Returned TWO times too many!

We received this item (purchased at Sears) as a Christmas gift from my mom. The first time we used it, we were thrilled! The meat was perfect and we couldn't be happier! No more overcooked chicken and perfect steak! Can life get any better? I submit that it cannot!

HOWEVER, after about 4 or 5 uses, it started this crazy beeping non-stop and reading/blinking 199 degrees. After trying to reset the two units per the instructions and then replacing batteries as well, it never would work properly. It may have worked for 1 minute and then it was back to the crazy beeping and readouts. Very frustrating.

SO, we returned it to Sears for the same product. Again, it worked right out of the packaging like a charm. THEN after about 4 or 5 uses, it began to do the same thing. We tried the same techniques as we did before and it never worked properly again.

SO, we have now returned the item AGAIN and I'm sorry to say that we fully expect the same result as before. :-(

I'm afraid I can't recommend this product to anyone based on our experience with it. It seems to be a great thermometer in the beginning but obviously has some flaws in its design or programming or both. :-(

So back to dry chicken and tough steak I suppose. :-/

Update: May 30, 2007
Unfortunately, the third time was not a charm. About four or five months ago, it died. Same thing as described above and we just got sick of returning it and trying to explain why this didn't work.

So I went to Wal-Mart and bought one of those digital thermometers that you simply stick in the meat after cooking to get a reading. It comes with a chart on the back that tells you the appropriate temps for all meats. It has worked perfectly fine for us and we don't miss this other thermometer a bit. Don't buy the Weber thermometer.
We gave this product plenty of opportunities and the only consistent thing about it was the disappointment of it not working.