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Post by Cole D on Sept 23, 2017 8:34:57 GMT -5
Does anyone have experience with weather stations? I have been looking at some but not sure what I want to get. You can get the very basic Acu-rite indoor outdoor temperature units at Walmart for about $15 and Acu-rite sells a solar shield for the sensor. But I'm not sure if I want one with wind as well. I know they have some that have the wind spinner on top of the temperature sensor. Also they have some models with all of this and rain gauges built in but I heard those tend to have issues with a fan inside the unit. Plus I already have a regular rain gauge. So maybe I should stick with a basic one. I know a relative had a LaCrosse Technology basic unit and I think it's still working.
On my Weather Channel Simulator on my computer I have it set to pull the readings from the small airports in my area, but sometimes the temp is different where I live because of my proximity to water. Especially compared to the temp they show on the actual Weather Channel on TV or the news.
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Post by Jordan U on Sept 24, 2017 20:45:49 GMT -5
I have an AccuRite one,, I'm not sure if they make this specific model anymore but it gathers quite a bit of information (wind speed and direction, temperature, humidity, rainfall,, barometric pressure, indoor temperature & humidity etc.. It also keeps a record of the past conditions..
It's been very reliable over the years,, I think I've had it for almost 4 years now.. The only issues I've had is the fan inside the outdoor sensor contraption fails.. This is apparently a pretty widespread issue.. I've replaced it once before,, and I think it's on its way out again because on sunny days the temperature readings are far higher than my other thermometers..
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Post by Cole D on Sept 25, 2017 21:48:38 GMT -5
Thank you, it sounds reliable at least. How do you have the outside unit mounted and how high off the ground? I read that a higher mounting height will give more accurate wind speeds.
Yesterday I found an Acurite 3-in-1 on eBay new for $30 so I bought it. I think it's an older model, the sensor/wind unit looks like the ones they sell now, but the display unit is older looking. The ones I saw at Lowe's all had color screens shaped kind of like an iPhone or iPad and the one I bought is black/gray LCD with a clear frame.
I also picked up a very basic Acurite indoor/outdoor wireless temp unit at Walmart.
I used to have two of the older Acurite indoor/outdoor temp sensors but they were the kind that had a long wire with a sensor on the end that you were to run outside the window. I may still have them, but I think they went in a yard sale.
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Post by Jordan U on Sept 27, 2017 11:29:23 GMT -5
Currently I have my outdoor unit mounted on the deck railing.. I used to have it on the flagpole, and while the wind readings were definitely higher, the flagpole swayed a bit when it was windy which caused the rain measurements to be totally inaccurate.. The mounting on the deck is much sturdier so now the readings for the rain are accurate.. If you want 'accurate' wind readings, it really has to be mounted above the trees, which in most cases is just not realistic.. Mine is probably about 6 feet off the ground, so the wind readings don't compare to what the NOAA report will have, but it gives a good idea as to what the wind is going to feel like out in the yard from my perspective..
I believe my uncle has that version of it.. He has his mounted on the top of his house.. 30 dollars is a great deal for one of those,, they retail at least 2 or 3 times more if I recall correctly.. I have the newer version that looks like the iPads.. The batteries are in need of being recharged, when I take it off the wall to recharge the batteries I'll take note of the model numbers..
I have 3 other AccuRite thermometers.. One is the old wired type which we've had for probably 15 years.. It has worked great from day one,, never had a problem with it.. That one is installed in the shop, with the wire routed out the window.. The other two I have are wireless.. I have a white one (model 00611) which I really liked because the numbers were big enough to see from out in the hallway, it worked well for quite a few years, but this summer it gave out.. The reception is very intermittent.. It seems to only like working when the temperature is below 70 degrees.. The other one I bought as a replacement for it is a smaller grey unit (model 00826HD).. I don't like it as much because the numbers are half the size as the other one, and it doesn't display as much information.. AccuRite still makes ones similar to that of the white one,, but they were expensive enough that I just settled with this one instead..
I have one other thermometer that I can think of at the moment,, it's an older RadioShack one.. Indoor temperature and humidity only.. It is model 63-1013..
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Post by Cole D on Sept 30, 2017 8:02:00 GMT -5
I see, I thought about mounting it to the side of the garage so it's a little above the roof, but I'm not sure the bracket will allow enough clearance.
Considered a long PVC pipe also but I was thinking it would probably have the issue with swaying as you mention yours had on the flagpole. I guess it wouldn't be a big deal as the unit doesn't measure rainfall, but still probably not ideal.
I agree it was a pretty good deal, the best I can tell my unit was sold around 2014 and cost around $90, the new versions I saw at Lowe's were about $70-80. I wouldn't pay that much for something that might get damaged outside.
Has your outdoor unit yellowed or become brittle after that long? I wonder if waxing the unit could help protect it before I put it outside. It has a very glossy plastic material.
