WXforum.net
Weather Station Hardware => Ambient Weather and Ecowitt and other Fine Offset clones => Topic started by: GeeEmm on August 18, 2022, 08:03:01 AM
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My WH40 rain gauge had dropped off the HP 2550 console, no data, not even a signal strength indicator. Activated around April, so not been up all that long. Unfortunately, for reasons, I can't access it for a week or so to check if a new battery brings it back.
Q1 - is that a reasonable battery life (April-August)?
Q2 - is there any history of failures of this item? I found one thread with two failures https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=42382.msg432613;topicseen#msg432613 (https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=42382.msg432613;topicseen#msg432613), anything else I have missed?
I guess I will have answers to these questions soon enough, but in the meantime I'd be interested in what the hive mind here thinks.
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Q1 - is that a reasonable battery life (April-August)?
It is a bit short, but battery quality also comes into play.
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My WH40 rain gauge had dropped off the HP 2550 console, no data, not even a signal strength indicator. Activated around April, so not been up all that long. Unfortunately, for reasons, I can't access it for a week or so to check if a new battery brings it back.
Q1 - is that a reasonable battery life (April-August)?
Q2 - is there any history of failures of this item? I found one thread with two failures https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=42382.msg432613;topicseen#msg432613 (https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=42382.msg432613;topicseen#msg432613), anything else I have missed?
I guess I will have answers to these questions soon enough, but in the meantime I'd be interested in what the hive mind here thinks.
Did you check the sensors ID page in the Settings ? (settings --> More [settings] sensorsID ) and tried to re-register the WH40 ?
If you got a bad batch of batteries - or they had already self-discharged quite a bit, new batteries could do the job. Re-registering might still be required.
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Q1 - is that a reasonable battery life (April-August)?
It is a bit short, but battery quality also comes into play.
Good point, they (it?) were new Duracell alkaline. How long they had sat on the shelf though, who knows.
My WH40 rain gauge had dropped off the HP 2550 console, no data, not even a signal strength indicator. Activated around April, so not been up all that long. Unfortunately, for reasons, I can't access it for a week or so to check if a new battery brings it back.
Q1 - is that a reasonable battery life (April-August)?
Q2 - is there any history of failures of this item? I found one thread with two failures https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=42382.msg432613;topicseen#msg432613 (https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=42382.msg432613;topicseen#msg432613), anything else I have missed?
I guess I will have answers to these questions soon enough, but in the meantime I'd be interested in what the hive mind here thinks.
Did you check the sensors ID page in the Settings ? (settings --> More [settings] sensorsID ) and tried to re-register the WH40 ?
If you got a bad batch of batteries - or they had already self-discharged quite a bit, new batteries could do the job. Re-registering might still be required.
Thanks Gyvate, tried that, no luck :sad:.
Edited: I should add that all other sensors are showing full strength signal, which suggests battery is not the problem, but that will remain speculation until I can get it down and have a look at it.
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Update time!
Mast came down today, WH40 removed, cleaned, new battery, re-registered on the console. It connected for a few minutes, and then disappeared again, and nothing I did would bring it back again. :sad:
I have emailed Ecowitt about this, and the occasional temperature spikes on one of my WH32s.
The WH40 badly needed a clean, I have now installed the ring of spikes so hopefully that will deter the birds from using it as a loo! In any event I now have a mechanism for easily lowering the mast so cleaning and battery replacement should not be a big hassle.
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I guess I will have answers to these questions soon enough, ...
New WH40 on its way (under warranty). Let's see how this one goes.
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I guess I will have answers to these questions soon enough, ...
New WH40 on its way (under warranty). Let's see how this one goes.
WH40 arrived, logged on as soon as the new battery was in, and is now sitting up the pole waiting on the forecast rain over the next few days - great timing! Went up with the ring of spikes, so hopefully that will keep the birds off it.
Fingers crossed on this one ...
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I guess I will have answers to these questions soon enough, ...
New WH40 on its way (under warranty). Let's see how this one goes.
WH40 arrived, logged on as soon as the new battery was in, and is now sitting up the pole waiting on the forecast rain over the next few days - great timing! Went up with the ring of spikes, so hopefully that will keep the birds off it.
Fingers crossed on this one ...
