Another 3 weeks, another tank. It ran out yesterday, but I was too busy to replace the tank, so the mosquitos got a reprieve. Plus, I was amazed that moving my other Patriot to just outside the back patio seemed to be effective at making the patio usable for outside dining. My eldest, 16, was on the patio last week and complained of multiple mosquito bites around the ankles. Additionally, the above-ground pool was hard to use at night because of mosquito attacks. The Defender is between the pool and the (downhill) wetland. The Patriot was between the Defender and the wetland, but I moved it to outside the patio to address these problems. After moving the Patriot, the patio was mosquito free for dining. The patio dining success lulled me into slacking off the propane patrol.
Today we got over 1/2 inch of rain, but the rain has stopped, and that means joy for mosquitos. I finally decided to replace the tank, but the trap didn’t start! I forgot to turn the tank valve on. Silly mistake. I turned it on, and it still didn’t start. What now, another igniter problem?
No, the explanation is easier than that. When I was paying $20 (too much) to refill the tank, the operator used a screwdriver to turn a screw on the tank to “let out air.” She said this was necessary, especially for those mosquito trap users that run the tank down to zero. She was right. The no-nonsense Tractor Supply people will have none of this. Turn the screw yourself. I dare not. But the result is that the initial flow of gas is mostly air, and not propane. The trap will not start the first time within the starting time limit. This requires multiple starts until the air is bled out of the tank.
That’s all there is to it. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That was easy.
I recently acquired a used non working Liberty Plus battery operated MM. Been at it to get it working. I have replaced nozzle, cleaned inside of combustion chamber and a bunch of other maintenance – including thermistor resistance check. The problem I am having now is that everything in startup cycle seems running as it should – except the gas solenoid valve is not activating. I manually activated the valve using a 12 volt power supply and it works and I was able to light off the nozzle flame.
I have traced the problem to the controller PCB. The surface mount transistor labeled Q1 is shorted (see Q1 in your schematic at https://palomoney.com/wiki/images/thumb/a/a2/MMLiberty_Schem_0r0.png/1024px-MMLiberty_Schem_0r0.png
I am a retired EE – and although not expert in today’s digital tech do have a pretty good set of diagnostic and DIY skills to replace this SMT. My question is – do you have any info on the specs of this transistor – and where I can source a replacement? From your schematic it seems to be an NPN type (?) and just being used as a solid state switch to apply power to the solenoid coil. If you are open to discussing this let me know via an email and I will send you my cell phone number
No problem. Also check the forum, on the mosquito magnet section, where it is much easier to ask questions.
I believe any garden variety NPN small signal transistor (e.g., 2N3904) will do. It may take some doing to solder it in place of the smt device. To be sure, measure the solenoid dc resistance and calculate the current at 12vdc – it shouldn’t be much. Hard to understand how this could have failed. Plus if it fails shorted, the solenoid would always be on, and gas would come out, and the trap would work. Also check the diode, is it open (which would explain the dead NPN)? Of course, you need that to snub the inductive load.
Thanks for reply – I was able to source the exact surface mount replacement transistor and R&R it on control board. Solenoid is now working again. I think maybe I may have caused the shorted transistor probing around when I was replacing nozzle and doing other maintenance. I am now having start up problems -an suspecting it might be related to bad propane ? The start up sequence seems to run ok – including the spark ignitor. I can hear the sparking occur – and visually see it occurring in the cat converter assembly when I have disassembled the unit for cleaning and bench testing. I know that the propane is being feed by new nozzle into the converter – but the spark will not ignite it and keep it burning. When I take a propane cigarette lighter flame to the output end of the converter it ignites the propane and the propane continues to burn after spark ignitor pulsing stops. When unit is fully assembled and i start it up it works as it should – but when it gets to the sequence of starting the spark ignitor pulsing – followed by the solenoid activation to feed propane I can hear a “pop” but it isn’t igniting propane to establish a continuous flame? Unit runs thru this start up process 3times – then shuts down with a slow flashing red error signal which indicated fuel problem? I have verified that thermistor is functioning OK, solenoid operation ok, (I have manually operated solenoid nozzle assembly to test nozzle flame pattern and it was ok) .
My next step is to try another 20LB propane tank to see if this makes any difference as I have exhausted all other possible problems ….
I copied your messages (without your name) to the Liberty Plus topic of the forum. Can you go to the support forum to continue this exchange? The direct link is: https://www.palomoney.com/forum/read.php?13,209,256#msg-256
Please register to post questions, comments, etc. You don’t have to use your name. Lots of other people who don’t read this blog may be able to help, including those who actually have a Patriot Plus. I can only give general advice. Thanks.