Cumulus Support

I've had a Watson solar weather station which has served me relatively well but had a series of component failures.

I could replace the main sensor but I feel I'm throwing good money after bad...

So I'm now considering a Davis Vantage Vue (or anything else anyone wants to suggest). I'm keen to have station that has solar power for the sensors so that I'm not climbing ladders too often to change batteries.

However, I don't find the information available very easy to interrogate. So my question is what would folk here say are the main things I need to consider if I choose a Vantage Vue with Cumulus?

It seems that the Davis console needs a data logger connected to export to Cumulus - is that correct?

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

A year ago I would have recommended Davis without reservation. But last December a gust of 56mph broke my anemometer and over the last couple of months I've been having an intermittent problem with barometric pressure drift.

My VP2 is just over 5 years old and whilst I could just about accept the anemometer breaking I am very unhappy about the barometer problem. I haven't contacted Davis or my UK supplier about it yet but will be doing so. I would be extremely annoyed if it required a new console which cost over 300UKP to fix a component which should not be failing after a few years.

You may get lots of Davis owners who are more than happy with their hardware. Maybe I've just been unlucky. You need more responses than mine before you can form a judgement.

Regarding your questions. The Vue compromises by having the anemometer attached to the same body as the temperature and rain gauge so placement cannot be ideal for both. Temps need recording 4ft up but winds 33ft up. You do need the logger to connect to a computer running Cumulus.

On the plus side the wireless signal is very robust and my backup batteries are the originals from 2009 so the solar panels and capacitors are working well.

All you would need is the Davis Vue, a Weatherlink data logger, and Cumulus and you are set. But there are alternatives.

I am a very satisfied Davis wireless VP2 user since 2008. My VP2 with the separate anemometer has the ISS (integrated sensor suite) installed at 5 feet so easy to access, and the anemometer higher up the pole (comes with a 40 ft cable connecting the anemometer to the ISS) which can be lowered whenever needed. The backup battery in the ISS will generally last a long time - I replaced mine 3 years ago as I didn't want it to fail in the cold of our winter. The Davis VP2 is also available in a cabled version rather than the solar version and is at a lower cost.

As Ray indicated, the Davis will need the optional data logger if you want to connect it to a computer, or to a router if you have the Weatherlink IP data logger version. The higher cost of the Davis and the additional cost of the data logger makes the Davis a much higher cost investment (and even more so outside of USA/Canada). But the quality is obvious when you see a Davis, and many (likely most) users have had great reliability. The VP2 has several other optional extras such as solar, UV and soil sensors, FARS, repeaters...

Enjoy your research
Paul