Hmm. Two months, almost to the day, and it looked like the battery had died - red indicator on the console. Pulled it down, new battery, put it back up. A week later no data at all - again. Tomorrow I'll put another battery in and see what happens.
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Is this the old one or the new one?
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It's the new one :sad:
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Do you have a voltmeter with which you can measure the voltage of the AA batteries?
Before you put them in (new), and after they appear to be depleted.
If so, could you post those values?
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Yes to both. I will post tomorrow when I have replaced the battery in the unit, and report on its and the replacement's voltages.
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Do you have a voltmeter with which you can measure the voltage of the AA batteries?
Before you put them in (new), and after they appear to be depleted.
If so, could you post those values?
OK, done.
I think I found the old battery that lasted two months - .9v (would this voltage be low enough to cause issues?)
The battery I took out now after two weeks - about .3 -.4v
The new battery just put in - 1.4 - 1.5v.
Looks like something inside is chewing battery, maybe getting worse with age. If it is stable, that would not be an issue if I could get a (solar) power supply regulated to provide current to charge the battery during the day and allowing the battery to do the night duty. If it is not stable and deteriorating further over time, the sensor needs replacement. The acid test will be how long this battery lasts.
The REALLY bad news is that when re-erecting the mast, the cable failed at one of the swages, and the case has been fractured. Looks to be fixable with good old silicone though, but the cable failure is more worrisome. The good news is that the sensor is still working and sending data to the console.
Edit: Sensor all bandaged up, hopefully the glue is providing the real strength holding it together. Still transmitting to the console. Swage failure probably down to not stripping the nylon sheath from the gal cable - both ends of the cable re-swaged after stripping the sheath, mast is back up sans WH40. The rain collector broke from the impact, fortunately still had the old original non-functioning WH40 and cannabalised the collector from that one. If the glue gives problems I might see if I can strip out the contents of the old one and put the new internals in it - if this battery issue doesn't mean that the new internals are not worth transferring.
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The new battery just put in - 1.4 - 1.5v.
That is low for a brand new battery. I would expect 1.5 - 1.6V. I think your issue is batteries.
Are all the batteries you have been using from the same batch?
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Also note, counterfeit AA Duracell batteries are on the market.
For reference https://thecounterfeitreport.com/product/106/Coppertop-AA---AAA-Batteries.html
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Thanks Rover, I did wonder about the new battery being below 1.5v, they are Costco sourced in a 40-pack. They are all I have in AA at the moment, and seem to doing OK in other applications and the other sensors, but maybe this sensor asks more of its battery, and there is only one battery in the WH40 too.
Given the sensor has survived yesterday's crash test and appears to be functioning ok (8.8mm this morning) it will go back up the mast today and I will monitor battery life again.
I looked at your link, and as I don't have the packaging it is difficult to say but the batch number (if that is what it is) on the battery itself does not have the rough feel described there for the genuine article, but that may be a reference to a batch number on the packaging. It would be a worry if Costco was selling counterfeits too. So I tried another battery on the multimeter and it came up 1.6v so whether that is variation within batches, or I misread/mishandled the earlier read, I don't know.
I'll update this thread when I next replace the battery in the WH40.
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I always use lithium batteries in all my sensors which don't need rechargeable ones. Currently have a pack of Energizer Ultimate Lithium a brand which so far has not let down. Maybe not the cheapest but certainly reliable which is what you need in sensors.
Stuart
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I'll update this thread when I next replace the battery in the WH40.
Well that happened fast. Sensor is back in the house already! I am getting quite practiced in getting the mast up and down, and the repaired cable is holding up well, no more 'incidents'!
Initially when the sensor was erected on the mast it indicated two bars of data transmission with the new battery, then three a little later. A bit later nada zilch nothing. The console showed the data up to the last transmission (apparently, there was no rain in this period). I removed the battery and I noticed the whole rainfall display was replaced with a cloud indicating rain falling, whether this was a 'time out' after the last transmission, or a result of removing the battery I don't know.
Replaced the battery with a new one (1.6v), nothing. Re-registered the sensor, nothing. The battery I removed showed 1.2v ...
This failure shows some similarity to the previous one. Both happened after loss of signal and battery replacement. Both reactivated with the new battery, and both quickly died thereafter.
