Author Topic: Dual Solar 06014RM overheating (Read 20633 times)

DoctorKnow · « **on:** February 27, 2015, 03:58:07 PM »

I've been watching the temperature increasing over the last few weeks on my 2 panel fan model. I had noticed at times recently 3 degrees too high. Today, it has run up to 7 degrees above air temperature according to my tower sensor which I have in a radiation shield. Now I see what many of you have been saying. I figured this issue would have been fixed by the time I bought this unit.? I sure can't use this station to report to the internet that high off.

I doubt there is anything I can do other than contact the company for a fix, or put on my old homebrew 2 panel top that I had from my first unit...

I saw something about using CD player motors as a fan?

skysummit · « **Reply #1 on:** February 28, 2015, 12:56:53 AM »

Oh no. I'm really hoping I don't start seeing that. Mine is also the dual panel. I've been so happy with it so far. I really hope that happiness is not ruined. What if you replace it with the single panel?

Mine came with an extra dual panel. I was going to send it back but may keep it for a spare.

DoctorKnow · « **Reply #2 on:** February 28, 2015, 07:29:57 AM »

My station is high on a pole, so I need to get a ladder to take it down, and it's poor weather right now. (too cold) Next week (Monday maybe) if it warms up and doesn't rain I may be able to take the station down and put my old stations top on and see what happens and at the same time check the 2 panel. I just don't see what I can do to it because where the fan blades attach to the motor is not accessible looking at my original stations top, which works just fine.

The thing I noticed yesterday is that when the sun was in the east, the fan seemed to work good, and when it moved all the way west, the temp was good, so the problem at first glance appears to be when the sun is in the southern sky higher up. Doesn't make sense to me.

I will take a screenshot of mybackyardweather page and post it tonight to show what it's doing.

haroldashe · « **Reply #3 on:** February 28, 2015, 01:36:42 PM »

The circular fan blade can be pulled off the motor shaft. But do it carefully, a little bit at a time to avoid bending the shaft.

DoctorKnow · « **Reply #4 on:** February 28, 2015, 03:35:25 PM »

Seems to make no sense, but today the unit did not spike. I will update again on a warmer day. When it spiked I saw temps in the 50s vs 40s today.

Thanks Harold for the advice. If I do pull the fan blade off, what would you recommend doing to it? I can practice on my old fan. With that one, I just stuck a straw down in there and shot some oil to it one time last summer. It made it run quieter and a little faster I think. I was out of warranty anyway, but I am not sure I want to chance doing something like that with the new one.

DoctorKnow · « **Reply #5 on:** March 02, 2015, 04:46:36 PM »

Updating... The fan is running, it just can't keep up with the sun. I saw three degrees above ( 65 )my tower sensor today on the dual panel ( 68 ) . This used to happen to my single panel before I painted the whole sensor housing... I guess the best thing to do for now is leave it alone and use the tower sensor for my internet uploads. If I paint the housing, it may void my warranty.

The overheating happens when the sun is in the southern sky around 1 PM. The unit cools down to perfect when the sun goes toward the west some, at around 4:30ET

Does anyone think that the solar panels absorb the heat too much when the sun is due south?

Inverno · « **Reply #6 on:** March 02, 2015, 07:54:17 PM »

There was lots of discussion about this over on the Acurite forums. Some claim that the dual panel fan has a weaker motor for some reason than the single panel. My dual panel fan makes a ton more noise than my single panel, they tested it and said it was normal.

DoctorKnow · « **Reply #7 on:** March 02, 2015, 08:45:53 PM »

The fan blades are exactly the same. (not sure about motors, I think they are different) I had my dual apart one time already to service the bearing for the anemometer. Also the fan runs just as fast, maybe a little faster. I really think having the solar panels built into the housing is making heat. If anyone has an old spare of the dual or even single, if they would try popping out the panels, and moving them to the outside of the housing, then sealing up/covering the empty original space they are attached to, we could verify if this is doing it. When my year is up, I will be trying some things for sure.

DoctorKnow · « **Reply #8 on:** March 05, 2015, 06:33:51 PM »

We had 84 degrees today, and the dual panel fan worked perfectly. Never overheated. Whatever caused the one or two day event fixed itself because I did nothing to the sensor.

Also north of me someone installed an Ambient station and it read 87. It is certainly possible, there is not one tree in that neighborhood.

Inverno · « **Reply #9 on:** March 07, 2015, 09:12:08 AM »

Did you buy a radiation shield for your tower sensor or make one? I have mine in old plant containers, not perfect but close. I also put my dual panel on today since the sun angle is shifting more and more. I'll see how it tracks with my single panel now.

DoctorKnow · « **Reply #10 on:** March 07, 2015, 09:57:21 AM »

Made my own from bowls I got at dollar tree inspired by Utube video.

Inverno · « **Reply #11 on:** March 07, 2015, 10:45:29 AM »

How well does it work? I watched the video. Only concern I have is the metal rods conducting heat near the sensor.

DoctorKnow · « **Reply #12 on:** March 07, 2015, 11:17:04 AM »

Really works. I haven't noticed any heat off the rods. I did paint the bowls, but you could paint the rods also.

tmoosetrax · « **Reply #13 on:** March 08, 2015, 07:41:54 PM »

Had the same problem with my dual panel it eliminated the morning and evening temperature spikes i would see with the single panel . After purchasing the dual panels to solve this the spikes were gone but warmer days were always 5-10 degrees warmer then surrounding stations. My guess is to much radiant heat from dual panels. If i new electronics a little better id mount the dual panel lower on the pole and run a wire up to single panels fan, Hoping for the best of both worlds. As for now my dual panel sits in a box in the attic.
Maybe a spring project, will have to search the internet for some ideas.

