegrates about a third of the way through the matches.

A small problem that I would feel good about finding a 'buy it for life' solution to.  The flint/spark lighter was the closest to being long lasting without plastic and more propane, but the flints didn't last long at all...maybe there's a high end one?

I use the welding ignighters,they sell replacement flints,but are not priced economically. A piezoelectric starter made for a BBQ grill could be rigged into a reusable lighter....

There are piezo welding lighters.  NOT cheap, but a lifetime purchase.  I will add a link later, when I am on a real computer.

ETA: the price has come down in the last decade (or two) since I bought one, LOL.
https://www.amazon.com/Spark-Key-Torch-Ignitor-Cliplight-Batteries/dp/B000NOXDTS/ref=pd_sim_sbs_469_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=41jxp105gGL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=JEPS85B87CXRBVRDDXGG

Thanks to you both!  The  piezo welding lighter is now on the list for the next time we visit a large enough town that would carry something like that (we don't have the ability to buy on line).  The price, less than twenty dollars, sounds great considering it's longevity. I think a big hardware store should have them?

and once again, after days of rain and a humid house, the striking surface on the box of matches has disintegrated and we are lighting each match with a bic lighter......I haven't seen 'strike anywhere' matches in a long time...I wonder if they are still made?

Judith,
The strike anywhere are still sold https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AD485H8/ref=mp_s_a_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1471393765&sr=8-10&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=diamond+matches

I was amazed that I remembered the Diamond brand name from my youth.
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Last month we put 995 dollars in a new/ used rearend in our Avalanche, first of this month it was a new fuel pump 497 dollars. If I was flush on my bills I would have had you private mooseaged your address and I would of went online and ordered you one.
I know you weren't asking anyone, but karma has a way of coming around and I like your posts.
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Mike

The lighter in the link does look good,but many of the reviews describe early failure or suboptimal performance.
The idea is sound,so be sure to search out one with good reviews and then seat h out the manufacturer website to find out what retailers near you carry the item.

I was amazed that I remembered the Diamond brand name from my youth.

Yeah.  I remember the Ohio Blue Tip (the blue tips were the 'strike anywhere' ones).

The safety police are making the strike-anywhere ones hard to find.
They're afraid that they will light themselves in your pocket.

John Polk wrote:
The safety police are making the strike-anywhere ones hard to find.
They're afraid that they will light themselves in your pocket.

hahaha...they can!  Steve was sweeping one day (I guess with extra gusto) and the few matches in his pocket did light!  He did this cool little dance while he fished them out of his pocket  

I would of went online and ordered you one.

 thanks for that thought Mike...our daughter in law is our 'go to' if there is something we can't find elsewhere that we really 'need', like books usually  
I'm finding that a lot of places on line will still accommodate a check or money order and have their address included at their site.

The idea is sound,so be sure to search out one with good reviews and then seat h out the manufacturer website to find out what retailers near you carry the item.

 thanks William!  I always forget or don't take the time to read reviews...I do like to see the real object before buying so hopefully will find in a store near by.

A Ferro Rod

I've always just used a Bic disposable lighter.  Hold it inverted so you're using your finger to roll the flint wheel. A quick snap once the gas is on and it rarely misses.  

Judith Browning wrote:In the end we keep coming back to matches.  This summer has been so wet and humid that the strike part of the box disintegrates about a third of the way through the matches.

Since it has been 3 months since this thread was started, did you find something that works for you?

If not, I wonder if putting your matches and the strike part of the box in a wide mason jar with a lid would keep them from disintegrating?  A hassle when needing a match though.

Will the matches strike on sand paper?

I have an antique flint sparker which has lasted many years of intermittent use with only one new flint (the pencil lead-style ones). It has a serrated wheel mounted at the end, and a spring-loaded trigger to spin it against the flint while your hand is 6" away from the flame. I will post a picture of it when I get home in a day or so.

Here in India everyone uses these gas lighters for their cooking gas stoves. I think they have a magnet and coil inside, which generates a spark when you punch the end in. Mine has lasted for years and years, unlike the flint ones, that you have to keep replacing the little flint on. And they actually seem to give a more reliable spark. I find the cheaper ones (under $2 in India) go defunct if you wash them in water, so maybe they have a cardboard part inside, but the ones that cost a hefty $3 or $4 and are steel seem to last for years, though I've also learned to clean it by wiping rather than soaking.

Here's one on Amazon India.

Those gas lighters are new to me, but I would find them useful.  However, they don't seem to be available to me in the United States.

