I posted this question on Amazon with the answer embedded. Earlier, someone said that Alkaline AAA “lasted all summer”. OK, fine, but I had to post another “question”, but this time with the ANSWER, which is the following:
Q — FREEZER temp – WHICH batteries??
Lithium = ++ $cost / 96% –
Alkaline = 33% – [Seems to me that only 33% effective won’t cut it.]
NiMh = 86% – << THAT is best!
I had asked separately: Will alkaline AAA batteries work ok at freezer temps? – for a few months, rather than lithium? – asked on February 14, 2023
Hopefully, my TWO - IBS-TH2 PLUS with TEMP probe will work through the metal case of my refrigerator / freezer. But, if not, it should still record the temps and I can sync them later. I’ve either got a defrost problem, or a fan at either the compressor coils or evaporator coils that is intermittent. Once I get that working properly, I plan to permanently mount / place the probes both above, and below my evaporator in my HVAC. The diff should be ~ 20F when working properly, and if it gets to 12F, then that shows a Freon leak. I also have an ECOBEE 3 that records the status of fan, stage one and stage 2 AC.
Hello,
If it is used in the freezer, we recommend the IBS-TH2 rather than the IBS-TH2 PLUS.
The IBS-TH2 PLUS body is not cold and water resistant.
The IBS-TH2 has cold and water resistant and the alkaline batteries are sufficient for its work.
Thanks— Got it — For now, I will keep it inside a zip-lock bag to ensure no moisture drips on, or condenses inside it. Alkaline batteries should be OK, since even at 33% of capacity they should work to deliver over =+1.2 v for a few months. (I’ll still use my NiMh, assuming 1.2v is fully enough for full Bluetooth power.)
The Zip Lock bag would be essential for me, until my freezer works as it should and doesn’t drip or thaw. I tried my ECOBEE remote in a bag, but the bluetooth couldn’t reliably penetrate the steel and then 20 feet to the thermostat. Hopefully, this will work and reach my phone / tablet. But if not, as long as it records first, I can simply remove it, connect to the phone and get the data, (leaving it in the bag until it warms up). The other alternative is to put only the probe in the freezer.
TIP – Anytime you plan to move ANY device from freezing temps, and it can get air inside the device, as that air is replaced from the more humid room temp air, it WILL condense on whatever is “much colder”. Best, would be to zip lock bag any device with cold or minimal air (and or add a desiccant), and don’t open the bag until the device itself warms up. The water resistance method is sometimes designed to keep water out of a device, and sometimes the components inside are coated so they could get wet for a short period of time.
(Seems to me any “standard rating systems” should indicate which method, since with the first method of keeping water out would be ok even in salt water, but fail within 1 second if any sea water touches anything inside, while YMMV if sea water touches any coated components using the second method. We “rinse” plastic SCUBA gear, because it is also affected by corrosive sea water.)
Mind that the original source of information states that the decrease of available capacity is strongly linked to the current drain used to test. My IBS-TH1 Plus are working on a set of cheap Alkalines for 5 months now and still show 40% capacity left (however on ~30°C environment). Estimating the current drain for 150 days and 24 hours this leads to an average current drain well below 1mA. I believe that it will not make much of a difference with this low drain on capacity. It is much different for other outdoor devices where you need high peak current at certain times.
When you ausing the NiMH - what does the IBS-TH capacity report with fully charged batteries?
OK – Likely a better choice. I do have one of the two that seemed to work, but the display shows all 8’s on everything, and all the other display elements are lit, but nothing changes. I also can push the button, but nothing changes.
So, on THAT ONE IBS-TH2 PLUS, what should I do to get it working? I’d like to get them both working.
WHICH APPS? –
I’m also a bit confused about which APP to use for which device[s] – I’ve got these IBS-TH2 PLUS devices, and I’ve also bought the irrigation controller, IIC-800-WIFI, which I’m going to be installing. I understood that the ENG APP should be for the IBS devices for now, but that the NEW APP, INKBIRD PRO was going replace the ENG app?
So, since the Inkbird PRO APP will be used for my irrigation, will the new PRO App also work with my two IBS devices, (once I get one of the two IBS-TH2 that doesn’t work right now, opterational)?
If the batteries are replaced but the screen of IBS-TH2 PLUS still displays 888, please provide order information and photos of product issues to email support@inkbird.com.
The new APP is called ‘INKBIRD’, please connect IBS-TH2 PLUS to the INKBIRD APP by selecting the ‘IBS-THS’ model.
– [Seems to me that only 33% effective won’t cut it.]
– << THAT is best!