I will now contact Ecowitt and see what they have to say. If not for the crash test I would strongly suggest a component problem somewhere in the unit, based on the two similar failures. The fact that it continued to function when reassembled and supplied with a fresh battery implies that it survived the impact without fundamental damage, but I can't be certain that this failure was not a result of the impact.
Edited to add:
Currently talking to Ecowitt, and have some testing to undertake on the failed unit (I will attempt it on both, as I still have the original too),but this will have to wait until I return from travelling interstate. Stay tuned for results.
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I always use lithium batteries in all my sensors which don't need rechargeable ones. Currently have a pack of Energizer Ultimate Lithium a brand which so far has not let down. Maybe not the cheapest but certainly reliable which is what you need in sensors.
Stuart
Agree Stuart, and I will be buying a packet when next I shop. However I believe there is some other problem beyond battery longevity.
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Currently talking to Ecowitt, and have some testing to undertake on the failed unit (I will attempt it on both, as I still have the original too),but this will have to wait until I return from travelling interstate. Stay tuned for results.
OK, testing is complete, results are far outside the spec provided by Ecowitt. Results basically identical for both of the 'problem' units. Awaiting further advice from Ecowitt.
However, it now seems clear to me that batteries are not the problem (as previously noted, all batteries are from the same pack, and those in my other Ecowitt sensors are providing satisfactory service).
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I have the exact same problem with a wh40, it could be a reception problem...
Have you tried holding the rain gauge near the 2550 for some hours?
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I have the exact same problem with a wh40, it could be a reception problem...
Have you tried holding the rain gauge near the 2550 for some hours?
I don't think that is my problem. I did that earlier left it overnight nearby the console, didn't work.
My units are chewing power - more than three times what they should be using, and not going into stand-by so that consumption is continuous - no wonder the batteries won't last!
Ecowitt tell me the units are supposed to be drawing 40ma for a few seconds on connection, then go into standby mode drawing bugger all. Both mine are drawing over 130ma! And no standby mode, so that consumption is ongoing and the battery goes flat very quickly. The question for Ecowitt is what is causing this big drain, clearly something is wrong with the electronics.
I have updated Ecowitt support but I won't hear anything from them until sometime next week.
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Ecowitt support have asked me to photograph the insides of the unit(s) to identify the componentry (?!) and (I think) whether I have previously opened up the units (no I haven't). I'll post the photos here to satisfy the curious!
The saga continues!
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The two boards seem identical (board located on the back of the battery box):
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Photos-linked-to-web-pages/i-4zggzdB/0/463d62a7/X2/WH40_1%20%281%29-X2.jpg)
I hope I don't have to reassemble them!
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Photos-linked-to-web-pages/i-4JHxgpJ/0/d75316f9/X2/WH40_1%20%282%29-X2.jpg)
At least when I got the first one apart, the second was short-cut to just get the battery box out.
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The latest is that two innards are on their way back to Ecowitt, and (yet) another WH40 is on its way to me. The onset of the festive season got in the way of more timely completion of packaging and posting, but that is life!!
I will do the diagnostics assigned to the failed units on the new one, so that a baseline is established - I am not very confident about these units, though I have to assume there are a lot out there functioning faultlessly. But it is strange that I have drawn the short straw twice ... :???:
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The latest is that two innards are on their way back to Ecowitt, and (yet) another WH40 is on its way to me. The onset of the festive season got in the way of more timely completion of packaging and posting, but that is life!!
I will do the diagnostics assigned to the failed units on the new one, so that a baseline is established - I am not very confident about these units, though I have to assume there are a lot out there functioning faultlessly. But it is strange that I have drawn the short straw twice ... :???:
Any updates on your replacement WH40, maybe not arrived yet, sorry to hear you've been having issues.
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I will do the diagnostics assigned to the failed units on the new one, so that a baseline is established - I am not very confident about these units, though I have to assume there are a lot out there functioning faultlessly. But it is strange that I have drawn the short straw twice ...
It is really unfortunate and unusual, or there would be many other posts of failure with the WH40. There have been many posts about calibration and accuracy (normal for any product), but not outright failure, and not with 2 units. No idea on this, might be a bad manufacturing run, but that is just a guess.
