Topic: Dual panel 5in1s and intermittent fan

[nincehelser]

I expect the capacitor is bad. Probably made in Mexico. The Chinese ones are usually better. Isn't the capacitor what starts the motor?

No.  This is a DC motor, not AC.

The capacitors provide input by-pass and output filtering for the LDO.

[SufferinSuccotash]

For others here with the temp problem and want to address this with shielding/shading of the unit body.


I found this on the Acurite fourms.
https://support.acurite.com/acurite/topics/modified-acurite-5-in-1-pro-to-alleviate-temperature-swings


This will not address the fan issues, but the author claims that the temps have smoothed out.
From looking at the pics I suspect that the early and late suns rays are blocked from hitting part of the upper body housing.  This modification does not seem to shield the lower housing or the area of the upper housing that forms the rain collection unit.  Suns rays will still hit this and lead to heating of the upper body.  There are drainage holes in the lower body unit for draining rain water and this will lead to convection and SOME cooling of the air space surrounding the black plastic enclosure housing the electronics.  Within this is a separate air space for the temp sensor, with the fan directly above it to draw air through the vent holes at the bottom.  I am currently looking for some type of cheap plastic serving dish to try this with my own unit.

[DoctorKnow]

I think what would be better than this is a larger intake vent underneath the sensor. If anyone tries that, maybe drill out the vent that's there, plus make the hole larger overall, and cover with some fine mesh screen, (not too fine though)in a box type pattern above the wind vain path. More air from the top would likely be "hot" air. You want the cool air to get in toward the ground.

I would be afraid of wind resistance if doing this plate mod on a station mounted very high off the ground.

[SufferinSuccotash]

I think what would be better than this is a larger intake vent underneath the sensor. If anyone tries that, maybe drill out the vent that's there, plus make the hole larger overall, and cover with some fine mesh screen, (not too fine though)in a box type pattern above the wind vain path. More air from the top would likely be "hot" air. You want the cool air to get in toward the ground.

I would be afraid of wind resistance if doing this plate mod on a station mounted very high off the ground.

Yes It may start looking like a sail if the mounting pole is too long. 
Making the hole larger would encroach on other components around it.  One could fashion a sort of flared scoop to be attached between the opening and the vane below as to direct breeze coming at a horizontal direction to be forced upward into the sensor.   hmmm.. I'll have to think about that idea for a bit and see what I can come up with.  Besides this still would not guarantee any air flow on still days.

[DoctorKnow]

I agree, you don't want water to touch any electronics, so very careful detail is needed. You want to have a "lip" just below the hole, and then the screen shaped like a box with maybe a 1/4 inch long "box" or "cage" below the hole. The stack effect should help to draw air in. Many stations like Davis and Ambient have no fan at all, so the fan running even a little should be OK with a better intake. Maybe? THoughts?

[SufferinSuccotash]

I agree, you don't want water to touch any electronics, so very careful detail is needed. You want to have a "lip" just below the hole, and then the screen shaped like a box with maybe a 1/4 inch long "box" or "cage" below the hole. The stack effect should help to draw air in. Many stations like Davis and Ambient have no fan at all, so the fan running even a little should be OK with a better intake. Maybe? THoughts?

I think that a pagoda type radiation shield would work well, however with the 5in1 design it would be difficult to design this into the space allocated for it.  Their 3in1 has a somewhat pagoda style housing but incorporating this into the present 5in1 would be impossible.

[DoctorKnow]

If a motor is overheating, will it stop itself to cool off, and then start again? If it can't draw enough air, I would think that would cause overheating.

[DoctorKnow]

You guys with a dual tell me what the difference is. This is my homemade dual with the single top.

The motor appears the same. There is a big difference though in regard to the way they are wired! Only one wire comes from each panel on the dual, where here, we have + and - from the single panel. Also we have a larger capacitor on the single regulator than the dual.

[tmoosetrax]

My single panel unit.

[tmoosetrax]

Dual panel unit.

[DoctorKnow]

Something is failing. Someone who knows about these things should be able to tell us what the problem is by now. We could fix it and get off this topic. It's a waste of time sending in something that the acurite people know by now is junk before they get it. There are acurite stations for several counties around me that run at least 10 degrees too high everyday.

[CW2274]

Something is failing. Someone who knows about these things should be able to tell us what the problem is by now. We could fix it and get off this topic. It's a waste of time sending in something that the acurite people know by now is junk before they get it. There are acurite stations for several counties around me that run at least 10 degrees too high everyday.

I know you're invested, maybe time to cut bait.

[tmoosetrax]

I know you're invested, maybe time to cut bait.

I often feel that way just not sure what direction to go if i do. Spend more money on a different brand and hope for the best or just monitor everyone else's station on WU.

[CW2274]

I know you're invested, maybe time to cut bait.

I often feel that way just not sure what direction to go if i do. Spend more money on a different brand and hope for the best or just monitor everyone else's station on WU.

