Thanks all. I decided to go with the Ecowitt HP2553 and the GW1100 in the end.
My reasons:
1. I wanted to start collecting solar data - the Vantage Vue doesn't do this
2. I wanted to simplify how I connect to my weather pages (meteotemplate, WU, etc) - with the Vantage Vue I used the datalogger connected to a mac mini, running weathercat. Weathercat provides the update to the weather pages. Each step required varying degrees of upkeep. After each power outage, I had to restart weathercat. Also needed to ensure I didn't update the mac os beyond the capabilities of weathercat.
3. Using GW1100 simplifies all of this. It just reboots and starts working after a power outage. Also as it is small and located next to my router I can use the same ups.
4. I realize I may be sacrificing some accuracy & durability - but so far the data Ecowitt data seems very close to what the Vue is reporting.
5. I will bring my Vue in and place it on my project shelf - (project 23 - open Vue, assess the possibility of changing capacitor......, realize it's beyond my expertise, sell as a project on ebay)
6. Lastly, I wanted to be able to experiment with some additional sensors at an affordable cost e.g soil, waterleak etc
NOTE: for others looking at the HP2553 - if your main way of viewing your weather data is via a weather page e.g WU or Meteotemplate, I would suggest
not purchasing the HP2553 package like I did. I would just buy the WS80 and the WH40 and the GW1100 as separate items. The TFT Display is unnecessary. The display is nice, but the interface is pretty crappy.
As for meteotemplate - the migration from weathercat to GW1100 was actually very easy. It is now up and running and I am now planning to spend a few hrs updating/reorganizing my various blocks and plugins.
http://www.dtwrlewis.com/rothesay