Author Topic: Ordering my weather station from ecowitt (Read 2412 times)

JB007JB · « **on:** April 07, 2020, 06:17:48 AM »

Hello weather enthusiast!
Today I placed my order for my new weather station directly from ecowitt.com.
In the following weeks I would like to share with you my experiences with my new weather station, in order to draw the attention of new customers to ecowitt's products.

April 2,2020:
After a few weeks of careful consideration and lively exchange in the forum I decided to email ecowitt about the following products:

• 1 x HP2551-C - Display Console
• 1 x WH32 - Outdoor Temperature and Humidity Sensor (for primary outdoor temperature/humidity)
• 1 x WH32B - Temperature, Humidity and barometric pressure Sensor (for primary indoor temp/hum and barometric pressure)
• 1 x WS68 - Anemometer with Light & UV Sensor
• 1 x WH40 - Rain Gauge Sensor
• 2 x WH31 - multi channel temperature and humidity sensors (as additional indoor sensors)
• 1 x WH57 - Lightning Detection Sensor
• 3 x WH51 - Soil Moisture Sensor
• 1 x RS-00001 - Radiation Shield
• 1 x BS0002 - Detachable Bird Spikes (for the WH40 rain gauge sensor)

All the sensors should use the 868 MHz-frequency, since this is the most common frequency for weather stations here in Germany.
I didn’t want the HP2551 all-in-one-array, because placing the anemometer, temperature sensor and rain gauge separately will give me more accurate readings.
The RS-00001 Radiation shield will be used for the outdoor temperature sensor.
I planning on buying a separate radiation shield for the lightning detection sensor from Amazon Germany (https://smile.amazon.de/dp/B017ILZF6C/?coliid=I2Z3IAPDJFV0OZ&colid=3SP105B24TUVN&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it_im), because it is cheaper and I want to place the lightning detection sensor outdoors for better readings.
For backups and software updates I will use a 32 GB microSDHC card from SanDisk (https://smile.amazon.de/dp/B06XWMQ81P/?coliid=IZKR7APXCCKO5&colid=3SP105B24TUVN&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it_im).

April 3, 2020:
I received a reply from Lucy in which she noted that the WH32B-Sensor is sold together with the HP2551-C - Display Console.
The final price for my order, including shipping with DHL, is 464 USD.
I then asked to pay the amount via PayPal.

April 7, 2020:
Received a PayPal link for my payment and got informed that they will need about 3-4 weeks to prepare my order due to the Corona Virus.
I initiated the payment via PayPal.

I will post an update as soon as something new arises.
In the meantime, I am looking forward to your comments.

Mandrake · « **Reply #1 on:** April 07, 2020, 06:26:20 AM »

Looking good!
This is quite a big order so it may take a few weeks for the Ecowitt team to put it together and test it all before they ship.

I am sure you will be very happy with your choices.

olicat · « **Reply #2 on:** April 07, 2020, 07:09:32 AM »

@JB007JB:

Quote

I planning on buying a separate radiation shield for the lightning detection sensor

I also bought this shield already. But it does not fit to the indoor temperature/humidity-sensor WH31A. If the lightning sensor comes in a comparable housing you will have to fasten this with cable ties somehow.

Quote

I will post an update as soon as something new arises.

Be patient!
I've been waiting since February 29th. on the delivery of a few parts (WH57, WH55, WH41, ...) to Germany. Till now there's no progress at all.

Regards, viele Gruesse,

Oliver

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Jim Ace · « **Reply #3 on:** April 07, 2020, 07:11:13 AM »

I placed an order with Ecowitt eight weeks ago and still have not received the items, shipping is delayed due to the virus so be patient it might take a while.

Mandrake · « **Reply #4 on:** April 07, 2020, 09:07:25 AM »

Remember that there are very few flights in and out of China at the moment as they control their borders so this will materially impact shipments.
Transport via other means will take at least 3 weeks!

Jeje2 · « **Reply #5 on:** April 18, 2020, 07:03:52 AM »

As I was just introduced to Ecowitt / Froggit products I would like to ask you, as you live in the EU, about import customs and VAT's for Ecowitt's products.

