Update: The electrode senses current or resistance through the flame and stops sparking once the flame is detected. It's not heat per se that turns it on and off. I installed mine in our frig today using the original electrode which was on the frig. Seems to work very nicely--lights much faster than with the original piezio hammer sparker and stops sparking almost immediately upon lighting and starts sparking again as soon as the flame goes off. I haven't driven anywhere with it yet. The Attwood 9 volt relighter is no longer sold. Robert Shaw makes a 9 volt relighter for about $80. part number 735-002 I think. (maybe 785-002)
Just an update on the relighter: I took my first road trip with it installed, about 70 miles one way and back. I can't recall an instance where my frig stayed lit on a journey like that, but this time it did, on both days. So, so far, the relighter seems to be a good upgrade to a propane frig subject to getting blown out. I'd put probably 5 or 6 hrs work into various baffles in the past trying to solve the problem with no avail. Now I know my frig will stay frozen all day on the road.
