Thanks everyone! That helps immensely.

Jimmy - I think that would be the easiest way to set it up, good call. Now I just need to think of a "dramatic" presentation of the external wiring... going for the wow factor with friends and family.

While it makes sense that one of the 3 leads would be ground, the instructions seem to indicate that 3 sparks are possible. When using all 3 electrodes, no ground wire is attached to the control box. So... what if I placed each electrode through the outside of the chamber, pointing toward the center...

That wiki is awesome. A spark strip is exactly what I had in mind!

Things in the spud gun world have come a long way...

Thanks for your help... looks like we were typing at the same time. I think just using 2 would be fine. 2 spark fronts would be reasonable, with some sort of conductor between them, creating 2 gaps. And wow, that help came quick! I always brace myself (and don my flame retardant suit) after a first ...

It makes sense to me when using only 1 or 2 of the electrodes: For 1 electrode, a ground wire is attached from electrode socket 2 to the bbq, and socket 3 is unused. For 2 electrodes, the 3rd socket is ground. But when using all 3, how is ground supplied? I'm an electronics noob, so it might be obvi...

Here's a pic of the one I have... 3 electrodes (meant to accomodate front, side, and rear burners.)

Built some low-tech combustion guns in my youth, but I'm looking at creating something a little more updated. I have an electric BBQ ignitor that has 3 electrodes. This should allow me to create 3 separate spark gaps, correct? In the instructions, it says that if only 1 or 2 electrodes are being use...