As I just did a simple maths with Finnish (EU country) customs and concluded that I would need to add 27% of price as VAT+Customs. This would make the price quite harsh compared to Froggit's products.

wvdkuil · « **Reply #6 on:** April 18, 2020, 07:21:02 AM »

Quote from: Jeje2 on April 18, 2020, 07:03:52 AM

As I was just introduced to Ecowitt / Froggit products I would like to ask you, as you live in the EU, about import customs and VAT's for Ecowitt's products.

As I just did a simple maths with Finnish (EU country) customs and concluded that I would need to add 27% of price as VAT+Customs. This would make the price quite harsh compared to Froggit's products.

You also check the https://www.froggit.de/ site, they sell most of the ecowiit/fine offset stations also.
The numbers are different , GW1000 from ecowitt =DP1500 from froggit.
But German VAT is included in the price.

Wim

Jeje2 · « **Reply #7 on:** April 18, 2020, 07:43:56 AM »

Quote from: wvdkuil on April 18, 2020, 07:21:02 AM

Quote from: Jeje2 on April 18, 2020, 07:03:52 AM
As I was just introduced to Ecowitt / Froggit products I would like to ask you, as you live in the EU, about import customs and VAT's for Ecowitt's products.

As I just did a simple maths with Finnish (EU country) customs and concluded that I would need to add 27% of price as VAT+Customs. This would make the price quite harsh compared to Froggit's products.
You also check the https://www.froggit.de/ site, they sell most of the ecowiit/fine offset stations also.
The numbers are different , GW1000 from ecowitt =DP1500 from froggit.
But German VAT is included in the price.

Yes I have looked at the Froggits products as well and at the moment I have been planning to order from Froggit.
As I need the base setup (Froggit HP1000SE / Ecowitt HP2551) with 8 indoor temp&humidity sensors (Froggit DP50 / Ecowitt WH31) - these products Froggit have. But as I now looked at both... does Froggit have the lightning sensor like Ecowit WH57? (I really don't need it but

)

galfert · « **Reply #8 on:** April 18, 2020, 07:54:19 AM »

Just get what you can from Froggit and complete what they don't carry from Ecowitt.
All you have to keep in mind is matching frequency of 868 MHz, which is what Froggit uses.

Mandrake · « **Reply #9 on:** April 18, 2020, 07:57:00 AM »

Froggit don't carry all the sensor options like
individual Rain sensor
Individual Wind/solar Sensor
Ultrasonic Wind/Solar sensor

However I do understand that they do plan to have the lightning sensor very soon.

Froggit use 868Mhz for all their kit, so if you are very keen or want something from Ecowitt that Froggit do not sell all you need to do is buy the same frequency (868Mhz) and they will all work together with no problem.

JB007JB · « **Reply #10 on:** April 18, 2020, 08:31:01 AM »

Quote from: Jeje2 on April 18, 2020, 07:03:52 AM

As I was just introduced to Ecowitt / Froggit products I would like to ask you, as you live in the EU, about import customs and VAT's for Ecowitt's products.

As I just did a simple maths with Finnish (EU country) customs and concluded that I would need to add 27% of price as VAT+Customs. This would make the price quite harsh compared to Froggit's products.

Thank you for your question!
As of today I can not say how much I will pay for VAT and Duties, but I expect that VAT will be 19% of the total value. I estimate duties between 0 and 3 %, but I will keep you updated on this topic.

I also thought about ordering from Froggit here in Germany. But then I realised that an array of individual sensors, as mentioned in my first post here, would give me far more accurate readings. And since Froggit only offers the all-in-one-array I decided on ordering directly from ecowitt. That way I expect to have a very good semi-professional weather station that i can upgrade with additional sensors from ecowitt at any times. And if something goes wrong or will be damaged I only have to swap out individual sensors and not the complete weather station. Hope this helps!

