Chaney Instrument 00985 Wireless Refrigerator Freezer Thermometer Alarm Set
by Chaney
|
List Price: Category: Kitchen See more product details |
|---|
(Click here)
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Chaney Instrument 00985 Wireless Refrigerator Freezer Thermometer Alarm Set
Customer Review: A Little Finicky, Requires Patience, But Worth The Effort
Summary: 4 Stars
It took me a while to get this setup working, but this is truly an amazing product with amazing features. I was having a bit of trouble geting the refrigerator interior monitor to "talk to" the temperature display unit at first. The instructions tell you that it's OK to use alkaline batteries on the refrigerator monitor, but they advise lithium batteries for the freezer monitor. I mounted the magnetic display unit to the exterior door of the freezer, and it picked up the freezer temperature right away but it wasn't getting the refrigerator temperature. So I did two things: 1) I replaced the the alkaline batteries recommended for the refrigerator monitor with lithium batteries like I had already used in the freezer monitor. 2) I moved the refrigerator monitor as close to the display unit as possible by moving it into the butter shelf inside the refrigerator door. After patiently waiting for about 30 minutes, the display unit finally "lit up" with a temperature that it received from the refrigerator monitor. After spending the night with each other, the monitors now seem much more communicative with the display unit, and the displayed temperatures have settled out very close to the actual temperatures inside the refrigerator and freezer.
This setup keeps track of the current temperature of the refrigerator, and it also displays the highest and lowest temperatures read since the last time the "clear" button was pushed. After a little patience during initial setup, it is just terrific.
Customer Review: A total dud
Summary: 1 Stars
When I first got this item, I put the batteries in and left all 3 parts together at room temp along with a device that I use to monitor indoor and outdoor temps.
After a few hours, the Chaney read 2 degrees higher on channel two and 7 degrees higher on channel one. Already not good as far as accuracy, but I thought I'd just use it anyway.
I put the probes in fridge and freezer but they couldn't communicate with the base. The device I use to wirelessly monitor outdoor temps worked fine not only through the fridge and freezer doors, but 50 feet away.
So I put the base in the fridge and figured I'd just have to check it manually.
Two weeks later and the display is blank. Already printed out my return label.
Judging from how many people have rated this item, lots of people want to monitor their fridge and freezer. Any entrepreneurs out there that can make one that actually works consistently? You'll make a killing.
Customer Review: Abysmally unreliable
Summary: 1 Stars
Unfortunately, whilst the temperature readings are quick, accurate, and the display provides informative information, this set is too unreliable to be of any practical use.
I have an under counter fridge and a separate freezer, and the receiver is less than 2 metres away on a nearby shelf. Very frequently (approximately 2-4 times a day) the receiver will show an undocumented error code "-E-" in one or both windows. Resetting the receiver (using a paperclip) removes this error code, but unfortunately, does nothing to restore the monitoring. Rather, one sees "---" permanently. To resume operation, one has to dig out both thermometers, unplug and re-seat their batteries, before readings once again will occur. Doing the latter on its own does not clear the "-E-" errors.
As one might gather, performing these three operations several times a day is not my idea of fun. And, given the intention was to remotely monitor a freezer in my garage, this alarm set is best forgotten about.
Customer Review: Accurately Track Refrigerator and Freezer Temperatures
Summary: 5 Stars
The Chaney Wireless Refrigerator and Freezer Thermometer performed all functions in an excellent manner. The only caveat is to give the thermometer time to reach equilibrium with your Refrigerator and Freezer. This can take from 15 to 20 minutes depending on the differential. I also verified the temperatures with another digital thermometer from another manufacture. The temperatures were within one degree between the devices.
I did use Lithium Batteries in both the Refrigerator and Freezer Sensors.
In summary the device not only gives the current temperature but indicates both the high and low and most of all will function when the power is off to the appliance which is an important feature.
Customer Review: Already Useful after a Few Weeks
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a wine writer and also a low carb writer. For both of the websites I run I get bombarded with questions from readers who want to know how to keep their wines and foods fresh for as long as possible. We are all trying to save money in these times, and keeping your food and drink fresh until you finish eating it is certainly an obvious way to help out. In almost every case, my guidance to the people is to test the temperature in their fridge and freezer. Many people are shocked to realize that their fridges are FAR too warm, and that is causing their food to spoil and their wine to sour.
The Chaney Refrigerator / Freezer Thermometer is a brilliant way to keep an eye on how your food is doing. Here is how it works. You get one thermometer which you put into the back of your refrigerator. A second thermometer goes into the back of your freezer. Both of these send signals *wirelessly* to a display unit. The display unit is magnetic and can stick easily to the front of your refrigerator.
You can walk by your fridge and see at a glance exactly what temperature your fridge and freezer are currently at. The system also displays the highest and lowest temperature each area has reached since you last reset the values. So if you set your fridge normally to 34F and you see that it has been swinging between 20F and 50F, it's time to call a repair person! That would definitely cause serious damage to your food.
In addition, you can set alarm values, both high and low, for both sensors. So you can set the freezer to start beeping an alarm if it drops below -50F, or if it goes up above 0F. Of course the chance of your freezer suddenly going insane and becoming "way too cold" is probably slim - but I know a number of people who had electrical problems with their fridges and who lost cooling ability without realizing it at first. Having a beeping alarm go off before your freezer's contents all thaw is a very good thing!
The wireless unit says that it can transmit a fair distance, but this of course would depend on all sorts of things - if there are concrete walls between the source and destination, if there are other interfering signals around, and so on. For me, I know it works with the display on the outside of the fridge it is monitoring. So I can say with great certainty that that works very well.
I know for sure the alarm works wonderfully - only a few weeks after buying the unit, we had a thunderstorm take out the power. It was only a short while later when the fridge half of our unit began beeping.
Is there a downside to this? Well, when we first got the set, the display LEDs simply would not light up well. We tried at least 8 different sets of batteries in it to ensure it wasn't a bad set of batteries. Some of the number pieces would light up, while others would stay completely unlit. We called up Chaney and they were extremely prompt and helpful. Only a few days later we had a fully functional display unit in our hands, and it worked beautifully. Electronic devices will never be 100% foolproof so I don't ding them much for having that glitch, and offer praise for them resolving it so readily.
All in all, I love this device. I can glance at my fridge every time I use it and know exactly what its temperature is and what the recent ranges of temperature have been. I can optimize the fridge and freezer to have the optimal temperatures to keep my food and wine fresh for as long as possible. That means milk lasts longer, salad fixings last longer, everything lasts longer. That stretches my food dollar as well as it can be stretched, and easily pays for the price of the thermometer within a month or two.
Highly recommended. I'm even looking into getting another one for my wine fridges. The only question then would be if the wireless transmitters interfere with each other!