ChescoWx Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 https://weatherflow.com/tempest-weather-system/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 Yes and I love it! Ask away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowwors2 Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 Ditto... As I mentioned previously, I’ve had one for about a month now and love it!!! The rain is a bit high so far but they have a system where it adjusts about 24 hours later and with its AI it calibrates so within a couple of months apparently becomes increasingly accurate and will deliver forecasts specific to your back yard. Amazingly cool system and they’re doing some type of BOGO now! I’m waiting til the off the grid version is released to buy another one for my Maine home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChescoWx Posted December 7, 2020 Author Share Posted December 7, 2020 21 hours ago, Jimmy said: Yes and I love it! Ask away Hi Jimmy thanks! Where and how did you mount it? How accurate have the IMBY forecasts been? Does it use the EURO as a base forecast? Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animal Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 Interesting piece of equipment. how does it measure rain exactly. ***found the answer. Hepatic rain sensor. mounting seems to be on a pole or fence post...not the best for measuring winds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowwors2 Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 Easily mounted on shed with antenna mast and two mounting brackets from Amazon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormfly Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 Yes I have one, just got in hand on the 5th. I have been experimenting with various heights above ground level and comparing to reference (Vaisala) instruments. It has its pros and cons and the amount of stations that are online is quite impressive. However, with data collection one must consider all the variables in various locations and the skill/training of the owner. I suppose with the sheer number of stations the bad eggs can be sorted out. The price point is attractive and the mount/appearance is appealing to most novices, etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChescoWx Posted December 8, 2020 Author Share Posted December 8, 2020 Assuming you mean the data collection from surrounding stations for forecasts? As I assume you are analyzing your own IMBY data? I ordered one from Amazon arrives Thursday! I will compare it to my VP2 and Ambient stations + how it compares the forecast to my old WXSIM forecast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormfly Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 Mounting practices particularly with wind. I guess the more inputs the better for any forecast but we do need accurate data! Ultrasonic sensors are far more sensitive than inertia based sensors as well. But this AI they're using isn't much different than so called computational photography in mobile phones which attempts to compensate for the physical limitations of tiny sensors and lenses. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormfly Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 Haptic rainfall sensor definitely needs processing! It reported just over 3" for us today where the (real) gauge shows 1.03". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animal Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 On 12/14/2020 at 10:22 PM, Stormfly said: Haptic rainfall sensor definitely needs processing! It reported just over 3" for us today where the (real) gauge shows 1.03". That’s concerning! What are you seeing for temp accuracy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormfly Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 Temp accuracy looks good. The shield works. But like anything else location is everything. Mine is up on a tower. The rainfall for Monday now shows 1.51 so it was corrected. Still a bit high but my tipping bucket probably needs to be calibrated because it seemed a bit low a 1.03". I need to put a CocoRahs in the pasture! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChescoWx Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 How have folks been doing with the wind measurements - if you have other stations how does it compare? Mine is not mounted on the roof yet with my anemometer...so tough to compare so far - thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormfly Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 Wind is a mixed bag TBH. Not necessarily on speed but I'm on the fence as to what numbers I'm seeing vs. time. In other words if the anemometer was next to me and if I put a fan in front of it what is shown on the app? Not just a delay but adulterated numbers? I wish there was a way to have access to a raw output of the (wind) sensor. I get it, it's wireless with limited power available. While I don't have a full blown wind tunnel to test at my disposal I do have fans and a smoke chamber used to test cooling systems. I've used this to validate some all in one stations (reasonably accurate but slow response) and professional ultrasonic instruments so I'm going to put this to rest. And on a funny ending, last night at midnight we had some, shall I say, private fireworks, aka noisy things that go up a few hundred feet and go boom! At midnight I did see an indication of moderate rain under a clear crisp sky with a nearly full moon! The sensor is like that and is known to register loud impulse type noises as drops of rain. No surprise there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChescoWx Posted January 2, 2021 Author Share Posted January 2, 2021 Total rain comparison from 1st storm of 2021 - CoCo gauge - 0.79" VP2 - 0.75" Tempest -0.97 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormfly Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 Is that with raincheck? I had over 2.82 (!) yesterday according to the sensor, actual was 1.02" and now raincheck is showing .81". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowwors2 Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 2 hours ago, Stormfly said: Is that with raincheck? I had over 2.82 (!) yesterday according to the sensor, actual was 1.02" and now raincheck is showing .81". Contact Tech support ASAP... they are VERY responsive and will do a remote calibration for your device!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChescoWx Posted January 14, 2021 Author Share Posted January 14, 2021 I ran a comparison between my Davis VP - Ambient WS-2902A - Tempest and KMQS - see below 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChescoWx Posted April 11, 2021 Author Share Posted April 11, 2021 Installed the Tempest on the roof at the end of March. Below is my 100 day temp comps between my 3 stations and KMQS. The Vantage Pro 2 has run consistently slightly warmer with 81 of 100 days warmer at KMQS than here in East Nantmeal. The Tempest and Ambient stations are almost perfectly synced with KMQS. The frozen tundra is turning into a dreaded "heat island" of Chester County....Could my VP2 be in need of a replacement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormfly Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 Lightning sensor works decent for a bundled package. Between the actual strike and the report shown is approx 6-7 seconds. Not bad for an internet based system. Wind sensors definitely vulnerable to erratic gust numbers from winged insects such as bees flying in the gap. Nothing is going to touch the consistency of a well made three cup anemometer with encoder disc and low friction bearings over time. Neither is immune to requirements of periodic maintenance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChescoWx Posted May 10, 2022 Author Share Posted May 10, 2022 Unfortunately my Tempest down the shore in Sea Isle is again not working. Fortunately, Tempest is now sending me my 3rd unit since December's install. The problem is I need to hire a handyman with a 45 foot ladder to get up on the roof to replace each time this happens....this is getting to be an expensive hobby! Install is scheduled for Thursday morning. That said the one on my roof in East Nantmeal has been perfect for well over 1 year. Anyone else on a 3rd unit at their location?