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Post by Jordan U on Sept 30, 2017 8:22:26 GMT -5
If your unit doesn't measure rainfall, then I don't think it would be an issue if it's not perfectly stable.. Mine measured the wind just fine as it was shaking around on the flagpole..
It has started to yellow,, and it did become brittle because at one point one of the cups on the anemometer broke off.. I don't remember how that happened,, something tells me an animal was on the deck railing and broke it somehow during the night.. Waxing it may help, but chances are you'd have to do it every so often for it to remain effective..
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Post by Cole D on Oct 6, 2017 21:37:51 GMT -5
I got some wax but realized it's green in color which may stain the plastic - not sure, I may need another brand of wax that's clear or white colored.
Mounted the sensor on a length of PVC pipe I had, not so much mounted as just stuck the pipe into the ground and stuck the sensor on top. Really just a temporary setup to see how it works. I know the wind is blocked by the house where it is and it's only about 5 feet off the ground, later I plan to do an installation up higher. It seems to be working well so far, just the wind never shows more than about 5 or 6 MPH at the most due to the placement.
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Post by Jordan U on Oct 28, 2017 8:58:29 GMT -5
Unless you get the thing above the tree level, which is pretty unrealistic to do, you won't be getting very high readings.. Mine rarely reads above 10.. The other day we had a pretty good storm and it did go into the 20s..
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Post by Cole D on Sept 3, 2018 9:23:33 GMT -5
Well my weather station stopped working, for the outside part. Since the last few days I noticed the wind speed, outside temperature and humidity were not changing and signal bars flashing. So I took it off the pole to change the batteries. But I found a nest with carpenter ants inside the sensor and the battery contacts had rusted. I cleaned out all the ants and cleaned the rust the best I could and put new batteries but it's still not working.
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Post by Jordan U on Sept 13, 2018 9:45:59 GMT -5
Does all the circuitry appear to be in tact still? Perhaps something got disconnected from the corrosion..
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Post by Cole D on Sept 13, 2018 19:39:53 GMT -5
My dad took it apart last week and said he found the board was getting power, but he couldn't see anything wrong. I can get a new sensor but it's $80, and I only paid about $35 for the whole system. I'm going to try calling Acurite to see if they can do anything. I've had it less than a year, so it is technically under warranty, but since I got it on eBay and it was old stock they might not carry it...
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Post by Jordan U on Sept 14, 2018 9:52:38 GMT -5
I have a feeling they will not be very willing to honor the warranty since you bought it through eBay, but it's worth a try considering how outlandishly priced the units are..
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Post by Jordan U on Oct 9, 2018 13:00:15 GMT -5
My weather station just broke too.. The indoor unit is no longer interfacing with the outdoor sensor, the last temperature reading stored on the unit before it stopped connecting is -40 degrees, so there is clearly something very wrong with it.. I tried changing the batteries in the outdoor unit but it didn't make any difference..
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Post by Cole D on Dec 23, 2018 22:44:45 GMT -5
Did you ever get this to work again? I was planning to get a new color station to replace mine, plus it plugs in so doesn't need batteries for the display. There was a good deal for one on eBay in October for $35, but just as the auction was about to end, we got Trick or Treaters at the door so I missed out. lol I've seen a few for $80 or $90 but I'm not paying that much for something that may not last but a year. I do have a temp only unit that I could use for the mean time but I haven't set it out yet.
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Post by Jordan U on Dec 28, 2018 19:28:34 GMT -5
No, I haven't gotten it to work.. I looked on the AccuRite website for parts and saw the thermometer/hygrometer piece that I need was less than 15 dollars, but then I read on and found out the part was only compatible with the newest variant of the sensor, not the one I have.. At some point I may take the thing apart and give it a good cleaning to see if that will revive it.. I'm not sure it will be worth the effort/cost to find replacement parts anymore if they've already moved away from it in favor of a new model in such a short span of time..
My uncle got me a new weather station for Christmas, this one is branded Ambient Weather..
www.amazon.com/Ambient-Weather-WiFi-Station/dp/B01N5TEHLI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1546042720&sr=8-3&keywords=ambient+weather
I have no experience with the brand, but it has good reviews and it seems like a quality build.. The manual states the batteries last up to 3 years, so I would certainly hope it lasts long enough to at least change the batteries once or twice..
I bought a few of these thermometers to have around the house a few months ago:
www.amazon.com/AcuRite-00592A4-Wireless-Thermometer-Humidity/dp/B000F44QBA/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1546043196&sr=8-20&keywords=acurite+thermometer
Very happy with them, they have the indoor temperature and humidity, outdoor temperature and humidity, calendar and clock.. The numbers are actually big enough to read from across the room.. Signal seems to be strong too, I have 3 in different rooms and they all get 4 or 5 pippers..
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