I do hope that the 3rd unit works flawlessly for you.
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Thanks Ra1nman, Rover for your good wishes. The new unit has not yet surfaced so nothing to report on that front for now. I am also waiting on some radiation shields for the two external temperature sensors and will be watching the mailbox closely for the rest of the week!
It would be interesting to know the failure rate of that model, more particularly that batch number (if they are not still working their way through the initial production run), but these will only be known to the factory. The caveat there is that some will fail but that failure will not be reported for whatever reason, and the factory's information will fail to reflect the full extent of the problem.
I do hope you have had a pleasant Christmas, we had sunny 30+ weather at my daughter's where we all gathered, and on my return 37 at home! No rain, but a storm is passing by now.
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WH40 #3 now up and running, registered on the console and logging rainfall as I write this.
Eveready Energiser lithium AA, 1.8v power, tested on powering up at around 40ma, around .1ma when on stand-by as per Ecowitt specs. Currently sitting in the grass in test mode, I'll put it up the mast on the weekend, there is a bit of thunder and lightning around so playing safe.
Fingers crossed on this one - third time lucky? I hope so ...
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No3 still going ... again. :shock:
Got up a couple of days ago, big puddle on the concrete slab ... nothing on the console! The WH40 was still connected, but no data.
Got the mast down, had a look, expecting bird poo, one of the spikes gone in the spike ring. No, just a little white ball - a spider's egg sac, who thoughtfully popped out to say hi, and got whacked for its trouble. Dismantled the funnel, cleaned the web and sundry garbage out, gave the whole thing a good dose of insecticide surface spray, replaced the missing spike with a piece of stiff wire, and put the whole shebang back up. Now I am looking at a big storm, but I think it will miss me so I will have to wait for an opportunity to test the mechanism.
I also took the opportunity to clean out the manual rain gauge for a check on the WH40 reading, something I have not done yet.
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regular maintenance of the rain gauge is necessary 8-).
self-invited guests from the insect kingdom and bird droppings are well known reasons for the rain gauges not to work properly.
When you put the rain gauge at 1-2 m height - that's what the WMO recommendations say - it will also be much easier to clean it ;)
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The latest is that two innards are on their way back to Ecowitt, and (yet) another WH40 is on its way to me. The onset of the festive season got in the way of more timely completion of packaging and posting, but that is life!!
I will do the diagnostics assigned to the failed units on the new one, so that a baseline is established - I am not very confident about these units, though I have to assume there are a lot out there functioning faultlessly. But it is strange that I have drawn the short straw twice ... :???:
Did the new WH40 unit they sent you work okay ?
I also have Ecowitt I got in 2020 and the WH40 worked fine until last year. I think it had used just one battery in two years. It quit reporting and I put in a new battery which fixed it , but then it quit again . The battery was drained out. I tried another battery and same result. I thought I had bought a bad batch of batteries and gave them away. But no batteries seem to last long - they all die in a few days.
I recently took the WH40 apart and cleaned it and looked at the board in it for any obvious defects but saw nothing weird. The board had been coated well and there was no corrosion anywhere.
So I am thinking of ordering another WH40 - sure my original one now is out of warranty . But I don't want to get one unless I know the problem has been solved. And I would have to consider getting a Whitboy model for $200 instead of spending $50 on just another WH40 . Not sure if the jury is out that Whitboy is decent or not ?
Anyway let me know if your replacement WH40 is working okay.
Thanks
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Cloudy, yes but it is only two months since it went up so early days. But the signs are good.
What I did not say above in my last post, is that I took the battery out when cleaning, thinking that it would be a bit of a test of the electronics to re-create a battery change, with nil result. It was not a full recreation of the scenario that led to the replacements, as the battery was not fully discharged, but maybe that is the key learning (if there is one at all) - replace your batteries regularly, before they are completely run down, at least in the WH40.
You can see the state of my motherboards above, they both were in good nick, no sign of physical deterioration (that I could see) - I believe the problem lies in one of the components on the board, either age-related or perhaps it doesn't like low voltage when the battery is down.
I would not spend money on a new anything - this is a product design/manufacturing/component flaw. Hit up Ecowitt with your problem, I have found them receptive and while yours is older than mine the flaw appears to be in yours as well. They can only say no, but that would be a little out of character based on my and others dealings with them.
