Weather Instrument Discussions

[SouthSardiswx]

All your questions or information regarding weather insturments.

[Forrest Gump]

[moonshadow0825]

All your questions or information regarding weather insturments.

what would you recommend?
we've been old fashioned here with outdoor thermometer, a barometer and phone apps but I'd like to get into this century as far as monitoring goes

[Abby_wx]

My recommendation is the Davis Vantage Vue. It's about as close as you can get to a professional station at a budget price, though some may find the $350 to $400 price tag is still too high.

For those wanting to spend less, some members have had success with AcuRite stations. They generally run between $100 and $200. There are numerous models with slightly varying features, and even more variable reliability, so I wouldn't be able to recommend a particular one.

[SouthSardiswx]

Acurite came out with their newest model (the atlas) I think to give Davis a run for their money it's pricey at $600.00 cdn on Amazon but has some nice features by what I've seen. I do like the HD screen very nice I know the cheaper units had issues with the Aspirated fan that caused temps to spike in sunlight even with the fan running, I know I owned one at one time and was disappointed with it.

https://www.acurite.com/atlas-weather-station.html

[vitog]

I've had a Bios wireless indoor/outdoor thermometer for several years. It works OK, but is not very accurate and only stores high and low readings since the last manual reset. I'd like to get a device that stores hourly readings and daily highs/lows for at least a few days, until the data is downloaded to a PC via Wi-Fi. Something with an accuracy of at least +/- 0.5 degrees C would be nice. Does such a device exist? I've found several units that download data to a smartphone, but I prefer to use a PC with MS Windows 10. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Glacier]

We were at my brother's place near Kelowna last night it was raining like crazy. I checked my weather station after a couple hours of rain, and absolutely nothing! I figured that it must have been plugged with leaves or bird poo, but nope, when I checked it when I got home, it was draining, but it was partially blocked with grain of sand such that the water was directed to only one side of the tipping bucket. cleaned it out, and now we're good to go again.

[Radar]

Anyone know much about the eco Witt stations?

[SouthSardiswx]

I paid just over $300.00 for mine, all seperate units which is the best way to go. Unit HP3501

[Glacier]

I've had my Davis Vantage Pro2 Plus IP weather station since 2012. Only now after 8 years is it giving me a "low battery" warning. Actually, it's been giving me that warning for a couple months now, so I guess I should order it before it stops working. My consul has good batteries. I know because we had a 24 hour power outage, and it kept recording the entire time.

I think my fan has been broken for a year or two, so I'll order one of those too when I order the battery.

EDIT: I just realized that the fan takes 2 C-batteries, so maybe it's just that I have dead Cs. This is different from the li-ion 3V battery that keeps that station going! Damn, I bet these batteries have been dead for a few years, and I didn't know it!

[Abby_wx]

Davis fan motors do wear out. They can be replaced, but Davis won't sell you the motor by itself. They'll sell you the entire fan assembly for $$$.

If you want just the fan motor, you'll have to figure out the specs and acquire one from a third party.

I'm on my third or fourth motor now... I've lost track. I may have the specs written down somewhere if you need them. Hopefully it's just the batteries, but I would be shocked if that fan still worked after 8 years.

[Glacier]

just had a look at my station. I need two C cell rechargeable batteries, which I don't have at the moment.

IMG_20210116_1126581.jpg

IMG_20210116_1117486.jpg

[Glacier]

Davis fan motors do wear out. They can be replaced, but Davis won't sell you the motor by itself. They'll sell you the entire fan assembly for $$$.

If you want just the fan motor, you'll have to figure out the specs and acquire one from a third party.

I'm on my third or fourth motor now... I've lost track. I may have the specs written down somewhere if you need them. Hopefully it's just the batteries, but I would be shocked if that fan still worked after 8 years.

Do you have the modern designed rain collector with the bird spikes or the old one that I have? I'd think about upgrading if it improves accuracy, stops the cone from plugging up, and accommodates my heater.

[Abby_wx]

I still have the old one... been thinking about upgrading. Try to decide whether to refurbish my entire station, as there are a few pieces I'd like to replace... or just buy a new one.

[Glacier]

I still have the old one... been thinking about upgrading. Try to decide whether to refurbish my entire station, as there are a few pieces I'd like to replace... or just buy a new one.

Interesting, the rain collector is similar to the old one if you want the heater (which I kind of need here in the interior given how much snow I get), but it has the bird spikes and filter and a slightly different shape outside. I have my station along with everything else in my house from Christmas lights to TVs connected to smart plugs or smart switches so I can turn things on or off with my phone or set them to turn off or on with scheduled timers.

https://www.davisinstruments.com/produc ... ng-heater/