JB007JB · « **Reply #11 on:** June 05, 2020, 11:06:04 AM »

June 5,2020:
Good News! Today I received a shipping confirmation from Lucy saying:

Quote

Thanks for your waiting!
We have shipped your order and here's the tracking number: XXX(DHL).
Please give some days for the tracking information to be updated.
Please note that the delivery time will be around 2 weeks due to the Corona Virus.
Please download the attached manuals and invoice.
Any question, please let us know.

Best Regards,
Lucy

I will keep you updated on the shipping process.

In the next days I will order these lithium ion batteries for the sensors:
https://smile.amazon.de/dp/B0044P3J2I/?coliid=I38ORDV9S0NBKV&colid=3SP105B24TUVN&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

and this microSDHC-card for the console:
https://smile.amazon.de/dp/B06XWMQ81P/?coliid=IZKR7APXCCKO5&colid=3SP105B24TUVN&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it_im

Jeje2 · « **Reply #12 on:** August 15, 2020, 02:45:20 PM »

Quote from: JB007JB on June 05, 2020, 11:06:04 AM

June 5,2020:
Good News! Today I received a shipping confirmation from Lucy saying:

Hi,
have you received the goods already? Been a couple of months since last post here...

lemuba · « **Reply #13 on:** August 16, 2020, 01:17:51 AM »

Due to the long waiting time I also cancled recently my order at Ecowitt and ordered at Froggit. l´m wondering why it takes always month for Ecowitt to collect some items into a box and to get them shipped, or to send at least a shipping confirmation? Corona as answer/excuse is not really believable any more. I feel or understand it as follows that it could be that Ecowitt items are always on low stock level and private orders are set to low priority, Dealer orders first...???

What I would expect from Ecowitt:

Items marked available or unavailable on their Website and products separated to the major 3 transmission frequencies
My order today
Their order confirmation latest the next day
On request, Shipment via DHL and max. one week shipping time

What is so difficult to perform this way?

But someone may know Ecowitt better than me or have a better answer?

galfert · « **Reply #14 on:** August 16, 2020, 07:59:34 AM »

I don't have any insight, because I haven't asked them. But my thoughts are that Covid-19 is still a factor. Ecowitt may be only shipping every 2 or 3 weeks or longer because they may be waiting until they have enough orders to warrant actually going into the shipping warehouse. This is to limit risk of Covid-19 exposure. Not any diffent to how now I only go to the grocery once every two weeks. This too may be further impacted by their manufacturing also running a similar schedule and there may be unfortunate non-overlap of shipping needing to wait for the production line. Throw in the fact that Ecowitt is Fine Offset and the majority of the business is still on reseller partnership commitment, and thus Ecowitt branded gear takes a back seat in terms of priority. Then factor in that things shipping from China are delayed for just about any industry for probably similar reasons and then when add it all up you have many weeks of delay.

Your idea about adding frequency choice to the website order is a good point. I'm sure that they want to offer this. But it isn't so simple. They need to contend with the fact that not every frequency is allowed to be shipped to any country. This complicates the programming of the shown options.

ramblinche81 · « **Reply #15 on:** August 16, 2020, 06:05:59 PM »

My order went smoothly. I mentioned in other thread, the ecowitt Amazon goods arrived via amazon.

galfert · « **Reply #16 on:** August 16, 2020, 07:12:37 PM »

I suppose that those in the US are more fortunate to have Amazon warehouse inventory availability and distribution.

ramblinche81 · « **Reply #17 on:** August 16, 2020, 08:32:27 PM »

Quote from: galfert on August 16, 2020, 07:12:37 PM

I suppose that those in the US are more fortunate to have Amazon warehouse inventory availability and distribution.

My order was with ecowitt.com because amazon was either out (no back order possible) or did not carry what i wanted. I would bet there is a pass through system and when my order arrives stateside, amazon processes and fulflls. Lucy was quite helpful on communications for product availability.

