Davis 6152 Weather Station Anemometer Fail

I purchased my Davis 6152 in June of 2011. For the first couple of years I had absolutely no problems. The first issue I had was the anemometer failed after about 2 years, purchased a new one. Purchased another and about a year later as it also failed. In the last 6.5 years I have replaced the Davis anemometer 7 times. I currently keep a spare anemometer on hand as they are only lasting 6-8 months (replacement number 8 ). A two year life on an anemometer seems short, but 6-8 months is ridiculous. I have asked Davis several times why they are not lasting any longer and they said because I live in Nebraska where their is a lot of wind run. I have replaces only a couple of parts (battery and solar panel) other than the anemometer since I have owned it, and don’t have an issue with Davis other that the life of their anemometers.

My questions are:
Am I expecting to much from the anemometer as far as life?
Is there an option to replace the Davis anemometer with something other than Davis that will hold up better?
What suggestions does the collective have as far as a higher end, heaver duty (Pro) weather station that supports Weather Display?

For the cost of replacing the anemometer 7 times plus a spare to keep on hand, that could have gone a long way towards purchased a new (Pro) weather station. I hate to keep throwing good money after bad. I’m hopping for better options as the anemometer is failing again.

I would really like to stay with Weather Display, as it has served me well.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and suggestions…

Ron

How does the anemometer fail, speed or direction?

only the speed…

I’ve had a Davis station since the introduction of the original Vantage Pro (2000?) and never had an anemometer failure, but I’m not in NE :dontknow:

I’m really not impressed with Davis response to your situation :frowning:

Davis did change the design a couple of years ago replacing the speed sensing mechanical switch with an electronic component (Hall effect magnetic sensor). If you don’t yet have one of the new design units it would be worthwhile to get one. The newer type has a different body shape but is otherwise 100% compatible with the older one. I’m attaching a picture showing the difference.


davisnewold.jpg

All of the ones I have had in recent memory are the new style. I’m not sure I ever had the old style.

I have two of them on the same mast with a wireless transmitter so I can switch them should one fail , until I can get out and make repairs. the top one has been there since 1993 and functioning. I guess if it fails it stays there, as I have aged enough that taking down the mast isn’t going to happen and putting it up won’t be a solution either. The lower one has been there and working 10 years.

I guess my take on it , a lot depends on the able ties or how you are holding down the wires, I found that if my ties were too tight, it crushed the wire. There isn’t a lot of wire protection in those cables from this happening. So that would be one issue

Another would be crud getting up under the dew caps or dirt and corrosion. I am in Iowa so the summers can be ungodly and the winters not fun either. To have as many failures as you have had, I would check the wire first, and then how the cable goes into the ISS, is it pinched or cramped. There isn’t much freedom of wires in the ISS. ( A design flaw, on the cable port, my opinion).


Good thought on the cable ties. I do use cable ties but they are only tight enough to keep things in place. I also shorten the cable and put a new phone connector on the end keeping it just long enough to connect it and not have any tight turns or It’s possible that is the issue but I kind of doubt it. I’m thinking the reed switch isn’t holding up as it doesn’t fail all at once.

If you are getting the new design then there is no reed switch. It would be interesting to understand exactly what is failing :?

I looked at the spare I received from Davis and it is the new style just like the rest. I too am puzzled as to why they keep failing. Dust, grime is also possible but I have taken off the cups and vain off and cleaned the assembly after they have failed. This hasn’t made a difference. Perhaps it’s getting inside where I’m unable to get at. When I replace the current one I may tear it apart and see if I can find anything.

I have no problem with Davis other than the anemometer.


6410.JPG

it looks like you have the slip out cartridge style
which uses a hall effect sensor…i.e no moving parts
but maybe a problem with the magnet…anything nearby that has strong magnetism?

I do have a yagi antenna, for my internet access, 7’ directly below the anemometer. After a quick Google search I found nothing suggesting any magnetism associated with it. The antenna is mostly aluminum in construction, but if someone knows more about yagi antennas please chime in.

electromagnetic causing the hall effect sensor to fail then maybe?
is that antenna for sending or just receiving?

If it’s for internet the transmit power will be too low to have any effect (unless it’s a very illegal set up :wink: ).

Wow, that’s completely un-acceptable.
It would be interesting to see if water is getting into it.

I tend to use good ole’ Scotch electrical tape for holding wires to the mast.
It will last longer than the zip ties, and lot less chance of pinching any wires.

It is a legal antenna for internet, so both Tx and Rx. Has anyone had one of the new ones apart, if so are the bearings sealed? We do have considerable dust being in farm country.

so it does send as well as receive
that’s too much of a coincidence?
any chance you can move that antenna further away from the anenometer?
dust is not going to affect a hall effect sensor, as no moving parts, but RF could?

That’s true, RF could affect it but it would take some power. There are a lot of radio hams with antennas on the same mast as a Davis and they are running way more power (100’s of watts) than a legal internet link which is surely less than 1 watt and focused in a narrow beam.

To clarify they start off working fine. It is after a period of time 6+ months they start to fail. I have had the internet antenna up prior to the weather station.

Follow up-

The weather cooperated with my schedule and I was able to get on the roof to check out the anemometer on March 22nd 2018. There was a breeze and it wasn’t spinning. Used my hand-held anemometer to check wind at the same point and it was fluctuating between 4-6 mph. Pulled the cups off and checked for spider webs, insect activity and didn’t see anything. Turning it by hand I could feel a definite drag compared to a new one which is very smooth.

The replacement I had on hand was shipped directly from Davis Instruments on July 18th, 2017 to replace the one then that I had replaced on July 15th, 2017. No way to know how long the Anemometer was reporting incorrectly, but it was a little over 8 months ago is when the last one was replaced to when the current one was installed. This to me seems like a very short life.

I decided to tear it apart to see if I could see what was failing. The shaft was loose and measured a little over .04" deflection from one side to the opposite side. The bearings both spun freely, but the bottom bearing was worn quite a bit compared to the top one and seemed it was likely the trouble keeping it from spinning freely. There was wearing or corrosion on the shaft where the bearings sat as you can see in the picture.

I believe the current design of the anemometer is unable to hold up with the strong consistent winds here in Nebraska. If you have thoughts on anything that can be done to improve the life of this I