Topic: weather station for off-grid cabin, thinking of WH3080 but looking for others!

[charlieb]

Hi all... Long time lurker, first time poster!

We have a medium sized shed (currently using it as a cabin) deep in the woods of Newfoundland, Canada.

We are planning on building a cabin on the land in a few years time which will be powered by renewable energy. My current plan is to set up a weather station to record 2 years worth of data to measure wind speeds and solar irradiance to determine what combination of solar/wind power we will go with. Also, as an oceanographer (very similar to meteorology, just a different density of fluid;) I have an extreme fascination with weather.

I have been looking for something that doesn't need to be connected to a PC (but still has the option). So a built-in datalogger is required.. I could download the data every 1-2 weeks in summer, but maybe 3-4 weeks in winter as we have to snowshoe in!

Eventually (within the year) I will have a low power fit-pc2 (http://www.fit-pc.com/web/fit-pc/) running in the shed with a Bell USB turbo stick so that I can upload data online through the cell towers. This will be powered off a small battery/solar setup. However, I'd like to start collecting my weather data before the PC is operational.

Ideally I am looking for a system that can be expanded with different sensors, as when I build my greenhouse, I'd like to place a temp/humidity inside of it. So I'd have 3 temp/humidity sensors in total (inside, outside, greenhouse).


In total I am looking for the following parameters:

wind speed, direction, solar irradiance, mulitple temp/humidity, pressure, rainfall


I came across the following system, WH3080: http://www.signatrol.com/product/185_weather-station-with-solar-power.html

This station appealed to me because of its included solar sensor and low price point. However, I have not been able to find an online retailer in north america! One place in europe quoted me almost 200 euro just to ship it to me (outrageous!)

Can anyone suggest where I might order this station online? or perhaps suggest a different weather station that will meet my needs? I look forward to your input!

[Bushman]

Got friends in Logy Bay!  The Rock gets some pretty nasty weather so you might want to consider something fairly durable like a Davis.   To meet your expansion plans you should look at the Vantage Pro2 as you can add lots of extra sensors (up to . Runs off solar/batteries and depending on archive interval can get like 100 days of stored data.  You are looking at around $1300 for this  with all the sensors.  Rainwise is another great prosumer WX station.

Forthebirdsnatureshop.com in NS is your best bet for a Canuck dealer.  Great prices and will match or beat US prices.  But those Davis stations cost way more than the Fine Offset clone you are looking at.  You can get that one cheaply at places like http://tycononline.com/weather-station/tp1080wc.html

[SLOweather]

Is there cell service there?

[Bushman]

Is there cell service there?

Quote: "...Bell USB turbo stick so that I can upload data online through the cell towers"

[SLOweather]

My bad. Thanks...

Is there cell service there?

Quote: "...Bell USB turbo stick so that I can upload data online through the cell towers"

[charlieb]

Got friends in Logy Bay!  The Rock gets some pretty nasty weather so you might want to consider something fairly durable like a Davis.   To meet your expansion plans you should look at the Vantage Pro2 as you can add lots of extra sensors (up to . Runs off solar/batteries and depending on archive interval can get like 100 days of stored data.  You are looking at around $1300 for this  with all the sensors.  Rainwise is another great prosumer WX station.

Forthebirdsnatureshop.com in NS is your best bet for a Canuck dealer.  Great prices and will match or beat US prices.  But those Davis stations cost way more than the Fine Offset clone you are looking at.  You can get that one cheaply at places like http://tycononline.com/weather-station/tp1080wc.html

Thanks for the input! I have been trying to do this for less than 400.... I don't mind spending more on a quality station like a Davis for my house.. however down at the shed - we only get down there every couple of weeks.. whats to stop someone from stealing such a fancy looking piece of equipment? ... hmmm

[SLOweather]

Thanks for the input! I have been trying to do this for less than 400.... I don't mind spending more on a quality station like a Davis for my house.. however down at the shed - we only get down there every couple of weeks.. whats to stop someone from stealing such a fancy looking piece of equipment? ... hmmm

Install it on a tall metal pipe concreted into the ground and lock up the ladders.

[SlowModem]

Welcome and enjoy your stay!

IMO you can get a quality station with additional datalogger if you go with the Vue.  Not quite as flexible as the VP-2, but good for temp/rh/wind/rain, and the datalogger will store a lot of data.  There's a chart on many posts here (that I never can seem to find)  that lists the storage/interval capacity of the datalogger.  (Mods:  could we make that list a sticky in the Davis thread?)

Good luck and keep us posted (it's the rules ya know!    )

[Bushman]

Got friends in Logy Bay!  The Rock gets some pretty nasty weather so you might want to consider something fairly durable like a Davis.   To meet your expansion plans you should look at the Vantage Pro2 as you can add lots of extra sensors (up to . Runs off solar/batteries and depending on archive interval can get like 100 days of stored data.  You are looking at around $1300 for this  with all the sensors.  Rainwise is another great prosumer WX station.

Forthebirdsnatureshop.com in NS is your best bet for a Canuck dealer.  Great prices and will match or beat US prices.  But those Davis stations cost way more than the Fine Offset clone you are looking at.  You can get that one cheaply at places like http://tycononline.com/weather-station/tp1080wc.html

Thanks for the input! I have been trying to do this for less than 400.... I don't mind spending more on a quality station like a Davis for my house.. however down at the shed - we only get down there every couple of weeks.. whats to stop someone from stealing such a fancy looking piece of equipment? ... hmmm

razor wire and radiation warning stickers. 

