IllinoisWedges Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Hey all, I was just looking for an affordable at home weather station. I like what: http://www.davisnet.com/weather/products/vantage-pro-professional-weather-stations.asphas, but was wondering if there were any better/more reasonable ones. Limit is $800 maximum. Would be for a home in the middle of a populated area (20 miles from Chicago). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOAAmore Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Can't go wrong with a davis station. Had them for years and found them to be well built, reliable, and have a great technical support staff. You can find their stations on the Internet for less than the retail price.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllinoisWedges Posted November 2, 2015 Author Share Posted November 2, 2015 Alrighty, sounds good! Thanks for the input. Gonna check it out now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dendrite Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Provantage used to have unadvertised deals, but I see they don't do that anymore. Scientificsales is a good place to go for Davis parts since he will break down new stations to sell otherwise impossible to find parts separately. The best deals I've seen lately are on ambientweather.com if you get their unadvertised price "quotes". I'd definitely recommend a station with a fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllinoisWedges Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 "Station with a fan" ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MN Transplant Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 "Station with a fan" ? Fan-aspirated shield. Basically a little fan (much like a fan inside a desktop computer) that draws the air up through the shield. It helps, especially during the day to make sure that you aren't getting too much contamination from the sun heating the shield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllinoisWedges Posted November 4, 2015 Author Share Posted November 4, 2015 Ah, looking to get the Davis Instruments 6153. What models do y'all have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GramaxRefugee Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 "Station with a fan" ? ...echoing MN Transplant... This iconic paper from Davis helps explain why modern radiation shields don't work well without that fan: http://www.davisnet.com/news/ars_vs_c.pdf Poor siting of temp sensors runs rampant these days, (often for good reasons, like having nowhere else to put the thing). I use a Davis Vantage Vue, and it's not possible to site it for temp, wind, and rain properly in one spot. But, having said that, I still would recommend the unit for its durability etc. Just have to know its limitations. I use a traditional rain bucket, and live in a forest; so the anemometer and rain gauge aren't really used much at my station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animal Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 ...echoing MN Transplant... This iconic paper from Davis helps explain why modern radiation shields don't work well without that fan: http://www.davisnet.com/news/ars_vs_c.pdf Poor siting of temp sensors runs rampant these days, (often for good reasons, like having nowhere else to put the thing). I use a Davis Vantage Vue, and it's not possible to site it for temp, wind, and rain properly in one spot. But, having said that, I still would recommend the unit for its durability etc. Just have to know its limitations. I use a traditional rain bucket, and live in a forest; so the anemometer and rain gauge aren't really used much at my station. I use a davis vantage pro 2 Solid equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewbeer Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 Timely thread. Do the Davis stations allow you to put different instruments in different locations? For my site I'd like to put the anemometer on the roof, the rain gauge in the back yard, and the thermo in the front yard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GramaxRefugee Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 I'm not fully qualified to answer you BB, except to say that the Vue generally doesn't allow spreading out the sensors. But, from what I've read, if you throw enough money at Davis, you can do what you're planning. Meaning...there's enough compatibility to link them all together. Even the vantage vue will let you link more than one unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllinoisWedges Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 I thought they sold something where you could take the anemometer and place that where you want. Could be wrong. Also, I'm getting the Davis Vantage Pro2 with the fan. Thanks for all the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCummingWx93 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Fan-aspirated shield. Basically a little fan (much like a fan inside a desktop computer) that draws the air up through the shield. It helps, especially during the day to make sure that you aren't getting too much contamination from the sun heating the shield. So, my VP2 fan died a few months back so I'm gonna purchase a new one. Looking at the fan motor replacement directions sheet, it says if you use batteries, the fan will run even at night, but without batteries, it will run at its strongest when there is sun and go off at night. Isn't the entire purpose of a fan to combat the effects of the sun by cooling the inside of the shield during the day when the sun is out? How does that have anything to do with designing the fan to run even at night, albeit at a slower pace? Also, I know any kind of wind at night keeps your temp up from mixing. So, wouldn't the fan blowing at night (on a still night with no gradient winds) serve to keep the air mixed and the temperature warmer than it otherwise would be if it were totally still inside the shield? Any responses to these questions will be much appreciated. Just trying to understand here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonathanW Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 So, my VP2 fan died a few months back so I'm gonna purchase a new one. Looking at the fan motor replacement directions sheet, it says if you use batteries, the fan will run even at night, but without batteries, it will run at its strongest when there is sun and go off at night. Isn't the entire purpose of a fan to combat the effects of the sun by cooling the inside of the shield during the day when the sun is out? How does that have anything to do with designing the fan to run even at night, albeit at a slower pace? Also, I know any kind of wind at night keeps your temp up from mixing. So, wouldn't the fan blowing at night (on a still night with no gradient winds) serve to keep the air mixed and the temperature warmer than it otherwise would be if it were totally still inside the shield? Any responses to these questions will be much appreciated. Just trying to understand here. While combating the effects of solar radiation is one of the purposes of a fan, remember that radiative heating/cooling doesn't just take place during the day (note the dew that can form on surfaces open to the cold sky at night, even though the air temperature is above the dew point temperature--the temperature of those surfaces can fall below the air temperature, because they radiate their heat away). Additionally, forced air decreases the response time of a thermometer to changes in air temperature. For consistency, the fan should run at a constant rate at all times. To be clear, I'm not saying that it's required. But to my mind, I'd like to see a constant forced air rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllinoisWedges Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 So far, my experience with the Davis Vantage Pro 2 has been great. Withstood the sleet storm and has performed well since the day I installed it. Can't wait to test it out with some real weather, AKA heat and storms! 10/10 so far, would recommend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yotaman Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 I have had a Vantage Pro 2 for 5 to 6 years now. I have the Anometer seperate from the main cluster by about 10 feet. You cannot seperate them too much due to the cables which they connect to the main unit. My main unit is wireless to the home display. So far all I have had to replace was the solar panel and the main sensor. I highly recommend this system. I paid about $400 for mine if I remember correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jet Stream Rider Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Thanks for all the information on home weather stations. I am considering purchasing one, but would like to have the data accessible via a web page and/or smartphone app. Does anyone have experience or information on that aspect? I would like something economical, Initial checking does not show much. I have a couple of wifi internet radios that give access to thousands of streaming radio stations. Theses units are typically less than $200. One would think that level of sophistication would be available for home weather station data, but it seems elusive. Thanks again for any input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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