Author Topic: Anemometers compatible with Peet Bros station?  (Read 3669 times)

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Offline PRAT

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Anemometers compatible with Peet Bros station?
« on: May 30, 2016, 06:56:41 PM »
I bought a Peet bros weather station last year, mostly due to the fact that it's the only weather station I can find for a reasonable price that has instantaneous wind readout.   I like it for the most part (other than the 1980's data interface), but the anemometer is kind of a piece of crap.  I'm on my third one in a year - first one arrived broken in the box, second one literally blew off the pole, and the third one, which I am in the middle of installing now, basically fell apart in my hands.  That is getting old fast.

Does anyone know if there is another heavier duty anemometer that is compatible, either plug and play or with some modifications, with the peet bros anemometer?  At this point I am frustrated enough to ditch the whole thing but I really need something with instantaneous wind speed.

Offline DaleReid

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Re: Anemometers compatible with Peet Bros station?
« Reply #1 on: May 30, 2016, 08:42:10 PM »
Wow, that's not the experience I have had at all.

I got a 2100 when they first came out, I'm sure at least a decade ago, and got the bigger cupped one as an option or was part of the upgraded kit with the better rain collector.  Been long enough ago that I've forgotten the details.

The thing has been on a tower for all that time, up in the breeze, and still chugs along like a champ.

Never a problem with the wind head, but like a whole bunch of other electronic stuff from TVs to stereos and phones, when we took a nearby (150') strike on the side of the hill, the box went sour.  I liked it so much that I had ordered a new replacement one, and it feeds one of the data logging computers and a Weather Picture that is a super piece of display hardware.

Hope you have talked with the kind lady in support down in Florida to see if they have any insight as to what the problem might be.  Despite all the sun and wind and rain and even hail, my wind head is still OK.

The wind direction is a bit different, no a whole lot different, from most wind monitor heads.  There is no potentiometer to give a voltage or resistance.  The magnet that spins giving wind speed is also refernced and timed somehow to give a time/angle difference which is converted into a direction, if I recall correctly.   Therefore I really doubt you'll find a different style that will just replace directly.  But I could be wrong.

Did you get the little cup one or the big cup/pro version this last replacement?

Dale
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Offline PRAT

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Re: Anemometers compatible with Peet Bros station?
« Reply #2 on: May 31, 2016, 03:14:00 AM »
All three have been the big cups I believe. Peet bros customer service has been fantastic, and the way my life works it would not surprise me at all if I got the the only 3 defective wind heads they have ever made...just getting tired of replacing them and would like it to work.  That is kind of what I figured about 3rd party compatibility.  I'll give them a shout in the morning.

Offline PRAT

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Re: Anemometers compatible with Peet Bros station?
« Reply #3 on: May 01, 2017, 12:50:45 AM »
#4 is now tits up...showing due north and 1.3 miles an hour when it's steady SE 15-20.  I am apparently going to have to spend the money on something made to actually be out in real weather.  I need real time wind direction/speed and would prefer it be easily uploadable to the internet, not necessarily wunderground.  Any suggestions? I am willing to spend the extra cash as long as it's a tool and not a hobby as far as keeping it running.   I am getting tired of climbing up there.
« Last Edit: May 01, 2017, 01:02:16 AM by PRAT »

Offline CW2274

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Re: Anemometers compatible with Peet Bros station?
« Reply #4 on: May 01, 2017, 02:04:17 AM »
Don't know if they have what you want, but look into RM Young. They're pretty much the industry standard, but be ready to break out the wallet.

Offline PRAT

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Re: Anemometers compatible with Peet Bros station?
« Reply #5 on: May 01, 2017, 02:09:06 AM »
Don't know if they have what you want, but look into RM Young. They're pretty much the industry standard, but be ready to break out the wallet.

One of the ones I'm looking at, thanks.  Bunch of interface stuff to research first. Thanks!

Offline DaleReid

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Re: Anemometers compatible with Peet Bros station?
« Reply #6 on: May 01, 2017, 08:56:55 AM »
I like your comment that you may have gotten the only defective ones they made.