I am a Davis fan boy and won't apologize as such. Other than replace a few fan motors over 8 years and upgrade my temp/humidity sensor at my choosing, the thing is incredible. Could some things be better, sure, but I'm VERY glad I choose this as my PWS back in '07.

[CW2274]

Oh and by the way, both my ISS and anemometer are flawlessly wireless.

[DoctorKnow]

Something is failing. Someone who knows about these things should be able to tell us what the problem is by now. We could fix it and get off this topic. It's a waste of time sending in something that the acurite people know by now is junk before they get it. There are acurite stations for several counties around me that run at least 10 degrees too high everyday.

I know you're invested, maybe time to cut bait.

I am strongly considering it, but first I must attempt a repair. If I fail, then I will move to something else.

[nincehelser]

I know you're invested, maybe time to cut bait.

I often feel that way just not sure what direction to go if i do. Spend more money on a different brand and hope for the best or just monitor everyone else's station on WU.

I am a Davis fan boy and won't apologize as such. Other than replace a few fan motors over 8 years and upgrade my temp/humidity sensor at my choosing, the thing is incredible. Could some things be better, sure, but I'm VERY glad I choose this as my PWS back in '07.

That's nice.  My Davis sits in storage.  I got tired of fixing it after the last round of storm damage cost more than an entire 5n1 sensor to replace the rain bucket.

To each his own.

[aweatherguy]

I'm have borrowed a 5n1 with dual solar cells (factory, not home-brew) and will be re-running the temperature comparison with home-built FARS and two passive shields. I'll post that data when it becomes available. I think I saw on the AcuRite web site where you can purchase a dual-cell replacement top for $35 or so...?

There's one other difference I noticed with the dual-cell unit. On the single-cell model, the fan impeller is mounted right up against a flat surface and about 1/3 of the impeller area is effectively blocked. In the dual-cell model they have gotten rid of that flat surface so that all of the fan impeller is now moving air. I don't know if that will make a measurable difference but should find out soon.

[DoctorKnow]

I'm going to be installing my version you see above. I will let everyone know what happens. If it works, I am done with the dual top. I feel like it is fighting against itself to run the fan when both panels have sunshine. When only one panel has light, it runs and keeps temps down. Maybe someone could try disconnecting one panel.

[aweatherguy]

I can't make sense of your photo and wiring, but if it slows down when both panels are in sun you may have the polarity on one panel reversed. You would want to check that with a voltmeter and both panels open-circuited (e.g. both wires from each panel disconnected).

[DoctorKnow]

I can't make sense of your photo and wiring, but if it slows down when both panels are in sun you may have the polarity on one panel reversed. You would want to check that with a voltmeter and both panels open-circuited (e.g. both wires from each panel disconnected).

If you meant my picture, I had that hooked up before. It worked perfectly. This was on my old 5 in 1 I had for over 2 years.

[aweatherguy]

Sorry, I got confused...for me, following this thread is kind of like going down Lombard street in San Francisco 

Just ignore my comment and I'll climb back into my hole.

[DoctorKnow]

Sorry, I got confused...for me, following this thread is kind of like going down Lombard street in San Francisco 

Just ignore my comment and I'll climb back into my hole.

No stay here. I did not take pictures of my dual panel top when I had it apart, but next time, if it's different from Mooses, I will, but I believe I know the problem now with the dual solar panel system, and that is when the sun is shining on BOTH panels, it is too much current, and the fan craps out. WHen the sun is in the east or west, the temp is within 1 degree for me.

Someone who knows how to resolve that, let us know, or try wiring both panels together before the regulator like I did in the first pic, and see if things don't smooth out. Having both panels wired to the regulator itself is not working.

[aweatherguy]

I don't think the problem is too much current. You need to do some troubleshooting with a voltmeter. Your best bet would be to disassemble the top unit down to the level shown in moose's photos. Then see if you can take it outside in the sun and get it to misbehave. At that point you could start probing voltages on the regulator board to find out what's wrong.

The problem is I don't know what's on the other side of that regulator board so I cannot provide much more help there. Once I get done with my FARS comparison run I can take a look at my regulator board. Anyway, until then I can't offer much more help.

[DoctorKnow]

I don't think the problem is too much current. You need to do some troubleshooting with a voltmeter. Your best bet would be to disassemble the top unit down to the level shown in moose's photos. Then see if you can take it outside in the sun and get it to misbehave. At that point you could start probing voltages on the regulator board to find out what's wrong.

The problem is I don't know what's on the other side of that regulator board so I cannot provide much more help there. Once I get done with my FARS comparison run I can take a look at my regulator board. Anyway, until then I can't offer much more help.

All I can tell you is the fan craps out around 1PM until about 4. Then it starts bringing the temp down to where it should be. During the bad hours, the temp can run up to 10 degrees high if the fan doesn't kick back in once it becomes affected by whatever causes it to slow down or stop. I look forward to your tests.