VioProducts 11000 Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Floating Thermometer

I purchased this to replace a non-operating unit that I had purchased 2 or 3 years ago. I would guess that this may not last more than 3 years in actual use, as this was identical to the previous unit. However, at the price, three years of use seems acceptable. This is one of those things that I have never seen, but after searching the net found. It is very useful to any pool owner, to check the temperature from inside, before venturing out.

I only had it two weeks and it stopped working - the part that goes in the pool, However, the vendor sent out a new one immediately. And so far it working just great and I love the convenience of being able to tell both the pool temp and outdoor temp by just looking out my kitchen window. I think what happened is this: I exercise very vigorously in the pool and it was tethered to the ladder. I think it was bounced around too much against the side of the pool and the ladder. So now I take it out of the water when I exercize.5 months later - stopped working. Great idea - too bad it's not reliable

EDIT: I took one more star off. I've had quite a few of these now and I consider them seasonal throw away items. The 1 yr one was a fluke, it actually now averages me 7-9 months of usage. I still like it and haven't found anything much better so far so the original review is still fairly accurate.I'm on my second one of these. The first actually almost lasted a year. I know that sounds cynical, but I've tried like 3-4 different products, and this is definitely the better and longer lasting one. The others disintegrated very rapidly and let water in within 5-6 months. Those other products were also significantly more expensive (like in the 80 dollar range.) The gasket is pretty sturdy and use many screws to tighten down - the others were easier to access the internals and replace the battery but that also made it easier for the water to get in. The distance of transmission is on the border of acceptable, like 30 feet, but it is just barely enough for me.I did give it 3 stars because it does inevitably leak and/or the battery contacts/components get loose and create an intermittent on/off problem. It looks like they may have improved the design on this newer one I bought, but I don't know yet until it's been in service for a while. I threw out the old floater because it let in water, but I kept the indoor unit and it works with the new and old one so I have two place to check the temperature readout now.Improvements I would like would be like double or triple the signal transmission distance and of course keep water out for more than 1 year.

The instructions are pretty good, it has an interesting way of synching up, and it seems to measure the water and the indoor temperature accurately enough.OK that is about the end of the pros for this device, lets get to the cons.In order to synch, you have to take 5 screws out of the floating device (please dry it off first - not mentioned in the instructions) and press a button on the inside withen 3 minutes of inserting the batteries (4 AA batteris required) into the remote. Screw it all back together (without loosing any parts) and you are on your way. If you take the remote to a part of the house where it can no longer communicate, you have to repeat this process.If you are about to go swimming, and you look at the temperature of the pool water, it would be nice to know the outside air temperature, but this gives you the inside air temperature, not as usefull in my opinion. I am still working to get it to broadcast the pool temperature all the way into the house, unsucessful so far.

This thermometer is one of the best for wirelessly transmitting the temperature to a receiver. The batteries last a long time but are difficult to replace when they do die. Overall it is a good item.

I've had two Vio pool thermometers in my pool and hot tub for a year and a half. One of them started reporting incorrectly so I got a new spare to have on hand in case the first one was going bad. I replaced the batteries in the malfunctioning one a second time and that corrected the problem - the first replacement set of batteries must have been old. So, with the original thermometer again working, the new one has been put back on the shelf to have on hand if one of the two in use need to be replaced. I have been very pleased with both thermometers that have remained in the pool/spa continuously, summer and winter, for the past 18 months. The beauty is being able to see both pool/spa temperatures on the display inside the house on and also on the display out by the pool. The temperature reported is as accurate as the old fashioned floating column thermometer the Vios replaced.

I ordered an Ambient Weather WS-PF11 Wireless Pool and Spa Thermometer with Remote Sensor Sold by: Ambient Weather on 7/25/2012.The Thermometer stopped working. On 12/5/2012 Octavio issued a return authorization. I had to pay the return shipping.The replacement Thermometer stopped working approximately ten months after I received it. I requested a replacement under Ambient's one year warrantee via email on 10/20/2013. Octavio replied no replacement would be issued. Stating; "The 1 year replacement warrantee begins from the date of purchase not from the date you received a replacement".I called Ambient on 10/23/2013. The customer service representative had the same reply as Octavio.The Ambient Weather WS-PF11 Wireless Pool and Spa Thermometer with Remote is a defective product. One worked for only four months, the second for 10 months. Ambient discontinued this product. They should honor the one year warrantee and replace the replacement unit.