Recommended weather station?

[Blackbird]

What weather station do you recommend?  Primarily want it for wind and to work with polisy.

Thanks

[bpwwer]

Do you want local access to the data or do you not care?

Davis is considered to be a top tier personal weather station equipment and you can get access to the data either locally or via their cloud service.  Probably the most expensive option.

There's a plug-in for EcoWitt weather stations which I believe is local only.  Good selection of different types of sensors.

Ambient Weather only allows cloud based access to the data.

Tempest (I.E. WeatherFlow) allows both local and cloud based access to the data.

Acurite doesn't really allow any access other than via their web/mobile app, but there are work-a-rounds to get local access to the data.

Netatmo I know nothing about, but there are plug-ins for it.

There is also a plug-in for Meteobridge which can get data from a number of different stations and make it available to Polisy/eisy.

I've only personally had the Tempest and an older Acurite station.  I've been fairly happy with the Tempest.  I think I went through 3 or 4 Acurite stations before getting one that actually worked right and I've not been impressed with their ability to hold up over time.

[Techman]

The Tempest has its own app and there's a node server available for eisy/polisy

The unit is solar powered, no batteries, no maintence and no moving parts.

Tempest Home Weather Station

[Blackbird]

1 hour ago, bpwwer said:

Do you want local access to the data or do you not care?

Davis is considered to be a top tier personal weather station equipment and you can get access to the data either locally or via their cloud service.  Probably the most expensive option.

There's a plug-in for EcoWitt weather stations which I believe is local only.  Good selection of different types of sensors.

Ambient Weather only allows cloud based access to the data.

Tempest (I.E. WeatherFlow) allows both local and cloud based access to the data.

Acurite doesn't really allow any access other than via their web/mobile app, but there are work-a-rounds to get local access to the data.

Netatmo I know nothing about, but there are plug-ins for it.

There is also a plug-in for Meteobridge which can get data from a number of different stations and make it available to Polisy/eisy.

I've only personally had the Tempest and an older Acurite station.  I've been fairly happy with the Tempest.  I think I went through 3 or 4 Acurite stations before getting one that actually worked right and I've not been impressed with their ability to hold up over time.

I think I would want local access to the data.

Ill have a look at your recommendation.  Thanks

[Blackbird]

1 hour ago, Techman said:

The Tempest has its own app and there's a node server available for eisy/polisy

The unit is solar powered, no batteries, no maintence and no moving parts.

Tempest Home Weather Station

Thanks, Ill have a look at it.

[Ross]

I've had my Davis Vantage Pro 2 for 10 years without an issue.

@bpwwer has a plug-in for it and I use many programs based on the various outputs.

Good luck,

Ross

[gregkinney]

I've had Davis Vantage Vue for 4 years. I highly recommend it; works flawlessly.

[auger66]

17 hours ago, Blackbird said:

Thanks, Ill have a look at it.

I just today received my 13th replacement Tempest in two years. Replacements were mostly due to a failed baro pressure sensor. My last failure was the hygrometer. I had a couple completely fail.

If you go with Tempest, I highly recommend putting it in an easy-to-replace location.

Edited August 19, 2024 by auger66

[gregkinney]

@Ross would you mind sharing some of your program ideas that you use based on the weather station? I'm always excited to learn new uses for the devices I have.

[Blackbird]

6 hours ago, auger66 said:

I just today received my 13th replacement Tempest in two years. Replacements were mostly due to a failed baro pressure sensor. My last failure was the hygrometer. I had a couple completely fail.

If you go with Tempest, I highly recommend putting it in an easy-to-replace location.

Doesnt sound very reliable.

[Ross]

@gregkinney Here are some examples:

OpenSprinkler adjusts the watering time based on whether it was cool, warm or hot that day.  Also turns off the sprinklers if there was recent rain.  I also turn off the sprinklers based on the forecast, but that's a different plugin.  I have saved a lot of water doing this as I used to forget to turn off the sprinklers after a rain or adjust them downward if a hot spell breaks.

Too-High-Out-of-Reach Windows - Opens and closes them based on current temp and whether the dew point is above 62 (and forecast - again, different plugin).  Also closes them immediately at the first raindrop and keeps them closed until 2 dry hours have occurred (temperature permitting).

Bedroom thermostat - turns on the A/C in the bedroom when I press the bedtime button if the dew point is over 62 (tells me that the overnight low won't be very cool that night).  You could use a forecast low, but forecasts are iffy for my area.

Sends weather data to a Google Sheet which displays that and other data, news, forecast, etc. 

I also send the temperature, humidity and storm total to a different Google Sheet.  I have an Arduino pull that info and use servos to point those 3 variables.  Basically using digital data to run analog dials (just for aesthetics!).

[BobM99]

I've had a Tempest unit for several years. It even survived an EF 3 tornado that destroyed every tree around it. Very happy with this product, and the app is great. 

[gregkinney]

@Ross Love your usages, thanks for sharing. Can you tell me more about the windows? You have windows that can literally be opened and closed?

[bpwwer]

14 hours ago, Blackbird said:

Doesnt sound very reliable.

 

21 hours ago, auger66 said:

I just today received my 13th replacement Tempest in two years. Replacements were mostly due to a failed baro pressure sensor. My last failure was the hygrometer. I had a couple completely fail.

If you go with Tempest, I highly recommend putting it in an easy-to-replace location.

Re: the Tempest / WeatherFlow reliability

I can't say that they haven't had issues because they have.  But in my experience, they do own up to the issues and have been working to improve their products.

I have 2 Air/Sky units, one of which was a very early model and both are still working.  I had a "field test" Tempest which did fail and was replaced with a production Tempest.   

Having 13 different units fail seems unusual, but I've not kept up with what's going on with them to comment one way or the other.   

[GSpitale01]

I have the Tempest - it's been operational for a year now and flawless.  The app is awesome, the node server makes bringing data into ISY/eisy easy.  And, I'll add that if you have a Rachio irrigation controller, it can directly use the Tempest feed for micro climate level controls.

 

Edited August 20, 2024 by GSpitale01

[Ross]

@gregkinney  Yes.  I don't want to hijack this thread, but it works kind of like this:  Search on YouTube for "Coop Controls Opening Customer Video 1".

I've attached my programming logic.  Please know that my windows are up high and there's a 15' drop to the floor.  I'm not worried about intruders coming through them.