Good luck, and keep us posted.
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Following on from the above post, I have diarised battery replacement for every six months for the WH40 (lithium), and a year for the others (alkaline).
I am tempted to continue with my involuntary product testing program for Ecowitt's WH40 by letting it go until the battery dies and seeing what happens with the new battery, but I feel I have done my bit and now I would like to lead the quiet life. OTOH, if Ecowitt want to put me on the payroll, I am sure we could come to an arrangement :lol: :lol:
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GeeEm
Since my wh40 is close, I may just run a 12v line to it and use a $1 step down converter to lower the voltage to 3v and run it off that. I have already done that with my other battery operated wx sensors - saves having to mess around with batteries.
But yeah I can reach out to Ecowitt too. The Ecowitt weather station was a big step up from the cheap Lacrosse weather station I had before. Ecowitt is solid and well constructed compared to others.
Thanks for sharing your adventure with the WH40.
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@clouded
I would rather step down to 1.5V ; - )
@GeeEmm
I think your note to replace batteries before being fully depleted could be a good idea.
I had a wh51 soil sensor that failed ( it draws current in the range of 200-300mA ).
Both sensors ( wh40 and wh51 ) have a stepup circuit ( from 1.5V to 3V ) which could be the cause of the failure at low input voltage, need to check.
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@clouded
I would rather step down to 1.5V ; - )
@GeeEmm
I think your note to replace batteries before being fully depleted could be a good idea.
I had a wh51 soil sensor that failed ( it draws current in the range of 200-300mA ).
Both sensors ( wh40 and wh51 ) have a stepup circuit ( from 1.5V to 3V ) which could be the cause of the failure at low input voltage, need to check.
Oh yeah thanks - forgot it only had one battery in it !
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My feeling here is there is a fault in the battery circuit as you have stated. Adding a power supply to something that has a fault , IMHO, will probably result in something else failing.
But, at 1.5V , go for it
LOL
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Cloudy, I should have added above that as well as hopefully getting you another unit, having a legitimate whinge to Ecowitt would be a bonus to the community, as the more people that complain the more likely (and hopefully the sooner) a fix is provided.
I wonder whether the WH90 was their fix, but that seems come with its own set of issues.
Thanks for the replies, I will update this thread as and when there is something to update!
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Cloudy, I should have added above that as well as hopefully getting you another unit, having a legitimate whinge to Ecowitt would be a bonus to the community, as the more people that complain the more likely (and hopefully the sooner) a fix is provided.
I wonder whether the WH90 was their fix, but that seems come with its own set of issues.
Thanks for the replies, I will update this thread as and when there is something to update!
I got the wire, connectors, step down converter soldered on this afternoon - but it is way too freezing cold and windy out so I am waiting for better weather to hook it all up.
Winter and frozen ground doesn't seem to want to give up yet. At least the snow mostly melted the other day before it turned to ice again .
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Where did you attach the wires for the step down, at the battery terminals, or did you trace further ?
Also, what did you use, a linear, or a switcher , or a combination of both?
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Where did you attach the wires for the step down, at the battery terminals, or did you trace further ?
Also, what did you use, a linear, or a switcher , or a combination of both?
I run the 12v into LM2596S DC-DC 3A Buck Converter Adjustable Step Down Module. They only cost about $1 each and can be adjusted to many voltages. Also they are small enough to fit in the battery compartment of some devices if you want to do that. So 12v into LM2596 and output to WH40. I will make it easy and just use the battery terminals or whatever is most convenient to make the connection. I have a collection of cheap digital wireless thermometers that I pick up at garage sales for a dollar or less. I powered them all with one of these small buck converters . I should take them all down since most of them have failed or lost their connection. I built a small shelter outside covered from the sun and put the sensor in there so easy to power. If possible I usually find a way to solder some wires on or close to battery terminals. I snip a slot into plastic battery cover for wires to exit . I run all off of solar here and have a Samlex 24v to 12v dc to dc converter to make my 12v power for radios, routers, led lights, etc. The rest of my power is 120v from inverter.
