What weather station should I buy?

[George Vella-King]

max gust of 123km from WNW on our weather station at work up tram road.

Can you give me advice on what weather station i should buy?

[melja]

I will be of no help sorry as our weather station at work is running a greenhouse computer controler for the automatic operation of our greenhouses.
But im sure the other people of this forum will be all to happy to help

[Willoughby]

What's your budget for one?

[Manukau heads obs]

the new irox USB wireless is good
but only updates every 30 seconds the data
the new OS WMR100 (and soon to be available wmr200) is not bad, and is USB and faster updates
otherwise if you can afford it, the Davis VP is a good popular station
but yes, depends on your budget

[George Vella-King]

What's your budget for one?

700$

[David]

http://www.scientificsales.co.nz/index. ... x&cPath=30
http://www.coolweatherstations.co.nz/
These site have La Crosse equipment here in NZ.
La Crosse WS3600 is one of the more expensive LaCrosse stations but looks like one of the best ones under $700.

[Manukau heads obs]

the 3600 looks good but only updates every 1 minute
you are better to get the 2310
(note, I own all of these stations myself)

[David]

the 3600 looks good but only updates every 1 minute
you are better to get the 2310
(note, I own all of these stations myself)

Really? I suppose that is for the testing for weather display compatibility and that sort of stuff.
Do you have a recommendation as to which La Crosse station is the best?

[Manukau heads obs]

you are better to get the 2310

[Manukau heads obs]

just to add more
as long as you get the new cup type anenometer with a la crosse station, then they are ok, but the original propeller type would seize up (but you can keep it lubricated)
I like the Irox station (but slower update rate)
http://www.weatherstation.co.nz

[Andrew Massie]

I've just installed a Lacrosse 2308 from Dick Smiths at $400, and I'm reasonably happy with it.. I'm on a pretty tight budget though...

[David]

http://www.weatherstation.co.nz

Cheers for the link, for some reason I've never found that site before (I can't remember if I have). I am looking into a new rain gauge as the LaCrosse one I have now is a bit dodgy. The first one lasted nearly 5 months, so it was replaced and the replacement has lasted nearly 6 months so it's just a matter of time. There is a good irox one on there which is looking like one of the best I have come across (of the ones that ara available in NZ).

[dija]

been running a 3600 for over 2 years now, no problem with it except (as windy says) the wind propellar seizes occasionly when you have no wind.
trusty old crc soon fixes that

[tgsnoopy]

been running a 3600 for over 2 years now, no problem with it except (as windy says) the wind propellar seizes occasionly when you have no wind.
trusty old crc soon fixes that

Just a thought, is graphite worth considering? Some of the professional stuff I used to service was lubricated with graphite instead of a petroleum based lubricant. Graphite doesn't get contaiminated by dust and doesn't tend to dry out. That's why it's used in locks etc.

Never spray a liquid lubricant into a lock (Padlocks outside prone to rust excepted).

[ricky]

No, neither are a good idea! I have pulled one of these apart and believe it or not they contain two minature 'sealed' ball-bearing races. Dust and dirt, possibly salt, seem to gum up the surface and slot of the bearing inserts and can be easily cleaned when it is all apart..

To disassemble, well there is no way other than cracking apart the two glued halves after removing the fan assembly and its attaching screw..
The good news is that even with it unglued, the unit is fine with just the screw holding the halves together (and the shaft and bearings) after reassembling

[Andrew Massie]

Good advice, Ricky, thanks! I'll need that, being so close to the beach...

[Cpilotjc]

I know budget is important, but i suggest paying as much as you can afford and then some. Unless of course you are a serious techie who can tweak and build their own. I made the mistake of buying a fairly good Lacrosse unit from a well-known NZ weather station supplier on Trademe. Big mistake. Huge problems with the machine, minimal support from supplier. It never did work and I ended up returning it in box new condition (albeit faulty) and got a 'partial refund' (about 80%) of what I spent. I know the law, but once he has your money it is quite an effort to take meaningful action so I just sucked it up and did what I should have done all along - bought a Davis Vantage Pro. Have a look at Amazon.com reviews of this and you'll see time and time again people saying that after buying one or tow cheaper machines that failed to last more than a year before major component failure, they bought the Davis and are very pleased.
That's been my experience. It works out of the box and is built like a tank. The support from Davis is unreal. I emailed them a few questions befoe i made the decision to buy and they always answered quickly and properly (their support guys are actually there in the Davis site in USA - not in a shack in Bangladesh).
I was lucky enough to be in the US on holiday so got a Davis delivered to my hotel for 535 USD (700 NZD) but to buy in NZ is a lot more I think. However by the time you've put up with an unreliable machine and supplier and replaced bits of it every 6 months you end up wishing you'd done it right to start with.