KD7GFL · « **Reply #18 on:** August 16, 2020, 08:38:55 PM »

That may be the case for some, but mine was shipped from China via DHL International and delivered to my door by DHL. I can't complain about that at all, it only took about 4 days from the time it finally shipped to make it from China to my door including the time it took to clear customs.

ramblinche81 · « **Reply #19 on:** August 16, 2020, 08:43:42 PM »

Quote from: KD7GFL on August 16, 2020, 08:38:55 PM

That may be the case for some, but mine was shipped from China via DHL International and delivered to my door by DHL. I can't complain about that at all, it only took about 4 days from the time it finally shipped to make it from China to my door including the time it took to clear customs.

I fully expected a mainland China sourced shipmemt like yours and was VERY surprised when delivered by Amazon. Would still order from ecowitt.com directly again and likely will.

JB007JB · « **Reply #20 on:** August 17, 2020, 03:04:29 AM »

Hey all!
Sorry for my very late reply, but for the last weeks I was very busy with my exams at university!
A quick recap:
On Friday, June 5, i received the shipping confirmation and the tracking link from Lucy.
On Tuesday, June 9, my shipment was picked up at the sorting center in Hong Kong and was shipped via airfreight on Wednesday morning and arrived in Germany 11:30 pm. It was delivered to my address on the next morning by 8 am. So the shipping by itself only took two days! Pretty impressive!

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Regarding taxes and fees: I had to pay 45,01 € (30,13 € for import VAT and 14,88 € for Capital provision commission, as DHL Express defers the customs and duties for the customer) for my order worth 390 €. Not cheap but I saved around 50 €, compared to ordering all the parts from Froggit here in Germany.

My order was shipped in this box:

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All the parts were packed very save:

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Unfortunately, the two additional WH31 temperature-humidity sensors were missing from my order.
I then wrote Lucy an email and asked for a refund, which was carried out immediately.

JB007JB · « **Reply #21 on:** August 17, 2020, 03:10:45 AM »

Sensor placement:

The WH40 rain gauge sits in the garden on a metal pole at a height of 1 meters.

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The outdoor Temperature and Humidity Sensor is placed partially shaded and well ventilated next to our garbage cans. The reading are very accurate, compared to an official weather station not that far away. The RS-00001 radiation shield works great and is super easy to open.

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I placed my WH52 soil moisture sensors in two different areas in the garden and the third in a potted plant.

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JB007JB · « **Reply #22 on:** August 17, 2020, 03:12:53 AM »

The WS68 anemometer is placed on top of a tree at around 8 meters. Wind direction is good and speed might be a bit below the actual

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I placed the WH57 lightning sensor at the very far end of our property, so that electrical appliances from the house would not interfere with the sensor. It is protected by a TFA Dostmann radiation shield and attached to a tree at a height of about 6 meters with cable ties.

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JB007JB · « **Reply #23 on:** August 17, 2020, 03:14:26 AM »

The display is on the window sill and is easy to read.

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All in all I am very pleased with my weather station! The readings are very good and the display console really is a game changer, compared to other manufacturers!

Any comment is very well appreciated!

Jeje2 · « **Reply #24 on:** August 17, 2020, 06:45:38 AM »

First of all - thank you for the fine report with nice pictures.
Nice to hear you got your order.

Quote from: JB007JB on August 17, 2020, 03:12:53 AM

The WS68 anemometer is placed on top of a tree at around 8 meters. Wind direction is good and speed might be a bit below the actual

How do you do maintenance on the WS68? And how often are you planning on doing it? (The batteries have to be replaced still every now and then... )

Quote from: JB007JB on August 17, 2020, 03:12:53 AM

I placed the WH57 lightning sensor at the very far end of our property, so that electrical appliances from the house would not interfere with the sensor. It is protected by a TFA Dostmann radiation shield and attached to a tree at a height of about 6 meters with cable ties.

Did the WH57 fit into the radiation shield how easily? Or where you forced to do some cutting etc.
As I also have been thinking about getting a shield for the WH57 if I was to buy it...
Edit: noticed now you used a different shield for WH57...
Did you try with the ecowitt shield - could it fit into it?

News:

Author Topic: Ordering my weather station from ecowitt (Read 2412 times)