Author Topic: Need to replace batteries in FARS  (Read 8833 times)

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Offline tweatherman

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Need to replace batteries in FARS
« on: June 20, 2008, 09:49:02 PM »
What batteries do I need to replace in my FARS for my davis station. I believe there are c ni-cad rechargeables.

Thanks,
Tim
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Offline Anthony

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #1 on: June 21, 2008, 07:39:54 AM »
If you have a daytime only FARS, there are no batteries. Only the 24 hour FARS have batteries. I'm prety sure they are "C" size bateries and there are 2 of them.



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Anthony
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Offline tweatherman

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #2 on: June 21, 2008, 08:36:43 AM »
Anthony,
It is a 24 Hr. FARS. Anyone else out there know if they are ni-cad or not.

Thanks,
Tim

Offline NorthNJwx

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #3 on: June 21, 2008, 09:20:41 AM »
I actually just replaced the FARS batteries a week ago, since the fan had stopped running and my temps were reading too high for a few days. They are indeed ni-cad batteries of the "C" size. I got mine at RadioShack with no problem.

Offline floodcaster

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #4 on: June 21, 2008, 10:34:41 AM »
As noted above. See page 6 here in the documentation.

Have a daytime FARS myself and now wish I'd gone with 24 hr. :-(
Bill


Offline NiceBill

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #5 on: June 21, 2008, 10:06:57 PM »
Anthony,
It is a 24 Hr. FARS. Anyone else out there know if they are ni-cad or not.

Thanks,
Tim

The bats. are indeed ni-cad "C" cell's and require 2 for the 24 hr FARS.
It is noted in the instructions that I have, one may wish to consider replacing the bats. as well as the motor once every three years.

I did not notice the motor part # in the instructions noted in a previous post, but hear it is if you need a new motor.  #7758.

Bill.>>>>>>>>>>>>>> :-)
[note: Bill passed away December 31, 2008 -- Rest in Peace Bill, you'll be missed!]

Offline tweatherman

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #6 on: June 22, 2008, 08:17:29 PM »
Thanks to all of you for your input.

Tim

Offline jchen

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #7 on: July 31, 2008, 07:45:56 PM »
I know that Davis recommends replacing the batteries and fan motor every two or three years. For those of you that have replaced your batts, did you also replace the fan motor at the same time? Did you replace the batts because they had gone bad or did you do it proactively before batt failure? Finally, how long had the batts been in service? I noticed that NorthNJwx's lasted about 2 yrs 4 mths.

Davis Vantage Pro2 Plus - 24hr-FARS
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Offline Sigdigit

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #8 on: August 01, 2008, 08:40:35 AM »
Quote
Have a daytime FARS myself and now wish I'd gone with 24 hr.
May I ask why?  Davis' graphs of passive vs. fan aspirated radiation shields show the greatest variation is in the afternoon temperatures, if wind speed is very low (if it's breezy, it seems to be a moot point).  As the sun goes down, this effect is diminished. Have any of you who have previously run a daytime FARS and then switched to 24 hr FARS noticed a significant difference in temperature/humidity readings?  Or is it negligible?

Offline Carson Weather

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #9 on: August 06, 2008, 12:29:05 AM »
I would think that lack of fan during night time hours would only matter during periods of no wind, and then the only difference you would see would be a slight time lag.

While we are on the subject, the manual states that you can run the setup with 2, 1 or NO batteries.
These configurations will cause the fan to run slow, medium or fast. (When two batts are present, a certain amount of solar juice goes into charging them instead of running the fan).

Apparently, Davis tech support has not read this part of the book because when I asked them if there was any way to make the fan spin faster, they didn't suggest this.  #-o

I am running with one battery which does seem to work better (more accurate) than two...

Offline tweatherman

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #10 on: August 07, 2008, 05:26:55 PM »
That's nice to know I guess I should've read the manual more closely.

Tim

Offline floodcaster

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #11 on: August 13, 2008, 06:52:10 PM »
Quote
Have a daytime FARS myself and now wish I'd gone with 24 hr.
May I ask why?  Davis' graphs of passive vs. fan aspirated radiation shields show the greatest variation is in the afternoon temperatures, if wind speed is very low (if it's breezy, it seems to be a moot point).  As the sun goes down, this effect is diminished. Have any of you who have previously run a daytime FARS and then switched to 24 hr FARS noticed a significant difference in temperature/humidity readings?  Or is it negligible?

The daytime FARS is great in theory. The problem lies with the orientation of the solar panel. Due to it's nearly vertical orientation the power cuts out earlier in the late afternoon then I would prefer. This is unfortunately also shortly after the time of max heating. I've noticed (on calm days) that my max temp seems to occur later than nearby awos or asos sites with aspirated temp units.
Bill


Offline stormwatch

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #12 on: September 21, 2008, 11:20:48 AM »
Hi,

I upgraded my Vantage Pro to a Vantage Pro2 last November (2007) and just noticed about a week ago that my FARS is not running.

That's only 9-10 months of having the station running and now the FARS is not working. It did not seem right for the NiCAD batteries to have died in such a short length of time but I didn't want to run out and lay down the bucks for new batteries before seeing what Davis had to say.

Well, I have always had great Customer Service from Davis by calling them but I decided to email Support for an answer (also for possible future reference in case I have to call their hand at a later date) as to the possible problem. It has now been over a week now and no answer from them; I guess I will have to make a call tomorrow.

Anyone else had a battery problem so quickly? I guess I will have to replace the batteries to get the correct answer but I'm not pleased to have laid down all these bucks and the FARS is done within really 9 months of setting it up. This is my fifth Davis in 10 uears (only because I wanted upgrades as they became available) and NEVER had a problem with any of my previous stations.

