Topic: (Eurochron) EFWS2900 outdoor sensor failure

[owtluke]

Hi everyone,

I bought a Eurochron EFWS2900 almost 2 years ago and for the last 4 months the temperature, dew point and humidity have been intermittent at best, if it works at all. A lot of the time it doesn't report anything for these sensors whilst the wind, wind direction and precipitation continue to work. Right now I once again changed the batteries and the temperature is stuck at an incorrect value and has not moved in several hours.

For 18 months this unit functioned flawlessly. But now with these ongoing problems I have tried changing the batteries as well as pressing the reset button on the outdoor unit. Unfortunately beyond this there does not seem to be much else one can do.

Although this was not the most expensive weather station on the market, I'm really sick and tired of buying electronics that need to be thrown out after such a short period of time. Based on this experience alone I would never buy this brand of weather station again.

I'm grateful to hear from anyone else who may have had similar experiences with the EFWS2900 and if they found a way to fix the problem. Or even if someone could recommend a better quality weather station that will last.

Thanks in advance!

[Mandrake]

I think you are being a little optimistic in your expectations for electronics that sit externally in all weather conditions 24x7!
The Tri-Wing sensor (Wh65) that looks to ship with your model is perhaps the most reliable variant produced so far by Fine Offset/Ecowitt.
Some will be lucky and their sensors will last 5 years or more and some wont!
Be aware though that even if the sensors dont fail they do degrade and lose accuracy anyway so anyone with a sensor array older than about 5 years should probably be thinking about replacing the external temp/humidity sensors anyway!

You have a choice, you can order a new Tri-Wing sensor or throw it all away and buy something like a Davis setup (which might not last very much longer as its pot luck to some degree)
If you dont have the deep pockets for a Davis then you can order a new Tri-Wing sensor array from Ecowitt.
You will need to know the frequency your system uses.
Will most likely be 433Mhz or 867Mhz in Switzerland.

If it turns out to be 867Mhz then you can also get a spare from Froggit in Germany as that will be compatible.

[owtluke]

You will need to know the frequency your system uses.
Will most likely be 433Mhz or 867Mhz in Switzerland.

If it turns out to be 867Mhz then you can also get a spare from Froggit in Germany as that will be compatible.

Wow, thank you so much! I am indeed in Switzerland, obviously I do not want to order the wrong unit, is there any way one can determine the frequency in use?

[Mandrake]

It might be on the back of your console or on the sensor array if you have taken it down.
It will say either 915, 867 or 433

Froggit only use 867Mhz kit so if it matches you can order a spare array from them
If not fear not as you can still order a replacement at the other frequencies from Ecowitt, but will entail a shipment from China which will take a while.

[galfert]

If you pull the power and batteries out I believe it shows the frequency upon startup for a brief moment. It will show 433, 868, or 915.

But if you do this then it resets all your rain totals and barometric calibrations. So write them down so that you can enter them back in and then recalibrate. But you'll lose high/low records and there is no way to save that.

[owtluke]

If you pull the power and batteries out I believe it shows the frequency upon startup for a brief moment. It will show 433, 868, or 915.

Okay cool. It say "EU 868" on boot up so I take that to fit exactly what you're saying. I will look to see if I can get this thing replaced under warranty otherwise I will try to order a replacement on Froggit.

Thanks to Mandrake and galfert for the information!

[vladcoroeanu]

So, you have a good experience with this now? I want to buy one from this brad as well. One cheaper.

[Jai Soone]

You could possibly also just order a "Replacement Thermo-Hygrometer Assembly" from your supplier. It seems Ambient Weather has significantly reworked their web site. Within the last month they used to call it an "WS-2902-THERMOHYGRO-ASSEMBLY". Looks like I'll have to spend a day or so to see where Ambient has buried the bodies so to speak, as my link to this part is no longer valid.

[sky_watcher]

I bought a Eurochron EFWS2900 almost 2 years ago and for the last 4 months the temperature, dew point and humidity have been intermittent at best, if it works at all. A lot of the time it doesn't report anything for these sensors whilst the wind, wind direction and precipitation continue to work. Right now I once again changed the batteries and the temperature is stuck at an incorrect value and has not moved in several hours.

It is likely the temp/humidity sensor in the Tri-Wing head - it is the most susceptible to circuit board corrosion and sensor damage due to the weather.

If the rest of the sensor head is in good shape, then I suggest that it may be cost effective to just replace the sensor yourself. The sensor in my HP2550 (with the tri-wing head) can be replaced with just a screwdriver, so I would assume that yours can be as well. I got my replacement sensor under warranty, so I have no idea how much it costs.

If you can't get any sense from the supplier, you will probably get help from Lucy at Fine Offset.