"I was in the middle of collecting hearts on my first spirit run, when the wireless thermometer that came with my PS II HC kit quit. This was my third usage and had worked great up until then. It made for a bit harder to make the tails cut with out knowing when temp started to rise above 172 (especially for a novice).
Has anyone else had this problem? I checked batteries, connections etc. but no luck.

Tod"

I had the exact same problem, mine will work in the beginning and then quit when you need it the most.

"I've had some trouble with mine too. What I've found is that the receiver is very sensitive to battery voltage. As a result, the wireless range decreases after about 12 hours of use on a new set of batteries. The batteries still test good in a battery tester, and work well in other devices, but they no longer have a high enough terminal voltage to drive the receiver.

I tried using rechargeable batteries, but the range on a fully charged set was only about three feet. The problem is that alkaline batteries have a nominal terminal voltage of 1.5 volts, while rechargeables are 1.25 volts. The receiver just won't work with the lower terminal voltage.

I contacted Rick at Brewhaus the first time that mine stopped working, and he contacted a Tech on the matter. The Tech said that it was likely low batteries in the receiver. I had checked the batteries with a battery tester, and they were way into the good range. I swapped them out with a fresh set and the thermometer started working again. Rick was helpful and interested in the problem. I told him that I would do some more tests and let him know what I found, but I have not gotten back to him yet.

Next I'm going to try a set of AAA lithium batteries. They have a nominal terminal voltage of 1.5 volts, and lithium batteries have a flatter discharge curve. So, hopefully, the terminal voltage will remain high enough for the receiver to completely discharge the batteries before ceasing to function properly.

An annoying part of the way it fails is that when the battery voltage becomes too low, the display just sticks on the last temperature that it received. If you are not watching closely to see the little flashing icon, then you may not know that your thermometer is no longer working, and your temps may climb without your knowledge. I have a wall clock with a wireless outdoor thermometer, and if the clock looses communication with the outside transmitter, then the displayed temperature goes to a couple of dashes, so you know it's not working.

One other minor issue I have with the thermometer is that the alarm is high pitched and low volume. I have a bit of high frequency hearing loss, and I can only hear it when held close. However, my dog can hear it just fine. Maybe I can train her to let me know when the alarm goes off. Humm, would a dog trained this way be considered a ""service dog""? Or maybe a booze hound? :-)"

"Thanks for the input guys. I only changed the batteries in the transmitter when messing with it. I changed the batteries in the receiver and as stated it came back to life. Thank you all for the input. Crisis number 1,987,144,001 averted!!!
Sorry it took so long to long to reply, took the wife to ER in middle of night and not much sleep.
Thanks again!

Tod"

Wow wireless, must have switched over just after I got my HCII. Sometimes I'm modern & sometimes I'm not. I happen to like my old glass thermometer, but of course, it will break too. I can see where a wireless one would be easier read, the glass one on top of the reflux column is a stretch.

"

I would love to hear the results of your lithium test after you have tested them.
Tod"