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Ok , it is a switcher. Should be fine. Sometimes, I use a switcher, followed by a linear to clean it up. Switcher gets you the low loss drop but might be noisy, depends, so I usually follow with a linear for the last drop , so Switcher does the big drop, and nd the linear has a smaller drop to do, so less waste.
I also have a solar array, offgrid, using Outback inverters (shed pic in my link on my sig "Weather Cam") , so I was curious.
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I just got the WH40 here wired up to 1.5v power . The cup in the gauge is filled with an ice cube , but I tipped it a few times and it is reporting .
Now will just have to wait and see if it works for hopefully for a long time. Maybe when it warms up I will take some current measurements.
I measure the battery that was in it at .76 volts or close. I also updated firmware to newest 1.7.6 . I barely ever use the ecowitt app because I read everything from weewx running on pi zero w.
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Following on from the above post, I have diarised battery replacement for every six months for the WH40 (lithium), and a year for the others (alkaline).
Why not just set an alert for when the battery drops below a certain voltage for all the sensors for which you have concerns?
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Why not just set an alert for when the battery drops below a certain voltage for all the sensors for which you have concerns?
Remember older WH40s do not send battery data, only those most recent do this.
Stuart
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Why not just set an alert for when the battery drops below a certain voltage for all the sensors for which you have concerns?
Remember older WH40s do not send battery data, only those most recent do this.
Stuart
This has come up before and I have stated that none of mine have broadcast any battery condition data that I can see. All I have is the antenna symbol with bars on my console.
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Hi!
To be on the safe side, you could of course have your station sent to EAR (https://ear.phantasoft.de). If a wh40batt is displayed there, the rain gauge also sends the battery status and can thus be used as a trigger for a notification via Ecowitt.net. If not, you unfortunately have an "old" version of the rain gauge that actually cannot send the battery status.
Oliver
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Thanks Oliver, I will look at doing that, but at first glance it looks a little over my head.
FWIW your link was blocked for me.
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Hi!
Sorry, link repaired (and thanks for the hint).
Setting up the custom server function is not a difficult task. On EAR (https://ear.phantasoft.de) there is an explanation and even a few screenshots on how to set it up. It probably takes less than 3 minutes.
The only important thing is - if you are already using the custom server function - to take a screenshot of the current settings BEFORE entering the settings for the EAR server.
Then you can just as easily go back to the original settings.
BTW - to all:
Ecowitt has apparently removed the old WSView from the Playstore ...
Was there any indication of this on the part of Ecowitt?
Oliver
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BTW - to all:
Ecowitt has apparently removed the old WSView from the Playstore ...
Was there any indication of this on the part of Ecowitt?
Oliver
Be nice if the wsview plus had a dark version and larger fonts.
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BTW - to all:
Ecowitt has apparently removed the old WSView from the Playstore ...
Was there any indication of this on the part of Ecowitt?
Oliver
Be nice if the wsview plus had a dark version and larger fonts.
Let's try and keep this on the WH40 topic as far as possible.
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Since I connected my WH40 to wired power supply recently - it has been reporting normally . I still have not taken a measurement of the current it draws.
I will try to get that one of these days when it warms up some more.
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Since I connected my WH40 to wired power supply recently - it has been reporting normally . I still have not taken a measurement of the current it draws.
I will try to get that one of these days when it warms up some more.
Please do, when able/convenient. Another data point would be good, target numbers from Ecowitt in my post above, 40ma sending, ~.1ma in standby.
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Since I connected my WH40 to wired power supply recently - it has been reporting normally . I still have not taken a measurement of the current it draws.
I will try to get that one of these days when it warms up some more.
Please do, when able/convenient. Another data point would be good, target numbers from Ecowitt in my post above, 40ma sending, ~.1ma in standby.
I measured a constant 3.3 ma on the WH40 being fed from my 1.55v power supply. I didn't keep the meter on too long and there could be other pulse current draws not captured by my meter. Assuming 1000 mah capacity of alkaline battery to 1 v , that would be about 2 weeks lifespan of battery. I know that my batteries didn't last that long recently. I think the original battery went for a couple years before the excessive current draw started .
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Since I connected my WH40 to wired power supply recently - it has been reporting normally . I still have not taken a measurement of the current it draws.
I will try to get that one of these days when it warms up some more.