[charlieb]

Welcome and enjoy your stay!

IMO you can get a quality station with additional datalogger if you go with the Vue.  Not quite as flexible as the VP-2, but good for temp/rh/wind/rain, and the datalogger will store a lot of data.  There's a chart on many posts here (that I never can seem to find)  that lists the storage/interval capacity of the datalogger.  (Mods:  could we make that list a sticky in the Davis thread?)

Good luck and keep us posted (it's the rules ya know!    )

Thanks! I have been looking at the Vue, is there a solar sensor available for that? My main reason for the weather sensor is to collect both wind speed data and solar data to aid in my choosing the right components for my renewable energy system!

[SLOweather]

Thanks! I have been looking at the Vue, is there a solar sensor available for that? My main reason for the weather sensor is to collect both wind speed data and solar data to aid in my choosing the right components for my renewable energy system!

The Vue ISS (outdoor unit) doesn't have either solar or UV and they cannot be retrofitted. The Vue will not receive data from any of the other Davis wireless stations, either.

The Vantage PPro 2 can be purchased with or without the solar and UV sensors. In the US, retrofitting a VP2 with solar and UV and the sensor shelf carries a premium of about $100 over buying the Plus unit with them pre-installed.

The VP2 console can also receive data from up to 7 more wireless stations, temperature only with probe on a cable, temperature/humidity, and soil moisture/leaf wetness/temperature in various combinations.

[charlieb]

Thanks! I have been looking at the Vue, is there a solar sensor available for that? My main reason for the weather sensor is to collect both wind speed data and solar data to aid in my choosing the right components for my renewable energy system!

The Vue ISS (outdoor unit) doesn't have either solar or UV and they cannot be retrofitted. The Vue will not receive data from any of the other Davis wireless stations, either.

The Vantage PPro 2 can be purchased with or without the solar and UV sensors. In the US, retrofitting a VP2 with solar and UV and the sensor shelf carries a premium of about $100 over buying the Plus unit with them pre-installed.

The VP2 console can also receive data from up to 7 more wireless stations, temperature only with probe on a cable, temperature/humidity, and soil moisture/leaf wetness/temperature in various combinations.

Any idea where the cheapest place to buy a VP2?

[Bushman]

As in my first post - http://www.forthebirdsnatureshop.ca/weather-instruments/  Forget trying to buy in the US and getting it sent up to NL.

[charlieb]

For the sake of thoroughness, can anyone suggest other weather stations that measure solar?

[Bushman]

There are scads of them.  Oregon Scientific, Lacrosse, Acu-rite etc.  Google is your friend.

[Weather Display]

Acu Rite 5 in 1 does not measure solar
There is a couple of La Crosse stations that measure Light (LUX)
and the Oregan Scientific stations provide UV (tends to be on the low side too) that can be used as a guide to solar readings

[Skywatch]

Acu Rite 5 in 1 does not measure solar
There is a couple of La Crosse stations that measure Light (LUX)
and the Oregan Scientific stations provide UV (tends to be on the low side too) that can be used as a guide to solar readings

No Acu-rite station that I know of measures solar irradiance.
As far as Lacrosse I think your referring to the old WS2500 which was discontinued in the US quite some time ago. Not sure about Canada though. In I think Germany a similar unit is made by Elv.
The WMR200 with UVN800 reads low when the sensor is new. My UVN800 is going in 3.5 years and now over reads. The WMR200 also supports all the additional sensors (9 excluding the sensor included.) indoor temperature and humidity sensors are usually built into the console along with the air pressure sensors unless you plan to monitor temperature and humidity in more than one room. The model also has the built in data logger.

After doing a bit of research on the WS3080 or what little there was in English it doesn't appear the WS3080 supports additional temperature and humidity sensors.

[Bushman]

My bad on the Acu-rite.  I thought "Rhino" said they had one out/coming out.  Here's a few to review:  http://ambientweather.wikispaces.com/Weather+Station+Comparison+Guide

[charlieb]

Thanks! I have been looking at the Vue, is there a solar sensor available for that? My main reason for the weather sensor is to collect both wind speed data and solar data to aid in my choosing the right components for my renewable energy system!

The Vue ISS (outdoor unit) doesn't have either solar or UV and they cannot be retrofitted. The Vue will not receive data from any of the other Davis wireless stations, either.

The Vantage PPro 2 can be purchased with or without the solar and UV sensors. In the US, retrofitting a VP2 with solar and UV and the sensor shelf carries a premium of about $100 over buying the Plus unit with them pre-installed.

The VP2 console can also receive data from up to 7 more wireless stations, temperature only with probe on a cable, temperature/humidity, and soil moisture/leaf wetness/temperature in various combinations.

I am now giving serious thought to buying the VP2.. However, it is quite pricey and I can't seem to find the info on if it does datalogging or not? The unit is about 8-900ish with the solar sensor (canadian) ... but even more just to get a data logging capability?

[Bushman]

You would have to buy/make a logger.  The Davis one is  bit more than the knock-offs (~40%) or a non-logging unit can be made for much cheaper.  www.forthebirdsnatureshop.ca is really the only place to buy if you are in Canada.  What all with exchange, duty, brokerage etc....

[charlieb]

Any links to where I might find a knockoff data logger? as this station will be at a remote site without a computer for the first few months, I'll need to log the data for it to be of any use

[Bushman]

Sloweather and Bellfryboy have them.  Search the forums for links.