Awesome! glad it helped! And congrats on a do it yourself victory!

Great news and congrats!

Thanks for commenting Roger. Glad to have helped!

Yes, that is the best way to start. One trick I have heard about since making this video is to direct a hair drier up the intake to warm things up a bit before attempting to start the unit. This apparently helps it get to running state if the thermocouple is getting a little dodgy. Good luck and thanks for your comment!

Awesome! Glad it helped and thanks for sharing. The more I work on these, I think the single biggest issue is corrosion on the thermal probe causing insufficient heat to the thermistor. Although, your point about rechargeable batteries is a good one. I have started having more issues and my rechargeable batteries are getting old... hmm, you may have just helped me in return. 🙂

Davin, great to think that I may have helped you in return. One other point that I should make, and apologies if it was not your video, but, another really helpful video talked through the sounds of the “startup” process. Understanding the whirring and clicking that goes on is really helpful in pinpointing what the potential issue, you are facing, is. With my second unit I heard the initial whirring as the unit warms up, then after a minute or two, the clicks as it “fired”, then a different click from the solenoid followed by a faint swooshing sound as the flame started and then the increased speed of the fan as it is powered up. My unit made all of these sounds until the final part - the fan seemed to accelerate then would stop for a few seconds before surging again (solid orange light throughout). From this I was reassured that almost everything was working properly and that maybe I had a fuel issue (which I figured may need the OPD reset, as I knew the system had been well cleaned and was unlikely to be the cause) or that the “power” was not quite enough to get it hot enough to get going (which is why I opened a new set of Duracell batteries). I learned a lot from these videos! Thanks once again!

Glad to help. Thanks for the compliment and good luck!

Thank you for the feedback and for your contribution to the solar pro thread!

After a few days I've been noticing that its turning off with the no flame warning again. Once I turn it on again it goes for another day or two again. Would you have any tips for this issue??? Thank you in advance.

Sorry, was away on vacation. All I can think of is that either the thermocouple (flame sensor) is getting weird or you need to give the nozzle one more cleaning. Also, if you have not already, try a freshly filled tank to see if that helps.

Congratulations. They can be problematic, but worth it when they work!

Thanks! I assume you are watching because you have a unit in need of repair. If so, good luck!

ok, i can confirm that the insides of a Liberty plus is very, very much similar to a independence. Actually, I couldn't spot any difference. Long story short, the cause of 7sec interval red blips was blocked/clogged jet. Although very clean sponge, cleaning the jet helped and the machine works.

+Iikka Konola Great news!

update 2018: liberty plus does run out of battery in 24 hours. Local service suspected that there is not enough gas pressure for burner, as peltier element(thermoelectric unit) requires enough heat to generate needed electricity for the unit, and if peltier runs too cold it drains the batteries rather fast. Also the contact and exact positioning of peltier is important, they said. I took my unit apart again and used some thermal paste with the peltier on both sides - do you have had the need to use something to transfer heat, or do you even had this kind of problems? I had an empty battery this morning again, so i think the gas pressure is the problem. Fetched a new full canister of gas this morning and didn't run any tests yet...

Good luck!

I tried to clean my nozzle but my independence does not start (gaz fault with red light blinking). I would like to replace the nozzle but I am not sure of the model, is it the delavan 1.75 45 type A or type W ?. Thank you

Thank you. Good luck!

If you are going to try it, good luck! Thanks for watching!

Hello Garth. As much as I love my Liberty and Independence, they do seem temperamental at times. If they have replaced the thermocouple then I would find it unlikely that it would fail again. Perhaps you don't have a strong starter? Do you hear it ticking (sparking) as it tries to fire? Do you ever feel any warmth from the outlet when it first starts?

Davin Desborough Thank you for the reply. I'll tell you what I have come up with to date and maybe this can help explain my problem. I followed your video and I found that my nozzle was very dirty and I wasn't get propane flow. After cleaning it lit perfectly with lighter. When the unit would "click" I was able to light the propane. When the clicking stopped the flame went out. I wasn't sure if the unit would come up to temp and then cycle off. Also, the nozzle would fail to light on it's own when the unit was semi disassembled as in your video. Possibly it lights when it is in the chamber out of sight? I was under the impression the little black box behind the nozzle would be the igniter therefore I thought it would light itself when held out of the enclosed chamber. When I reassembled, I still had the same 1 red flash/ 7 sec. One other note, there was one time when the unit stopped clicking that the flame stayed lit for a minute or so. Other than that it would always go out after the clicking stopped.

Garth Morin Also, I did check for warmth coming from the trumpet area and nothing at all. I assume it's just not getting the spark, as the propane is there.