DoctorKnow · « **Reply #14 on:** March 08, 2015, 08:22:34 PM »

Quote from: tmoosetrax on March 08, 2015, 07:41:54 PM

Had the same problem with my dual panel it eliminated the morning and evening temperature spikes i would see with the single panel . After purchasing the dual panels to solve this the spikes were gone but warmer days were always 5-10 degrees warmer then surrounding stations. My guess is to much radiant heat from dual panels. If i new electronics a little better id mount the dual panel lower on the pole and run a wire up to single panels fan, Hoping for the best of both worlds. As for now my dual panel sits in a box in the attic.
Maybe a spring project, will have to search the internet for some ideas.

I can't figure the thing out honestly. Some days, it doesn't overheat at all, and other days, it overheats 3 degrees, and another day it will be 7 degrees too high! I am hoping tomorrow I can take the thing down AGAIN!

and maybe try the oiling the motor trick. If I could take the motor out of the old single panel and put it in this one, I would, but I am not sure about trying that yet. I am using my thermo/hygro tower sensor to send to internet because of the inconsistency.

DoctorKnow · « **Reply #15 on:** March 09, 2015, 12:41:14 PM »

Guess what the problem was? A big brown spider. He had his thick web on the fan blade, and was living around it... I saw something about putting moth balls inside the unit, so I am going to try this out. I can't keep taking this thing down every few weeks to run these pests out.

tbern · « **Reply #16 on:** March 09, 2015, 12:57:06 PM »

Good at least you found the problem, maybe try a no vacancy sign

DoctorKnow · « **Reply #17 on:** March 09, 2015, 01:11:01 PM »

If anyone has any good ideas let me know! The fan seems to be in good shape, and it would run with overcast conditions after I gave it a little nudge. I am keeping the station down where I can get to it until the sun comes back for a while to test things. I did put a couple drops of lubricant on the shaft while I was cleaning the fan.

Inverno · « **Reply #18 on:** March 09, 2015, 01:41:57 PM »

I've posted about this on Acurite's website for over a year now. It seems like no matter which panel I have on, my station runs a bit warm during daytime and a bit cool at night. There were winter nights last year where I had the lowest temperature in Maryland and I live near the coast. Western Maryland is mountainous and much colder. Then in the summer, I had the warmest temp in the state. And in Maryland, the southern portion near DC is much hotter than here. I like their products but solar radiation issue should be addressed better with a redesign of the fan somehow.

DoctorKnow · « **Reply #19 on:** March 09, 2015, 03:10:04 PM »

The fan is so quiet, but it is running even in overcast conditions!

if you take a sheet of toilet paper it will hold it up when the motor is running since unless you have real good ears,up against the sensor u wont hear anything.

nincehelser · « **Reply #20 on:** March 09, 2015, 04:54:34 PM »

Quote from: Inverno on March 09, 2015, 01:41:57 PM

I've posted about this on Acurite's website for over a year now. It seems like no matter which panel I have on, my station runs a bit warm during daytime and a bit cool at night. There were winter nights last year where I had the lowest temperature in Maryland and I live near the coast. Western Maryland is mountainous and much colder. Then in the summer, I had the warmest temp in the state. And in Maryland, the southern portion near DC is much hotter than here. I like their products but solar radiation issue should be addressed better with a redesign of the fan somehow.

Running a bit cooler at night wouldn't be due to the fan.

Inverno · « **Reply #21 on:** March 09, 2015, 05:15:00 PM »

Of course not though 24 hour fans are supposed to help, not in the direction I want at night though.

nincehelser · « **Reply #22 on:** March 09, 2015, 05:53:15 PM »

Quote from: Inverno on March 09, 2015, 05:15:00 PM

Of course not though 24 hour fans are supposed to help, not in the direction I want at night though.

That's what I meant to say. An aspiration fan at night isn't going to help bring up the cooler readings. If anything, it might make it read even colder.

bvstation · « **Reply #23 on:** March 12, 2015, 11:29:31 PM »

There is another thread on this some where, I sent mine back cause the panels weren't producing the proper voltage therefore the fan wouldn't even start moving at times when put back into the sun. So they replaced it free of charge and SAID they would refund my shipping costs but I never saw the check..go figure.

Well I've noticed a few spikes again since the temps finally started getting warm. I was thinking about wiring in another larger panel and raising mine on a higher pole since its only 3 feet over top of my building roof. I figure if I can get a larger panel and for sure the fan to start spinning at max soon as sun comes up then that should solve the early morning spike so long as the fan is moving.

DoctorKnow · « **Reply #24 on:** March 13, 2015, 08:39:29 AM »

I'm still positioning my station. I put some strong guy wires on it, and the false rain gauge output is no more, but I don't have it quite high enough yet, as I ran out of time, but I will get it back up where it was shortly. I can tell the wind speed still isn't what it was, so I need to get back in the path of the breeze. Just a foot or two can really make a difference I have found. The temperature is close now.

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Author Topic: Dual Solar 06014RM overheating (Read 20633 times)