Home weather station suggestions

[gsganzer]

Looking to get a home weather station. Willing to spend around $200-$250. Id like it to have wind direction/speed, humidity, dew point and pressure with trending pressure direction. I dont care about indoor conditions.

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I paid $239 for an Ambient WS-2000. They typically retail for $299. They have specials from time to time. I haven't used it yet (christmas present), but it had good reviews from others on TBN.

If I was really a weather nerd, I'd splurge for a Davis, but they sell for about $500 clams.

 

[repete]

Of these weather stations, which ones have good searchable history via a PC? I had a Oregon Scientific years ago that gave me an excellent view of 24 hour history. then had an easily searchable history beyond that. When that one failed after a number of years I bought a new Oregon Scientific thinking it would be comparable or even better but was unaware in the meantime the company had been bought by an Asian company and the replacement was beyond a joke and 0 company support.

 

[KWentling]

I paid $239 for an Ambient WS-2000. They typically retail for $299. They have specials from time to time. I haven't used it yet (christmas present), but it had good reviews from others on TBN.

If I was really a weather nerd, I'd splurge for a Davis, but they sell for about $500 clams.

If you're looking at Davis don't buy direct. There are deals to be had but you need to shop around.You should be able to save 25% or so other places.

 

[copytmpmzl]

@gsganzer thank you so much for your response and suggestion

 

[civilian]

One thing to think of with the wind indicator, if they are above the base, the build up of snow prevents the indicator to turn. Below the base, no snow problem. Jon

 

[Sane4ka]

It's a bit of a maze out there with so many options, but I've come across some interesting ones.

 

[Blue Mule]

As a meteorologist and general weather nut, the truth is that there are 3 categories of weather station.

You have ALL of the box store type stations grouped into one category. Ambient, Oregon Scientific, Accurite, all of them. Doesn't matter if they're $50 or $250. They all use the same grade of sensors, communications, and power type. Your temp readings will be inaccurate on sunny days or if you mount it too close to the house. Your wind readings will be too low because you can't mount the anemometer separately. You'll likely need to change batteries often. Transmission range will be weak. And you will be very lucky to get 5 years of service out of the unit.

Then you have Davis Instruments. Their Vantage Pro 2 system is a huge upgrade. Typically $500 and up depending on options but WELL worth it. High quality temp/hum sensors. Fan aspiration to keep readings spot on even in summer heat. Very long transmission range. Batteries last years. Tons of upgrades and options (soil moisture, UV sensors, radio repeaters, mesh systems together, etc.). These stations will also last 20+ years. The performance will be very very close to official mesonet sites.

Then you've got scientific grade/official stations. These are the ones universities use, as well as government agencies like NWS, etc. You're talking way out of budget for a home owner. Not to mention station maintenance costs.

I personally rock the Davis VP2 with 24 hour FARS and LOVE it.

If you're looking at Davis don't buy direct. There are deals to be had but you need to shop around.You should be able to save 25% or so other places.

This is 100% true. You need to shop around.

The first time I bought a Davis station I got it for $385 brand new, list price was around $600 at the time. That was 2007.

Second time I bought a Davis station I got it for $250, list price was $1,295 (this is the version with all the bells and whistles) because I found it at a shop that sells Amazon reject items. The only thing wrong with it was the anemometer cable was slightly damaged and the $9 AC power supply was missing. Score!! This was 2021 I think.

 

[tjandrews]

My experience with the Accurite 3-in-1 sensor wasn't so rosy. It's not solar-powered, and used to eat the 4 AA lithium batteries for breakfast. Had to replace them every 3-4 months. Eventually, the temperature sensor stopped reporting anything. After a bit of investigation on the Interwebs, I discovered this is very common. It seems that Accurite didn't build the outdoor sensor to be put outdoors all the time. Leaks and internal corrosion are very common. There are Youtube videos on how to repair it, and a new sensor is available on Amazon for $50, but there would still be the battery problem.
I replaced it with a more elaborate system, solar-powered sensor. It was on a clearance sale on Amazon, a discontinued model. Some brand I never heard of, but the sensor design reminded me of photos of Ambient sensors. Big mistake to buy that one. After about a week, the wind speed started giving impossible readings, and they only got worse. Amazon took it back for a full refund.
I replaced that with a LaCrosse model. That one is working OK, but isn't perfect. I never did get the base station to connect to my router via wifi, and three times now heavy rain has resulted in the base dropping the connection with the sensor, and to get it back I had to cycle the sensor's on-off switch. But, I didn't really need the wifi capability anyway, I haven't needed to replace any batteries, and the readings have seemed accurate, so I'm good with it. For now.

Update on the La Crosse: It's still working, but if you live in an area where the temperature drops much below zero, be prepared to replace the little rechargeable lithium button battery in the sensor about once a year. I think it's a limitation of the battery, rather than the unit itself. They'll work OK in cold when new, but put in a year of age, with nightly discharge/recharge cycles on it, and the battery just can't hold enough of a charge in the cold.
I think they have updated the sensor since my purchase, so perhaps the equivalent model now uses a different battery.

 

[OzarkChris]

I've had three different ones (different companies) all mounted in the same place - 20' high out in the middle of a meadow - over the past 10 years. Just my opinion, but here is what I've dealt with. First (2nd & 3rd - I know, slow learner) system: AcuRite 01057RM Color Weather Station. These systems worked well for two summers then the rain meter, wind and temp stopped working. Replaced with Ambient Weather WS-2902 Home Wi-Fi Weather Station. This unit worked for about 3 summers and the rain unit stopped working. As a side note both of these units needed "updates" at about the 12 month time period that was NOT free. Both included the WIFI repeater/internet Bridge unit with both being at about the $100 upgrade level (~2/3 the cost of a new unit). Current unit - only in operation 9 months - ECOWITT Wittboy Pro Weather Station HP2564. This one is a bit pricey (~$300) but has NO moving parts (except a small fan for temp). Rain sensor is haptic (small sensor that senses rain drops simular to the kind on an auto car windshield wiper), and wind sensor is ultrasonic. After looking at a new post from bdhsfz6 about the Davis unit that is similar to this one. I have to say I haven't seen the problem with spiderweb or driving rain yet. I wonder if that is because I'm up 20 feet with at least 300 feet from the closest tree, structure, etc? I'm planning on moving this unit to the top of my flagpole (25') at the end of this summer, which is about 50' from the house. My hope is that the flags flopping around in the breeze would keep any spider webs cleared.

So far this latest unit appears to be working better than the first two. Rain guage is within 0.02 from manual one on same pole (typically was +- 0.15 on other two). Wind speed and direction is either better averaged or just better overall because it seems to be much less erratic than the other two - I don't have a hand held anemometer to verify. I'm hopeful that this one will last longer than the other two because at this rate I'm sure I could have picked up a Davis pro system after spending this much already. Unfortunately, the Davis system would run a bit over $2,500 for the one I would want.

Hope this helps!

 

[jyoutz]

I have the LaCrosse view and think it’s great for temperature, humidity, and wind.speed. The rain gauge seems to record less rain than the simple plastic tube measure mounted on the same post.