What's a decent weather station to get? Looking at the AccuRite ones on Amazon, but I know nothing about these things and what they actually can or cannot do, reliability, etc. Need one for my project site right now. If I like it, may get one for my casa too.

Edit - Not a professional meteorologist, don't plan to be, don't pretend to be one. Not looking to spend a massive amount of money on this thing and I don't need laboratory grade equipment. Say my budget is $200 max, won't spend any more than that.

I believe there is one recommend by weather underground. I am interested in this too.

I was reading on the WU recomended ones, just buy a base unit you can add onto and think hard on where you want to put it.

I really want one that wilk connect to a smart sprinkler controller.

I bought one of the Accurite ones from costco in September of 2015 for less than $100. It has temperature windspeed and direction, RH and rainfall. I am really happy with it. It has been running since then in my backyard with a wireless link to the base station. Just last week, I got a message that it is low on battery for the first time.

This unit also links up with Weather Underground to allow me to check the weather at my house at all times. Overall I have found it to be a great system.

Accurite is ok. Be sure you mount it out of direct sun if you want accurate temperature. Davis is the best home weather station, but a bit pricey.

https://www.costco.com/AcuRite-Pro-5-in-1-Weather-Station-with-my-AcuRite-Remote-Monitoring.product.100291909.html

I've got the older generation of this model at home and at our lease. If you're wanting it for a project site, I'm assuming you need to track rain days and rain amounts, maybe wind speeds for cranes or whatever.... this one should do it for you. If you connect the display to your PC via USB, it will download all of the info at whatever intervals you assign and can view them in an excel file. You can also set it up as a weather station on weatherunderground, (or accurtite's own app) and you can view that data view web or phone.

Both units we have are in direct sunlight, and the plastic is fading after two years. The temp readings are usually a few degrees higher than my old mercury thermometer, and the predictive weather feature doesn't seem too accurate. But for tracking rain days and amounts I'm happy with the unit.

I've had two so far; 1st was a LaCrosse (paid around $200 for it about 7 or 8 years ago as I recall), now have a cheap Acurite (~$100 from Lowes). My experience is you get what you pay for. My next one will probably be a high-end Davis.

Acurite for homeowner grade, Davis for professional.

Next thread.

I've been wanting one also. After a lot of research, it seems the acurite have more modern features but are not built very well or last very long. The Davis instruments seem to be more expensive and old school but built more solidly and last longer. Too bad you can't have your cake and eat it too. Don't know really what to do.

If anyone wants, I can hook you up with a Campbell Scientific Agricultural Weather Station for $5500 . I'll even collect the data and post it on my research weather website for you. I guarantee its more accurate than an Accurite or Davis

Heres one I installed a few weeks ago

Disclaimer: I sell weather stations all over the central US.

We use all Davis sensors wired into our telemetry equipment which also control agricultural irrigation systems. I know the weather at my house, every 15 minutes it updates and I can request it at any time from anywhere in the world. We have more remote management devices for the Ag industry than all of our competitors combined.

Bottom line on this equipment is Davis has GREAT sensors but their base unit struggles with longevity (in my industry) and they do not allow for remote control of pumps, flow meters and the like.

For residential use, I would use Davis (if I didn't know a guy).

We should talk. We can have a much more palatable price point and work with research institutions all over the world.

I have a Davis, but skipper their interface because it looks like something from the 80s. Using a Meteobridge, I have a dedicated iPad running Wunderground's WunderStation app. Live weather data and it looks good on the kitchen counter.

dave99ag said:

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I have a Davis, but skipper their interface because it looks like something from the 80s. Using a Meteobridge, I have a dedicated iPad running Wunderground's WunderStation app. Live weather data and it looks good on the kitchen counter.

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I just ordered a Davis Vantage Vue. Can you put all that in terms an idiot like myself can understand? I'm not very tech savvy.

I have the Ambient Weather WS-1400-IP (Wireless) in my back yard. I am certainly no weather station expert and I know the Davis stations are a big upgrade. But, I have been very happy with mine. Setup was easy and it has been running non-stop with no effort from me since Christmas day.

https://www.amazon.com/Ambient-Weather-WS-1400-IP-Monitoring-Radiation/dp/B00O9YIEJW

One feature I liked is that it ditched the antique looking consoles/displays and allowed me to simply use the app on my smartphone. I did not see any reason to pay for a display when I have plenty of better displays laying around in the form of phones/tablets.

Sorry we have learned the hard way that the Campbell System is best for our array of needs compared to Davis and Sutron systems. As long as I am in my position our network will always use Campbell.

The only alternative we use in short term applications is a Weather Hawk System, which also happens to be a Campbell subsidiary.

Hail destroyed my weather system. This thread is relevant to my interests.

AgySkeet06 said:

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If anyone wants, I can hook you up with a Campbell Scientific Agricultural Weather Station for $5500 . I'll even collect the data and post it on my research weather website for you. I guarantee its more accurate than an Accurite or Davis

Heres one I installed a few weeks ago

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Sputnik landed??

My Accurite is fairly on the money for rainfall. Wind speed/direction isn't accurate because its obstructed in my backyard - would be much better if pole mounted above the roof line.

beefiedoubleoh said:

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My Accurite is fairly on the money for rainfall. Wind speed/direction isn't accurate because its obstructed in my backyard - would be much better if pole mounted above the roof line.

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That's pretty much the same story for mine for rainfall and wind. Temps are significantly over on sunny days due to solar radiation I presume. Even when the fan was working (which wasn't for long) it still read high, just not quite as much as now with no fan.