Like a vehicle; when everything is going good I take it for granted. When something goes wrong, I tend to get upset quick. Don't mess with my Weather Station!!!

Tom 
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Offline tomcj2

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #13 on: October 17, 2008, 08:41:05 PM »
After 16 months I think I need new batteries.  The fan was not working today at all.  After I disassembled it and cleaned it it worked for a few minutes on either 1 or two batteries.  It seemed to work fine on the solar panel alone. ( I do not know why it wasn't working  before I took it apart) The solar panel was producing 2 volts.  (my multimeter does not read fractions of a volt).  Radioshack told me that there is no way of testing a rechargable battery but demonstrated that they were producing 1.45 volts.  They did not have a replacement.

The batteries appear to be "C" size but they have flat tops on both ends.

I will have to drive 25 miles to the nearest Batteries Plus store.  I should take the existing batteries with me, but I do not want to leave the station 'down' for the time it will take me, and I don't want to reassemble it twice.

The Davis manual states only:
Quote
1 or 2 - 1.2 Volt NiCad C-cells

Is there any other information or specifications that I can give them to ensure I get the proper replacements?
« Last Edit: October 18, 2008, 06:03:28 PM by tomcj2 »

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Offline neondesert

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #14 on: October 18, 2008, 12:36:12 AM »
After 16 months I think I need new batteries.  The fan was not working today at all.  After I disassembled it and cleaned it it worked for a few minutes on either 1 or two batteries.  It seemed to work fine on the solar panel alone. ( I do not know why it wasn't working when before I took it apart) The solar panel was producing 2 volts.  (my multimeter does not read fractions of a volt).  Radioshack told me that there is no way of testing a rechargable battery but demonstrated that they were producing 1.45 volts.  They did not have a replacement.

The batteries appear to be "C" size but they have flat tops on both ends.

I will have to drive 25 miles to the nearest Batteries Plus store.  I should take the existing batteries with me, but I do not want to leave the station 'down' for the time it will take me, and I don't want to reassemble it twice.

The Davis manual states only:
Quote
1 or 2 - 1.2 Volt NiCad C-cells

Is there any other information or specifications that I can give them to ensure I get the proper replacements?

According to the sticker on the back of the FARS solar panel the operating voltage should be 1.9 volts so you look OK in that area. 
The original batteries are rated 1.2V@2300mAh.   Radioshack does sell replacements that will work (part#23-124) they are 1.2V 2300mAh C-cell Nicad's.  I am currently using this battery in my FARS and it works fine, the flat tops are not an issue.

FWIW my FARS was running as a 24 hour setup for just about 3 years before the fan and the batteries gave out.  Upon replacing the fan I decided to try just one battery and have seen my daytime temps improve somewhat due to the increased fan speed during the day.  ;)

Larry
"But it's a DRY Heat!"


Offline tomcj2

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #15 on: October 17, 2010, 12:36:19 PM »
I just replaced the batteries in my FARS after 39 months of use.  They were still holding a charge overnight, but on one very cloudy day last week I noticed that the fan was not working in the late afternoon.  I purchased VRE C  1.2V 2300mAhr batteries from Batteries Plus.

Davis VP2 (6163), WL 5.9.0..  VWS 14.01 p25, Panasonic HM371A camera. WU & W4U KORCANBY3, CoCoRaHS OR-CC-27

Offline davey6693

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #16 on: October 26, 2010, 09:39:12 AM »
Quote
Have a daytime FARS myself and now wish I'd gone with 24 hr.
May I ask why?  Davis' graphs of passive vs. fan aspirated radiation shields show the greatest variation is in the afternoon temperatures, if wind speed is very low (if it's breezy, it seems to be a moot point).  As the sun goes down, this effect is diminished. Have any of you who have previously run a daytime FARS and then switched to 24 hr FARS noticed a significant difference in temperature/humidity readings?  Or is it negligible?

I don't know if it's my perception, but temperatures seem to be choppier with the daytime FARS. I think the issue is that if the sun dips behind a cloud for 5 minutes on a calm day, the solar FARS turns off and the stagnancy effects that we're trying to remove actually creep back in to the readings. I had a few partly cloudy days in the summer when the temperature was oscillating a degree or two up and down in short spells, consistently for a few hours. I don't present this as evidence since I didn't set it up as a proper test, so for now it's nothing more than me guessing. I'll test it properly next summer and decide if I want to convert it to a 24-hour FARS.
Davis 6152 wireless and WeatherLink IP. FARS and wireless anemometer transmitter kit. Solar radiation sensor add-on.

Offline fkapp

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #17 on: October 25, 2021, 10:56:42 PM »
Posting here instead of starting new thread with similar topic.

Question is:
Instead of the stock 5000 mah batteries for the 24 x 7 FARS, is it okay to use 10000 mah batteries?

Understand these will take longer to charge, but also will have more charge in the tank for overcast day.
Not sure if this would cause an issue electronically for the system.

Thanks
Frank

Offline CW2274

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #18 on: October 25, 2021, 11:54:09 PM »
Never saw this thread before, but boy does it remind me why I put in a case fan and how glad I am that I did!

The bigger batts will be fine. No idea whether they'd fully charge though. Overkill IMHO.

Offline Aardvark

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Re: Need to replace batteries in FARS
« Reply #19 on: October 26, 2021, 12:22:12 AM »
This is a minor suggestion, but it has worked for me in the past.

1. Buy fresh batteries, not from Davis or anyone else that supply FARS.  Go to a place like Interstate Batteries or BatteryJunction.com and by the rechargeable there.  cheaper and fresher.

2.  Charge the batteries on a battery charger prior to putting them in your case.  That will give them an indication what a full charge is and you won't be worrying why the solar panel isn't charging the batteries from the get-go.