Garth Morin If you are talking about the black box that is on the gas line with the nozzle, then that is the solenoid to turn the flow of gas on and off. The igniter is in the combustion chamber. If you look at 17:52 in the video, the two wires that come out the right side of the chamber are for the thermocouple while the single wire going to the left (further from the gas line) is for the igniter. With the nozzle outside of the chamber, the behavior you describe is correct. The gas is allowed to flow during the clicking (which is the spark firing). When no flame is detected (thermocouple isn't getting hot) it shuts off the gas and waits a while for the gas to clear before trying to start again. Take a look at my Liberty video for a little more info on these items. I should have covered it in this one too. In short, since you can light it outside the combustion chamber, I would say your spark isn't good or the thermocouple isn't registering the flame. You can try pulling both those items and cleaning them.

Davin Desborough Thanks you for your time. I will watch the Liberty video and see if I can decipher what you mean by cleaning them. The 2 wires are covered by the heat shield cloth, but I assume they are the 2 wires you zip tied back to the frame and the single larger wire is for the igniter. Nice job in your video. I'll let you know how I make out. One other quick question, the 2 small thermocouple wires are under the heat shield. It looks like they are in your video as well. I assume this is ok? Also would I get the 1 red flash/7 seconds with the igniter being dirty?

Thanks for watching! Sorry, but I don't know what size it is.

Thanks! They tend to keep the parts confined to dealers, but careful search on ebay can sometimes turn up what you need. Or watch your classifieds/craigslist for cheap used ones to scavenge for parts. Sorry, that's all I got.

Start watching at 17:10, that is where I hook up the wires. The thermocouple is the first connection I make. It just hooks into a connector on another wire, not a circuit board.

You are fully right. I just took the nozzle off my Indepedence model, it is made in several pieces. Just above the nozzle thread, there is a 6-sided nut which belongs to the filter. Unscrew it to remove the filter. After this, you can see inside the nozzle that there is another part that can be unscrewed with a flat screwdriver. At the end of this part there is the injector. Once dissasembled, all you have to do is blow all these parts with compressed air to get a well cleaned nozzle (or almost because filter does not regain its pretty golden color from the start)

I have never had reason to try and measure it, so I am not sure. The next time I clean it out I will check. Thanks for the compliment!

I don't this I specifically identified it, but if you pause at about 13:32, I am holding a heatsink on the left, the middle part (with the wire coming out) is the cat, and the small section on the right is the combustion chamber. The pad on the big heatsink in my right hand is a thermoelectric generator (I'm fairly sure of that anyway) that generates electricity to help run the unit. Anyway, there is no way to clean the cat other than to blow it out with some compressed air. Perhaps there is some sort of soak you could put it in to help, but I would be afraid of damaging it.

The hose certainly screws into the gas solenoid housing, but I don't know if it is compatible with a standard grill setup or not. I did find the following thread which suggests they are. Good luck! mosquitomagnet.freeforums.org/defender-fixed-bad-regulator-t9.html

If you do need a igniter, search eBay for "Mosquito Magnet Hot Surface Igniter" and you'll find lots of them. Before buying, however, I would recommend watching it when it is outside the unit like I did here kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fLGfqMhntri1lHU.html. If it glows, you are good. I find cleaning the corrosion off the thermocouple is the best fix. Good luck!

A flashing Orange to Red is the code for low battery. You sure there is no red in the pattern? Perhaps the red led is out? In any event, what batteries are you using? Rechargeable C's, regular C batteries (if so, what type), or a rechargeable battery pack? If you are using any sort of rechargeable batteries, I would try getting new ones if you haven't already. If you are sure it is not the batteries, then my next guess would be that something is simply drawing more power than it used to. The fan is the most likely culprit there. I would open it up, take a look around and clean it. That might help all on it's own. Good luck!

Yes it does. It is the wire and black piece you see protruding around 13:50.

The company evidently only sells parts to authorized repair shops. You might get lucky and find one on ebay. Otherwise, comb local ads and craigslist for a used one or broken "for parts" sale. Sorry, the key parts are hard to come by.

Unfortunately, no. Mosquito Magnet seems to keep the specialized parts to themselves and their authorized repair shops. You might be able to just buy the part from a local repair shop if there is one near you. Outside of that, you might be able to find someone getting rid of a used trap to salvage from or find one on ebay. Good luck and let us know if you find anything.

Thanks for the reply. I’ll keep you in the loop.

Sorry, I don't follow. Is the fan making a ticking noise? Does it move at all? I would suggest starting it while open and the jet removed from the combustion chamber. Wait for the click of the gas solenoid and either sniff at the jet to see if you smell propane, or have a lighter at the ready to see if you get a flame off the jet. Also, I made a mistake when I told you where the thermistor was yesterday. What I pointed out was the igniter. The thermistor is attached to the heat sink. Sorry about that. It's been over 5 years since I made this video. :-) Anyway. The other thing you could try is to remove the igniter to see if it is doing anything. I will have to work on my independence again this year as it was a little finicky last year. I will video it and go into more detail on the igniter and all. Until then good luck and feel free to ask more questions.