I have had a Peet Bro station high on my tower for over 15 years.  Got fried by lightning and replaced with another one.  It is very reliable, and the anemometer sits a few feet from two RM Young Wind Monitors 05103s.  The Youngs will turn a lower wind speeds (under 1-2 mph) but the day in and day out graphs show as close to one another as you can get.  In addition, the barometer and the temp sensors track very closely to three other much more expensive gizmos (which my wife thinks are not as expensive as they are.)

The only fault I can find with them is their unique way of determining wind direction, which means replacing the head with a non-Peet is an interface problem which was unsolvable until Arduinos have come along.  I wasn't able to duplicate the timing with simple electronics years ago, and since mine has been chugging along for the last 5 years, I've not looked into doing the programming necessary to interface a non-Peet.

I feel your frustration at having a wind head fail, with mine being up on a tower I no longer can safely climb with my age and arthritis, and need to sweet talk a friend from 40 miles away to come by when the weather is nice and he hasn't any fishing to do. 

Keep at it.  I was reading elsewhere about some other brand having 4 failures in the last few years.

Let us know what you finally come up with.
Dale
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Offline PRAT

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Re: Anemometers compatible with Peet Bros station?
« Reply #7 on: May 01, 2017, 04:53:17 PM »
Dale and CW2274 -

Meant to ask and forgot - what kind of displays are you using on your RM Youngs, and are they set up to transmit data to wunderground and/or other sites on the web?  Curious what kind of setup you have.

« Last Edit: May 01, 2017, 04:55:48 PM by PRAT »

Offline CW2274

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Re: Anemometers compatible with Peet Bros station?
« Reply #8 on: May 01, 2017, 05:31:32 PM »
Dale and CW2274 -

Meant to ask and forgot - what kind of displays are you using on your RM Youngs, and are they set up to transmit data to wunderground and/or other sites on the web?  Curious what kind of setup you have.
I, unfortunately, don't own an RMY. Others do, like Dale, and will chime in.

Offline stevenh

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Re: Anemometers compatible with Peet Bros station?
« Reply #9 on: May 12, 2017, 07:46:49 AM »
Just went up on the roof to replace my second big cup anemometer after I upgraded to it from the smaller cups and 2100 display.
Something has changed with Peet's quality. I used to be able to get 2 years or so before replacement. Lately seems to be closer to 6 months.
Support has been so-so, with the standard answer of reseat the cups. I think the bigger cups are warbling more on the sensor and making the reed switch miss.

If it wasn't for the weather picture I'd dump it for a Davis.

Has anyone seen software that scrapes a Davis database and creates a serial data stream to drive the weather picture?
It's on my list of things to try, but I stink at software!

Steve

Offline DaleReid

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Re: Anemometers compatible with Peet Bros station?
« Reply #10 on: May 12, 2017, 10:56:51 AM »
Talk with them at tech if you haven't already.
If you got a bad one, that would seem rare.  Two and that is downright strange.

I have replaced the small cup one I put up with because it was far from sensitive to low winds. 

The first one I had up was there, with big cup upgrade from the very beginning, which if I can dig that far back was at least 7 maybe 10 years, which I got from their booth at Dayton Hamvention.  Things get fuzzy that far back, but I've not gone for over 6 years and it was earlier in my journeying down there.

It was doing well and no hiccoughs at all until lighting struck close and did a few thousand dollars damage to much stuff, from wx equipment to tvs to stereos and appliances.

The second one I bought came from eBay with small cups and soon I decided this was not acceptable.  I got my tower climber back for a six pack of Coors Lite (afterwards, but I'd need it before to go that high up on the tower myself) and all has been peachy since he put the big cupped one up.  But that's only been a year.

I really think you have good reason to call and discuss with them.  That is feedback they need to know as suppliers, too.  If their contractors that make those things aren't doing well the only way Peet will know is if they hear from their customers.

Is it not turning?  Is the reed switch not functioning?  If you brought down the head you still can test it. There are some instructions on the web site if I recall.

Something is weird.  I hate to see a company I like and are one of the few smaller players in the market not know about a production problem or have a bad rap that colors someone's evaluation and not buy one of their stations.
Dale
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Offline PRAT

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Re: Anemometers compatible with Peet Bros station?
« Reply #11 on: May 12, 2017, 11:42:00 AM »
Just went up on the roof to replace my second big cup anemometer after I upgraded to it from the smaller cups and 2100 display.
Something has changed with Peet's quality. I used to be able to get 2 years or so before replacement. Lately seems to be closer to 6 months.
Support has been so-so, with the standard answer of reseat the cups. I think the bigger cups are warbling more on the sensor and making the reed switch miss.

