Weather Station Recommendations

[polo1665]

Been surfing the Net tonite looking at home weather stations. Seems like there are quite a few to choose from. I don't think I want to get too extravagant, just something to keep an eye on what's going on around us. Would like to have some memory capability, perhaps capability to connect to the computer. I might enjoy tracking some of the variables from year to year. I'm drawing the line at about $250 to $300.

Anybody out there have experience with the different manufacturers. There seem to be quite a few (Lacrosse, Davis, Oregon Scientific, Honeywell, etc). Which one would you recommend and why?

Thanks for your input
Mark

 

[Scooby074]

Heres what i have Davis - Weather - Weather Monitor II . Its a Davis Weather monitor. I highly recommend it. Its around 200$, and made in the USA. You can add a rain gauge and computer interface for data logging. Its not fancy, but its easy to use and has held up quite well in the salt water environment i live in.

It looks like that model is now discontinued. You may be able to find some old stock out there. After seeing the durability of the Davis products i wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of the more expensive current models. If i was buying new id likely get the Davis Vantage Pro2, Davis | WeatherIts more money, but has a more elaborate display, and is available in solar powered wireless which would make hookup and locating the unit in a suitable location ,alot easier. Dont underestimate the benefit of wireless during setup crawling around a hot attic sucks.

Id avoid any of the low buck Chinese clones like some you have listed above. There not accurate and dont last. Been there done that.

 

[elalexander]

I have a Lacrosse TWC model and it has not given me any trouble. Bought it new online for about $130-$140.00. It is over a year old and works fine. The Davis models do reign supreme but for a much larger price tag. For us just to keep tabs on the rain wind speed etc etc our Lacrosse model fits the bill nicely.

 

[zeuspaul]

I go to wunderground and look at several near by personal weather stations. There is one about 500 ft from me and several more within a mile. They report temp, wind speed and rain amounts. I have the wunderground gadget on my monitor which constantly updates the temp from the nearest station. (72 degrees right now

I do have my own Microlite recording thermometer. It is programmed to record once per hour. Once a month or so I hook it to the USB port and download it. I use it to calculate my own chill hours.

Zeuspaul

 

[polo1665]

Scooby074 - I definitely like the Davis weather stations but I'm afraid they are a little pricey for me. Which of the ones that I listed would you consider Chinese clones? I am sure I want to stay away from that scene.

elalexander - I was looking real close at the Lacrosse models and am leaning in that direction. I just wanted a sanity check. Always good to hear from people with practical experience.

zuespaul - I really like the idea of "Wunderground". Unfortunately in my area the closest station listed is four or five miles away. I'd really like to keep track of the rainfall for my garden and around here I could get a 1/2" of rain at my place and nothing a couple miles away. There is some sort of weather station set up at an intersection about 3/4 of a mile away but its not listed on Wunderground.

Thanks for the help so far.
Mark

 

[lhfarm]

I won't repeat what has been good advice. I'll just say I went through 3 inexpensive stations before I broke down and purchased a Davis Pro wireless model. I just wish I had invested those first dollars in the Davis. It is a lot of money, but if you look at it as a long term investment I think the Davis will give you a better return.

 

[Scooby074]

polo1665 honestly id avoid them all. I went thru 2 complete stations, a Lacrosse (may have been a Honeywell) and a "wal mart special" plus several Radio Shack thermometer/ hydrometer units before deciding on the Davis. If you search online you'll see that the Chinese ones are regarded generally as toys by most.

Id have a look and see if you can find a "Davis weather monitor" online it would fall in your price range. There has got to be some old stock floating around.

Ambiant weather has the complete Weather monitor II for $249.Davis Instruments 7440CS Cabled Complete Weather Monitor II Weather Station Thats a really good price. I havent dealt with them personally, but read good reviews when shopping for mine a couple years ago.

 

[Travelover]

I recommend the Davis Weather Wizard III. I've had it about a year now and it has worked perfectly. I got it for about $175 with rain gauge, on the internet. (Do a search, there are lots of retailers selling this at a discount). I was going to buy a cheaper set, but after reading owner's reviews on Amazon, I didn't see any that seemed like they would provide even minimal performance. Davis also makes high quality professional weather instruments, so they know what matters in a design. And get this - Davis sells replacement parts and offers service - what a novel idea!

 

[SCRich]

All good advice so far but let me chime in with my expiriences.

Back in 2003 or 2004 I purchased a Radio Shack wireless station which I belive is the O/S WMR-928 or so, my brain is mush these years and I have forgotten. The unit is not QUITE waterproof as I had found out and had to have the temperature gauge replaced shortly after installation. Upon replacement I took all circuit boards and coated them with several coats of Krylon clear over several days. The water problem was solved, the station lasted 2 hurricanes in 2004. Late in the year some of the sensors fell prey to ants, in South Florida we had a lot of them. Several nested in there and died, their bodies are highly corrosive and ate away through the krylon and then the circuit board traces. I fixed them but their operation was erratic at times , come 2005 we got another 2 hurricanes and the unit failed during the 1st one, I gave up, the durability is just not there.

Fast foward to Christmas 2007 and we had moved to South Carolina. The wife purchased a Davis Vantage ProII for me. Yes it was expensive but boy is the quality and reliability there. I am using it along with a serial logger and an GREAT piece of software called Weather Display that comes from New Zeland. The author is a dairy farmer and amateur radio operator with frequent trips stateside for tornado chasing.

I REALLY suggest if you need to wait a bit longer and save some money upgrading to some of the Davis products. Peet Bro's also have some nice units, a bit less expensive initially but if you add up the accessories it's not much of a savings of the Davis. I sold a few Peet units to a customer that had a few ships and owned an island in the Bahamas and they required quite a bit of TLC.

If you want to check out the local data I have my Davis and Weather Display software on line. Take it easy on me, it's only using a Verizon Wireless modem and my signal is very weak here.

Hurricane Ranch

Another quicker and more reliable way to see how the data looks would be to check out weatherunderground.net , search for Sharon SC. I also upload the data to the weather underground since it's better for me to check that web site while out at work and it does not cost me bandwith. You don't see any fancy graphics but the data is the same.

 

[SLOBuds]

I use the Davis which has worked reliably now for 3 years. With just a little bit of work you can get the data posted onto the internet and look at weather conditions from anywhere you've got an internet connection.

To this day, my wife and I say that this weather station was the best Christmas present we ever gave to each other. Also, where we have it located is in the country where no other station is reporting weather. So most of the locals use it also.

The Davis equipment is reliable. I haven't had a trouble with it, which was surprising because there are plenty of moving parts on it.

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