Hello, my name is Garth and I had been talking with Davin who made the video for Independence Tune up. He has been absent for a couple of days and I wondered if you could help me. I have narrowed my problem down to this. I have a great flow of propane that burns fine when nozzle is outside of combustion chamber. I have an arcing spark on the igniter as well. When I assemble the nozzle into the chamber, I can look in and see the igniter arc, light the propane from the nozzle and then it quickly goes out within a second or 2. I can still see the igniter arcing quite wildly in the chamber, but no flame. I assume the solenoid has closed and stopped the propane, but why? Any help would be greatly appreciated. My fault code is 1 red every 7 seconds which reads lack of propane.

Garth Morin I just saw you reply to here. mdougdad does have a point. If the flame is going out that quickly, there might not be enough oxygen in the chamber. You can try his suggestion. You might also try directing a gentle stream of air from an air compressor into the black shroud around the gas inlet to see if you can support a flame with the introduction of more air. I assume the fan for the unit is spinning up when you try to start it?

Wow, yes, getting parts is going to be extra complicated for you. First things first, I would triple check that all the connectors are firmly seated. I dislodged one slightly when cleaning it one time and it took me a while to figure out why it wouldn't start. They can look seated at a quick glace, but are not. If you can't get the igniter out, it might be worth trying the thermocouple. Unfortunately, I didn't really get into that in this video, so I guess I have a new video to make! Anyway, see if you can get it out. If it looks really corroded, try lightly sanding off the scale and corrosion so it transfers heat better. That will often help. If you really are not getting spark, then I think you have no choice by to attack the igniter. If you can get the screw out, you should be able to pry out the igniter as it just sits in the hole. Perhaps try lightly twisting it left and right to break it free. If you can get it out, then you can test it externally to really see if there is a spark or not. If it is bad, I am sad to say I am not sure where to get a replacement. I usually search eBay and such to see what I can find, but I am not seeing anything there at the moment. If you can locate used one for sale at a reasonable price, you can use it for parts. Good luck! Feel free to write back with more questions.

@@DavinDesborough Thank you so much for your speedy reply :-) When i turn it on, it is making the (normal) clicking sound and just once, after several tries at starting the machine, did i see one small spark inside where there is a kind of metal honeycomb mesh.... There is plenty of gas coming through the nozzle..... My suspicion is that maybe the igniter has a carbon build-up on it after so many years of use which is why it's not sparking ? I will open it up again and see if i can loosen it or, if not, if i can reach inside the chamber (maybe with my Dremmel) to clean it.... I'll keep you posted*** (I WILL get this machine working again !!)

@@DavinDesborough Hello again :-) So.... i have a made a few more attempts at getting it started after really stripping the machine down to the bone !! Got the igniter out pretty easily and, lo and behold, it was completely caked in a white, crusty scale.... Gave it a good clean and checked to see if it was working by holding it up against a piece of steel and it has a good, strong spark being generated. Thinking i had finally cracked the problem, i put it all back together but it still won't fire up ?? There is a good stream of gas coming through the pinhole nozzle and a good, strong spark.... No idea why the gas is not igniting ??? It's got me completely stumped :-/ Any ideas ?? After it goes through it's start up cycle, i get a single red light flashing every 7 seconds..... The two possible issues that i can logically point to, is something has moved inside the gas chamber so the igniter is not close enough to a metal contact to create a spark ? (hard to see inside that chamber..) Or, possible the gas jet is a bit blocked and not allowing enough pressure to come through ? There is a steady stream of gas but i have no idea if it's the right amount or maybe it should be coming through stronger ? I considered sticking a pin into that pinhole nozzle to open it up a bit but i'm wary of messing with it as i imagine it's pretty fine tuned at the factory.... Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :-)

@@stacypovey8867 Start it without the plastic top on and see if the metal warms up during it's initial cycling. If it does, the gas is burning and the issue is the thermocouple is dead or so caked in scale that it is not giving a good reading. Or perhaps there is a bad wire or connection in that system. That is the next thing I would test.

@@DavinDesborough Thanks again for your input, it's really appreciated*** So.... i can run the machine (with the plastic cover off) even though it will be upside down ? I tested the gas jet again today, even tried it without the filter in there, to see if that was the problem.... With or without the filter, there is a good stream of gas coming through and i managed to light it easily* (and it stayed lit by itself) There was a flame about 3 - 3.5 inches long though the thing that i'm curious about is that the first 1/3 of the flame (leaving the nozzle) was blue and the rest (2/3) of the flame was yellow ?? Is that normal or should it be purely blue ? In the manual i have, they mention that some gas tanks need to be "purged" ?? I imagine because there is some air mixed in with the gas ?? Could that be the issue here ? I have tried starting the machine on two different gas tanks already..... It was funny watching your video again today.... I have made all the same mistakes that you did :-) (i have become an expert at dismantling/assembling this thing now)

I have not seen the inside of that model, so I can't get into specifics. The main reason to separate is just to make it easier to clean the basket. If you continue to have trouble, I would soak the whole thing in carb cleaner overnight. Blow it out in the morning and it will probably be just as good as if you opened it up.

I finally separated the nozzle, then unscrewed the wire mesh filter; after soaking it all night in carb cleaner, still unable to remove the brown gunk inside of the tip; any other ideas? The company will not sell a replacement filter, stating that the unit must be returned to them.

Michael Swindal Sorry for the delay... If you simply hook it up on the bench, do you get gas out the nozzle when you turn it on? Similar to what I do at 22:40?

not sure yet; I was able to clean the outside of it with with wire brush on my Dremel tool; now in the process of reconstructing it.

I have a pro solar and was able to remove the nozzle after some time of playing with it. - undue the support screw - twist the nozzle ... it is not screwed in but twisting it will loosen the connection. - I used a bit of "release" or "WD40" to slide to nozzle out of the compartment. - then you can unscrew the 2 nozzle sections to clean inside. I used a small wire brush and carb cleaner to get the carbon off.

Glad it's running again! As for the fan, that is strange. Perhaps the fan bearings are starting to go and are noisy in the colder weather? That does not explain the nosy/quiet cycle though.

I've not started it up yet this year, but it was running last fall. We'll see this weekend. :-) As for your issue, it could be the fan bearing, or just some build-up. If it is getting annoying, I would open it up and give it a good cleaning. At least open up the plastic as that should let you pinpoint the source of the noise. If it is the fan, you can replace it if need be. If it sounds like it is coming from the combustion chamber, you'll have to decide if you want to live with the noise or spend the time taking it apart and cleaning it. Good luck and feel free to ask questions if you have more.

@@DavinDesborough Hey Davin, thanks for the response on this ancient thread. The problem i'm speaking of is illustrated on this guys video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qKmKps50mK25lIU.html It's really a mess. It seems to have to do with air flow through the unit. If you lift the lid, it will stop. If you take the net out, it will sometimes stop. Repositioning things slightly will change the pitch. I guess i'm gonna have to pull it all apart, but i'm sure once it's apart it wont' do it! Maddening stuff. Sounds like a ghoul in my back yard!

@@doughansel2082 Weird! I have never seen that before. I would try putting painters tape or similar all around the door (tape it closed) to see if that changes anything. It will at least rule out an air leak around the door. If that helps, I would guess that perhaps there is something clogging the intake, causing the unit to pull air through the cracks around the door and creating the noise. Let me know if you figure it out or have more questions.

@@DavinDesborough great suggestion Davin. I think it might actually be occurring where the air exhausts on the sides! Hope your unit boots up fine for the season. I can't believe they stopped making them. II have the Dynatrap too and it does a great job of catching moths, but mosquitos, not so much!

Sorry for the late response. It sits outdoors and attracts mosquitos by CO2 gas and heat created by burning propane. It tricks them into thinking it is an animal. When they get close to the source of the CO2, they get sucked up into the trap and are dried out by the heat and airflow. It is an effective, yet finicky device.

@@DavinDesborough Wow! I didn't know such things even existed. The principle of how it works is almost blissful in its simple and straightforward logic. Yet at the same time, it's bordering on genius. We live in England, so thankfully mosquitoes aren't a problem (probably due to the cold and rain!) But I know from travelling the world that _'moziz'_ (as we tend to call them), can be a real problem in warmer climates. Not to mention a complete pain in the arse! Thanks for taking the time to explain anyway, and best wishes to you and your loved ones for 2021 Davin.

That probably does have a good chance of success, but then again, I am the type who like to dig into things just to see how they work. Thanks for watching and commenting.

Yes its only in the last 5-6 years? It happened when they moved the descriptions to under the videos ish?

At the time I created this video, I had never heard of a TEG, but now that you mention it, you could be right. Mine is acting up again, so it is due for another cleaning. I am going to take a closer look at that. If I find anything worthwhile, there will be a video update. Thanks for commenting!

I am going to bore it out next time and add high lift cams too!

Thanks for the comment. I won't argue about their reliability. They seem to have a fair amount of trouble given that it is a fairly basic machine. That said, when they work, they work really well for me. In my opinion, they are worth the effort if you don't mind working on them yourself.