If it wasn't for the weather picture I'd dump it for a Davis.

Has anyone seen software that scrapes a Davis database and creates a serial data stream to drive the weather picture?
It's on my list of things to try, but I stink at software!

Steve


Sounds familiar. 

I've had the same conversation several times about reseating the vane and cups, which did in fact work in the latest case. Considering the high winds we have here (the reason I went with Peet in the first place) that doesn't seem like a very good long term solution given A) the fact that it's only been up there for about 6 months, and B) I assume the cups/vane become unseated due to high winds. 

We'll see how long it keeps working this time.  They did send me the test instructions, which will come in handy next time it quits, I guess. 

Again, the tech folks are very friendly, and one of the reason I got a Peet to begin with is the stellar reviews, but that hasn't been my experience, mine has been nothing but trouble. 

 

Offline stevenh

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Re: Anemometers compatible with Peet Bros station?
« Reply #12 on: May 15, 2017, 08:21:42 AM »
Talk with them at tech if you haven't already.
If you got a bad one, that would seem rare.  Two and that is downright strange.

I have replaced the small cup one I put up with because it was far from sensitive to low winds. 

The first one I had up was there, with big cup upgrade from the very beginning, which if I can dig that far back was at least 7 maybe 10 years, which I got from their booth at Dayton Hamvention.  Things get fuzzy that far back, but I've not gone for over 6 years and it was earlier in my journeying down there.

It was doing well and no hiccoughs at all until lighting struck close and did a few thousand dollars damage to much stuff, from wx equipment to tvs to stereos and appliances.

The second one I bought came from eBay with small cups and soon I decided this was not acceptable.  I got my tower climber back for a six pack of Coors Lite (afterwards, but I'd need it before to go that high up on the tower myself) and all has been peachy since he put the big cupped one up.  But that's only been a year.

I really think you have good reason to call and discuss with them.  That is feedback they need to know as suppliers, too.  If their contractors that make those things aren't doing well the only way Peet will know is if they hear from their customers.

Is it not turning?  Is the reed switch not functioning?  If you brought down the head you still can test it. There are some instructions on the web site if I recall.

Something is weird.  I hate to see a company I like and are one of the few smaller players in the market not know about a production problem or have a bad rap that colors someone's evaluation and not buy one of their stations.
Dale

Well, I got the sensor down and it had two issues. The weighted nose on the wind direction was missing. The upper bearing in the housing was hanging and noisy. When I removed it, it was very rusty. The station is sited 500ft or so from the ocean so lots of wind, water, salt and sand. This one saw gusts to 70 MPH during one storm.

I installed one I rebuilt with a sealed upper bearing and new larger cups. I ordered the cups from Peet to upgrade one of older sensors I've collected over the years. Next I need to source the reed switches. Most of the time just cleaning them up/reseating the cups fixes them for awhile.

I used to have to replace the reeds in the Heathkit I built back in the early 70's. It served me well until I purchased the Peet 2100.

Steve




Offline PRAT

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Re: Anemometers compatible with Peet Bros station?
« Reply #13 on: October 27, 2017, 05:29:10 PM »
Update

Just had another 80+ mph day and it is doing the same thing again.  After going through 4 of these and a LOT of time talking to tech support, I'm done.  I don't know about the older model Peets but after every strong wind it randomly sits at zero mph when there is clearly wind outside.  Having an anemometer that stops working when the wind blows seems counterproductive, so I'll be checking into a heavier duty product.  I'll update again when I get something.

Offline PRAT

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Re: Anemometers compatible with Peet Bros station?
« Reply #14 on: November 13, 2017, 02:38:57 PM »
In case anyone is interested, After a lot of research I ended up going with an RM Young ResponseONE.  Spendy (as advertised), but an impressive piece of equipment.  It's up and running, today's (this week's) project is to try to get it talking to my weather software and then hopefully updating WU.   

The internet portion is kind of a nice to have but it's not essential.  The standalone features, especially the wind speed/direction sensitvity, instantaneous and max wind readouts made it a worthwhile purchase, at least for me.  I am almost looking forward to the next wind storm  :grin: