Weather Stations

[Popgadget]

I’ve got a Davis VantagePro that’s getting a bit long in the tooth. It still works, but over the years I have replaced the solar panel, anemometer, and tipping bucket reed switch. The sensor suite is on a pole in an open field abut 200 feet from the house, it connects wirelessly to the display in the house, which is connected to a dedicated computer that downloads and stores the data, and uploads to weather underground and its own web page.

The Tempest looks particularly intriguing, but I’m not sure if I can get the same functionality or how difficult it would be to set up.

I would also be interested in learning about other systems like Ambient.

Reports from others with experience with multiple platforms would be great, as I’ve only had the Davis and it’s probably close to 20 years old.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I got an ambient after Drew mentioned it. Never had anything else to compare it to except a wireless outdoor thermometer.
I like it. Nice indoor unit, nice app. On the web.
Some app screenshots.

 

[txdon]

The Tempest looks particularly intriguing, but I’m not sure if I can get the same functionality or how difficult it would be to set up.

If I can set it up anyone can. As far as functionality this article seems to hit all the high points.
WeatherFlow Tempest home weather system review – The Gadgeteer

I have mine sitting on a 5' pole in the yard. The app is for your phone or pad and yes you can also receive all the info on you laptop or main computer, like I do every morning. I like that there is no moving parts and the battery is good for something like 20 years (50,000 cycles) It has solar collectors that keep the battery charged but even in our deep freeze and no sun for 6 days the battery still reported "good" and gave the lowest voltage at 2.5, now after a few days of sunshine it is reporting 2.67 volts.

 

[sodamo]

I’m on my 2nd Davis Vantage Pro2 and have liked it very much. 1st on the temp sensors went out about 7-8 years and just not economical to fix. Current one is 6 years old, anemometer no longer accurate and lately unit become somewhat on and off reporting online. Living in Hawaii, shipping of bulky items adds significantly to costs. Really don’t care for the Weatherlink 2.0 either.

I am also interested in what could be future replacement for reasonable cost. An important feature for me is internet reporting. That’s not an out of the box Davis feature. Also appears my own historical Davis data is only available for extra money.

So far, I really like the WeatherFlow Tempest unit. Seems to offer everything I want in easy to install, direct replacement for my VP2. Appears to also offer more standard measurements such as solar radiation. I like the fact it is less mechanical than the older types.

If I knew the Tempest data was available directly on my Apple Watch I’d probably order tonight

 

[jaydee325]

Weather Underground has a nice resource covering PWS.

PWS Network Overview | Weather Underground

 

[ChuckT]

We've got an Ambient PWS, had it since 4 years and 2 houses. Bought thru Amazon by price shopping.
Ambient support is iffy as they are marketing not OEM. And the instruction booklet is a joke. I never did get it to upload to Weather Underground or any other.
If I replace it it'll be with one that's recommended by WU and wince at the cost. Also at our present home I'll be considering a wired unit as the open field, where a PWS should live, is not line-of-sight to the console.

 

[B7510HSD]

Watch your prices
Welcome to RainmanWeather - Weather Equipment Store for The Enthusiast

 

[Oaktree]

We've got an Ambient PWS, had it since 4 years and 2 houses. Bought thru Amazon by price shopping.
Ambient support is iffy as they are marketing not OEM. And the instruction booklet is a joke. I never did get it to upload to Weather Underground or any other.

We have the Ambient WS-1900A, which is the model without wi-fi. Didn't see any real advantage to paying more just to be able to access it remotely, no real interest in uploading to WU or anywhere else.
Didn't have any trouble setting it up, I thought the manual was fine. There were a couple readings my wife wasn't sure what meant (one had to do with the solar radiation)...she called Ambient and someone there was very helpful explaining it to her.

 

[ChuckT]

So? Wish I could share her experience. Mine was otherwise. And the manual that came with mine contradicts itself in at least one place and has rather obvious gaps where something was deleted without explanation. Obviously "your results may vary".

 

[txdon]

Brad Panovich, Chief Meteorologist, likes the Tempest because it has no moving parts.
The WeatherFlow Tempest Weather System Review - YouTube

 

[Oaktree]

So? Wish I could share her experience. Mine was otherwise. And the manual that came with mine contradicts itself in at least one place and has rather obvious gaps where something was deleted without explanation. Obviously "your results may vary".

So whose experience "counts", yours or mine? It's like the shipping rant thread...some seem to get consistently bad experiences with (insert carrier here) where others get good service.

 

[Popgadget]

Thanks for the replies, I learned enough about the Tempest to pull the trigger and order one. It will be here Monday, I plan to put it up on the same pole as the Davis and let them run concurrently to compare.

 

[B7510HSD]

Thanks for the replies, I learned enough about the Tempest to pull the trigger and order one. It will be here Monday, I plan to put it up on the same pole as the Davis and let them run concurrently to compare.

Interested in the results as I too have a Davis that is getting old.

 

[txdon]

The Tempest will fit right on top of a 1" poll. If your Davis is mounted on top also you may need to make a U.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

Thanks for everyone who recommended the Tempest. I just ordered one.

I feel lucky today, because I've been having a gift card for over a year and my plan has always been to use the card for a weather station. When I grabbed the card to pay for the Tempest, I realized that it expires TODAY!

 

[sodamo]

Thanks for the replies, I learned enough about the Tempest to pull the trigger and order one. It will be here Monday, I plan to put it up on the same pole as the Davis and let them run concurrently to compare.

Paul, would you post a pic of that arrangement?

Thinking I might as well. Wonder if any way to get ytd info like rainfall imported. Would be nice if able to get that historic info into Tempest from the VP2.

 

[Popgadget]

I will post a picture of what I come up with for a mount, as well as links to the data pages for both stations.

The Davis is an a stainless 1-1/2” pipe, I’m thinking about using 1” PVC and fittings, perhaps making saddles out of PVC tee fittings and hose clamping them to the Davis pipe to get above the Davis.

Here’s a link to the Davis current data-

Current Weather Conditions at Paul's House

And Davis Historical data-

Weather History for Paul's House

www.scabbeyroad.com

 

[sodamo]

I think my Davis pipe is 1 1/2 or less. Didn’t go out in rain to look.
I did email Tempest support and asked about importing VP2 historical date for ytd. Will post response.

Any discount codes available on Tempest?

 

[Popgadget]

Any discount codes available on Tempest?

Yes. I saw a 10% coupon after I ordered mine from Amazon. ;(

 

[Popgadget]

Put the tempest up, and it’s online now.
Seemed to correlate to the Davis pretty well. I used 1” PVC to make the stand off mount because that’s what I had. Seems like it will be OK.

The tees that were sliced in half are secured to the existing pole with 4 hose clamps. The pole is about 200 feet from the house where the hub is. It seems to communicate just fine. Here’s a link to its data-

Tempest

Tempest Weather System

tempestwx.com