Patent ID: 7886675

Claim:
An apparatus for burning solid fuel, comprising: a) a burning chamber for receiving solid fuel in communication with a solid fuel inlet, an air inlet, an exhaust outlet and at least one igniter, the at least one igniter comprising i) an inlet block defining a channel therethrough, the inlet block including structure defining first, second and third orifices in communication with the channel; ii) a seal disposed within the second orifice; iii) a ceramic cover tube having first and second ends, the first end of the ceramic cover tube operably secured in the first orifice to the inlet block and the second end in communication with the burning chamber; iv) a ceramic core disposed within the ceramic cover tube, v) a heating element carried by the core, and vi) electrical leads in electrical communication with first and second ends of the heating element, the electrical leads passing through the seal; and b) a control circuit connected to the electrical leads; and c) an ambient air source in communication with the third orifice for forcing ambient air through the channel, into the ceramic cover tube, over the heating element and out through the second end of the ceramic cover tube into the burning chamber such that the ambient air is heated to a temperature sufficient to ignite the solid fuel.