As for the torch lighters, I have plenty of experience with those, and they won't last a lifetime.  Perhaps a decade for the best of them, and very well cared for.  And those are very expensive for the purpose.  I've ran the numbers myself in the past, then ordered a case of strike on box and a half dozen boxes of strike anywhere matches from amazon.  So long as you have a dry place to keep them, inside their plastic outer wrap, they will keep.  If you figure 3 matches a day average need, one box will last a month.  Nor do you need a match for each burner; once one is lit, you can use the obvious twig to transfer the flame, or a single shaft of spaghetti.  Another method for limiting matches use is to keep an oil candle, or regular candle, next to the stovetop; and light the candle with the match, and keep the candle lit until you know the cooking is done.

Another method to consider is a fire piston, but those aren't cheap, and I have no idea how long they last.

Rebecca Norman wrote:Here in India everyone uses these gas lighters for their cooking gas stoves. I think they have a magnet and coil inside, which generates a spark when you punch the end in. Mine has lasted for years and years, unlike the flint ones, that you have to keep replacing the little flint on. And they actually seem to give a more reliable spark. I find the cheaper ones (under $2 in India) go defunct if you wash them in water, so maybe they have a cardboard part inside, but the ones that cost a hefty $3 or $4 and are steel seem to last for years, though I've also learned to clean it by wiping rather than soaking.

Here's one on Amazon India.

thanks everyone!  

...at the moment I'm trying to find the one that Rebecca posted here in the states...so far it looks like it's only for sale in India.  It sounds like what we want...no plastic, no fuel, no flint to replace and at that price could always have a spare.

In the meantime I bought a long plastic crappy fireplace lighter to use until the weather was less humid...ready to dig out the box matches now.  

This is something similar except it has a plastic handle.  Seller is in UK but says they ship to America.  The listing has a calculator to put in your zipcode to get shipping price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ELECTRONIC-KITCHEN-FLAME-GAS-LIGHTER-No-GAS-BATTERY-REQUIRED-0-RUNNING-COST-/282276311060

Found this one for $8 on Amazon (affiliate linky thing)



There's a slightly longer one for $9.

Bill Erickson wrote:
Found this one for $8 on Amazon (affiliate linky thing)



There's a slightly longer one for $9.

The 'affiliate' link above doesn't work anymore...I'm finally ordering one of these...here's the link https://www.amazon.com/Robolife-Electronic-Ignitor-Starter-Lighter/dp/B01NALESBH/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1492430127&sr=8-4&keywords=Spark%2Blighter&th=1&psc=1

I'll be back to report how it works when it gets here and I've tried it out.

Found this on Amazon. Third party though and no reviews yet.  

https://www.amazon.com/Lighter-Igniter-Lanterns-Warranty-Bottle/dp/B00YKWUMOI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1492446180&sr=8-2&keywords=Gas+stove+lighter+with+steel+body

Judith Browning wrote:

Bill Erickson wrote:
Found this one for $8 on Amazon (affiliate linky thing)



There's a slightly longer one for $9.

The 'affiliate' link above doesn't work anymore...I'm finally ordering one of these...here's the link https://www.amazon.com/Robolife-Electronic-Ignitor-Starter-Lighter/dp/B01NALESBH/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1492430127&sr=8-4&keywords=Spark%2Blighter&th=1&psc=1

I'll be back to report how it works when it gets here and I've tried it out.

I ordered two of these and recieved them yesterday...so the test has begun
This is the description:

Made of stainless iron, durable, long-lasted and rustproof
Do not need any liquid and battery to assist this spark
Suitable for continuous use, could be used for 30 thousand times
Two size for your choice: length 37cm / 14.57 inches, 30cm / 11.81 inches
The long shaft ensures a safe ignition distance from the gas fires or stoves;Suitable for liquefied gas, natural gas, coal gas and so on, not for candles

The inner card says made in Japan and the outer plastic has a label that says made in China...

I don't understand how it works.  There is a very small spark when triggered and the packaging says don't touch the end to metal when striking (maybe because it will short out?).  

Works great so far...for some reason I ordered the longer ones and that was unnecessary for my gas cook stove.
No plastic at all! and it seems very solid, trigger works smoothly.....I figure at 30,000 strikes it should last us (at maybe thirty strikes a day?) about 27 years? Whoops...2.7 years, a long time even then.   I've given one to our son and his family who will put it to a greater test than us.

Now I'm really curious about the 'electrical component' that makes the spark though...any ideas?  Apparently it's not a flint?

..and thanks for the link Bill!

I'm guessing it's a piezo-electric one?

Some materials generate electricity when you squeeze them - here's a link the peizoelectric effect

Those Piezoelectric ignitors usually last for a good amount of time (thousands of sparks). I'm sure you can find something of decent quality used on grills and such. I found a dollar store lighter that someone was throwing away and opened up the end to make it easier to ignite an outside fuel source. I keep it with my propane torch and it has lasted a few years of occasional use.