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChescoWx Posted September 12, 2022 Author Share Posted September 12, 2022 My Tempest is down for the 3rd time down the shore since it's install last December! They are sending me another replacement #4 - really disappointing and way too many $$ spent as each time I need to install on the roof it is a $150 charge as you need a 40ft plus ladder to get to the roof and I don't have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eskimo Joe Posted November 1, 2022 Share Posted November 1, 2022 I purchased a Tempest last year and I'm rather happy with it. That being said: 1.) The haptic rain sensor is not reliable during very light or heavy precipitation. 2.) The wind seems to be under reporting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChescoWx Posted January 19, 2023 Author Share Posted January 19, 2023 Welp! my Tempest at the shore is now broken again (barometer) for the 4th time and the company wishes to send me a 5th unit in the last 13 months!! I told them no thanks as I have already spent over $600 for the first 4 roof installs. If anyone knows someone at the shore with a tall ladder who will snap the new unit in for free let me know? Thanks! Paul 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowwors2 Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 I’m assuming the salt air is f’ing with the electronic components… Have they provided any feedback on a cure for that…You can’t be the only one‼️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormfly Posted February 26, 2023 Share Posted February 26, 2023 I found this thread and am in the frequent replacement club too! Tempest number 5 is on its way to me as of this post. And too, mine is perched high on a tower and is a PIA to take down. My first unit was purchased in December of 2020. In June of 2021 I noticed its firmware was quite old compared to others. I emailed support and they said they needed to replace it as they identified an issue. It was producing readings that were within its operating limits. A few days later and some climbing I swapped it out. This was peak of brood X and I even had a cicada land on my arm and start singing which freaked me out. But a quick cell popped up and I heard thunder so I got wrapped up and was done. Or so I thought! Next AM I noticed the UV was 0 and we had bright sun. Status showed UV failed. I opened a ticket and they remote rebooted and then most of the sensors were no longer working. They said the lightning from the storm yesterday may have fried it but I know from in the past having a tree not 30 feet from the tower getting bark peeled to the ground from a strike had no effect on my prior unit. So a few days later, up and down the tower and Tempest number 3 is flying high. That one worked well up until the end of last September. The battery voltage was dropping fast after a few days of no sun. It would recover to 2.8 but as soon as the sun set it was back to 2.5V. Next few days of overcast it was down to 2.4 and then the report rate gets dropped to save power and it finally went offline. They replaced that with number 4 which (again) was put up. Last week during a quick gusty shower, the barometric pressure showed a sudden drop of 5 inches of mercury! We were nowhere near any tornadoes for sure! Of course it's borked again, in the ticket they indicated they would sending out a replacement. This will be number five. It's getting old fast and I do all climbing/rigging myself but make no mistake about it, I don't enjoy it! I'm thinking of just moving the unit to the center of the house on a tripod mount with 10' mast for the time being. This unit constantly reports rain events during most wind events over 15 mph. Of course towers and hardware are quite "chatty" when it comes to acoustics, which the rain sensor is based on. (It's a $.80 piezoelectric transducer found in most annoying beeper type alarms) I suppose I have too high of an expectation for an all in one solution coming in around $300 USD. The only good thing I can say is their support is outstanding. The unit is past its 2 year warranty period and they pay for shipping both ways and haven't asked for a dime. They also help out in a timely manner with things like calibration issues, et al. If this is something you put on a post by your garden, then no problem. On a roof, better be prepared (and comfortable) using a ladder frequently! You can see in my sig links to both TEMPEST and Ambient Weather 2000 systems. The AW is about $25 cheaper than the TEMPEST and produces decent results and has had zero issues since I put it up last November. It's on the same tower but much lower. You can see them on the tower here: The other AIO is an Accurite that was installed outside December 2018. And unlike most of their units this one is fully functioning including the lightning detection sensor which is attached to a pin oak about 70' (its branches can be seen in the lower left above). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormfly Posted April 23, 2023 Share Posted April 23, 2023 Update! As of now, I cannot recommend this system to anyone that mounts the unit in a place that is difficult to access. My FIFTH unit has had its pressure sensor fail. This is the SECOND one in a row with an IDENTICAL failure of its pressure sensor. Not sure why the (pressure sensor) is not in the hub (indoor unit) but that's another discussion altogether. As you can see from the link in my sig, the pressure has dropped a full FIVE inches of mercury instantly during yesterday's storms. Nothing severe. Matter of fact, when unit 4 failed in this manner in Feb we were having similar weather conditions. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChescoWx Posted April 26, 2023 Author Share Posted April 26, 2023 I have #5 up but not yet mounted in Sea Isle City. I like the others have given up on roof mounts. I will find a way to mount it off my deck (maybe some sort of arm to swing it out a ways) Like others have said above while the unit itself has lots of issues.....the customer service team is great!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormfly Posted June 25, 2023 Share Posted June 25, 2023 UPDATE 06/25/2023 SIXTH unit has fallen offline, had to be power cycled and is running on very low volts despite in full sun (>1.3kW/m^2). Ticket opened with WF support. Like my patience with this unit, it's on a short mast on a roof mounted tripod for easy access. This unit has needed more attention than my RM Young tipping bucket rain gauge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormfly Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 Just providing an update. While the unit's battery recovered back to normal today it has experienced a pressure sensor failure. IDENTICALLY as in the past two prior units. This makes the THIRD unit in a row that has failed since February of this year and they ALWAYS seem to do this right after a heavy rain! Uggggh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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