Please do, when able/convenient. Another data point would be good, target numbers from Ecowitt in my post above, 40ma sending, ~.1ma in standby.
I measured a constant 3.3 ma on the WH40 being fed from my 1.55v power supply. I didn't keep the meter on too long and there could be other pulse current draws not captured by my meter. Assuming 1000 mah capacity of alkaline battery to 1 v , that would be about 2 weeks lifespan of battery. I know that my batteries didn't last that long recently. I think the original battery went for a couple years before the excessive current draw started .
The following is copied from an email from Ecowitt support:
Do you have a chance to measure the battery current? You can use your multimeter in 100mA range, then connect the battery in serial: you should see the current like this: power on, it will have a 40mA current for a few second, then it will enter in standby mode with current of less than 0.1mA.
I hope that clarifies any uncertainty over how they want it tested, and the nominal readings you should get. But it sounds like yours are not nominal/specified :-( but not as far outside those specs as mine. Yet. What is the current your power supply can provide?
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I measured a constant 3.3 ma on the WH40 being fed from my 1.55v power supply. I didn't keep the meter on too long and there could be other pulse current draws not captured by my meter. Assuming 1000 mah capacity of alkaline battery to 1 v , that would be about 2 weeks lifespan of battery. I know that my batteries didn't last that long recently. I think the original battery went for a couple years before the excessive current draw started .
The following is copied from an email from Ecowitt support:
Do you have a chance to measure the battery current? You can use your multimeter in 100mA range, then connect the battery in serial: you should see the current like this: power on, it will have a 40mA current for a few second, then it will enter in standby mode with current of less than 0.1mA.
I hope that clarifies any uncertainty over how they want it tested, and the nominal readings you should get. But it sounds like yours are not nominal/specified :-( but not as far outside those specs as mine. Yet. What is the current your power supply can provide?
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If you look up in comments above , I talked about the power supply I am using which specs say can provide up to three amps but even if half that it is more than ample power supply.
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Sorry, brain fade. The question was somewhat rhetorical though. it was more 'how much current can the device draw before something on the board melts/shorts/otherwise fails?'.
We don't know what triggers the high draw - low current? current interruption? age? totally random component failure? none of the foregoing, it's something else?
We also don't know (but it may be found by experimentation) if the high draw is static, or if the draw increase is variable and increases with time/events (some of the above for example). We do know that my continuous draw was 100ma plus, yours 3.3ma (short period? but that number also outside specs), but we don't know why they differ. Given my unit was still operating, the board and its components can live at the 100-150ma range at least in the short term.
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More problems - last day and a half the data is showing a regular 'blip', same size, same interval. But it wasn't raining (the rain had stopped).
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Photos-linked-to-web-pages/i-rSxG8Zx/0/ce46b6c8/X3/rainfall1-X3.jpg)
Decided to take it down and have a look, discovered that the birdspikes are less a deterrent than a challenge, and the birds are winning. Seems like the bird poo was blocking the drain hole, but allowing a small flow enough to trip the bucket. I am not sure how they can sit there, or whether they are dive-bombing the funnel, or ... who knows!?! The ring of birdspikes is intact, but clearly insufficient, and I am not sure what my options are.
For the moment I am doing nothing, just monitoring and keeping an eye out the window for what is causing the problem.
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What are the birds landing on? My spikes are 100% effective.
I get two years of battery life. My expectation is to need to replace the unit every five years or so.
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I don't have that answer still. I had the unit down again a few days ago to replace the cable, and all was well - no 'deposits'. I haven't seen a bird land on the spikes either, but the evidence was pretty convincing. Maybe it will turn out to be a one-off, I hope so anyway. I will just keep monitoring it against the physical gauge between battery replacements.
Two years battery life on a WH40 - that sounds pretty good to me. What batteries are you using?
Still a case of 'so far, so good' on my WH40 #3, but I haven't uncrossed my fingers since it went up.
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I am happy to report that since I wired power direct to my wh40 it has been working well.
I don't have to worry about the battery eating problem that some of these older wh40 rain gauges like mine developed.
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I don't have that answer still. I had the unit down again a few days ago to replace the cable, and all was well - no 'deposits'. I haven't seen a bird land on the spikes either, but the evidence was pretty convincing. Maybe it will turn out to be a one-off, I hope so anyway. I will just keep monitoring it against the physical gauge between battery replacements.
Two years battery life on a WH40 - that sounds pretty good to me. What batteries are you using?
Still a case of 'so far, so good' on my WH40 #3, but I haven't uncrossed my fingers since it went up.
I'm just using regular alkaline batteries. It sits out all winter with a yearly temperature range that can go from -28C to 38C. The current batteries have gone through two winters. So perhaps some units are defective. WH40 has large batteries and likely transmits less than a temp/humidity unit with AA. Based on my experience would expect a battery life approaching a year in a wet tropical climate and two years in a humid continental climate. My area averages about 38 inches of precipitation per year with a significant upward trend in summer.
I have the Wh40 hooked into home assistant and my system talks to me in various ways about rainfall events. In particular I have a La Metric clock/display next to the main TV that tells me about rain starting, stopping, and rate. Alexa wakes me at night for very significant heavy rain which has caused flooding in the past.
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I'm just using regular alkaline batteries. It sits out all winter with a yearly temperature range that can go from -28C to 38C. The current batteries have gone through two winters. So perhaps some units are defective. WH40 has large batteries and likely transmits less than a temp/humidity unit with AA. Based on my experience would expect a battery life approaching a year in a wet tropical climate and two years in a humid continental climate. My area averages about 38 inches of precipitation per year with a significant upward trend in summer.
I have the Wh40 hooked into home assistant and my system talks to me in various ways about rainfall events. In particular I have a La Metric clock/display next to the main TV that tells me about rain starting, stopping, and rate. Alexa wakes me at night for very significant heavy rain which has caused flooding in the past.
I don't understand large batteries. My WH40 has a single AA battery!
Stuart
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I'm sure you are right. I haven't changed batteries it in two years. I will change today, as this thread makes me sure I'm on the brink of failure.
This would have been a good device to design for large batteries. No reason it could not have been a big bigger dimensions.
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I'm sure you are right. I haven't changed batteries it in two years. I will change today, as this thread makes me sure I'm on the brink of failure.
This would have been a good device to design for large batteries. No reason it could not have been a big bigger dimensions.
My first battery lasted at least a couple years. But there was some kind of hardware failure with some of the older WH40 boards what made them start using a lot more power. That is what happened to mine - suddenly started eating batteries. Instead of getting a new WH40 or replacement board, I hooked it up to external 3v power supply and that solved my problem.
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I haven't seen a bird land on the spikes either, but the evidence was pretty convincing. Maybe it will turn out to be a one-off, I hope so anyway. I will just keep monitoring it against the physical gauge between battery replacements
That changed today. The magpies were skylarking around, and one of them soared to my raingauge where it delicately found its footing before settling for a few minutes. Seems that the spikes have a limited effect, at least for the larger birds - some smaller ones were in the area and approached it, but made no attempt to perch seemingly having checked it out and found it unwelcoming.
I am now on the lookout for some improved bird spikes or other deterrent.
Otherwise the WH40 is performing as intended.
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Following on from the above post, I have diarised battery replacement for every six months for the WH40 (lithium), and a year for the others (alkaline).
Replaced the energiser lithium battery today. Old 1.72v, new 1.80v.
Looks like I mucked up the diarising, that's only about five months, on the basis of those readings I think I will push the next one out to nine months.
I am thinking that if an ordinary AA is 1.6v, I could let the lithiums run down to 1.6v without fear of under-voltage issues?
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my WH40 runs on a normal alkaline battery for over one and a half year now. Once it will have reached the end of the second year, I will replace it to avoid long-term leakage. The same, by the way, with my other sensors ...
Even winter temperatures have shown no significant impact on battery lifetime so far, but temperature didn't go below -!0 °C
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Thanks G, your minimums seem similar to ours, my lowest was -8.4C.
Maybe I will just keep checking, as it looks like that will be a regular chore while I sort out the bird spike situation.
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regarding birds:
I'm just using the 3D-printed WH40 rim extension with the standard Ecowitt bird spikes - and probably due to the very thin and high rim edge, the birds don't really get a grip and give up. I have enough of them around in all sizes (up to craw size only ;)), but they don't seem to like the place (anymore ?).