☔ DIY Zigbee rain gauge

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485

F.Y.I As alternative ZigBee device also a Aubess IH-K665 can be used. Pro’s and cons’s are:

  • casing claims to be waterproof
  • soldering possible without opening casing (but will be nearby plastic)
  • easy pairing due to big reset button ever under the rain drop (had to RTFM to find it)
  • works in Zigbee2MQTT
  • reaction between wet - dry - wet looks good
  • battery life unknown
  • reception ZigBee signal unknown

I will not use this device as a counter but for instant indication of rain to control my awning, this can be “as-is” but in that case the delay is likely too long because it needs to fill with water and this can be too late for my awning so I attached an additional rain sensor (like MH-RD) for better reaction (see picture).

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486

I just set this up, and I need some help fixing my code. I used the apex chart, but it is showing 19", even though the “rainfall today” is only at 1.2"

Also, since I simulated all of this rain during my testing, how can I clear all of the data and reset it to zero?

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code
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487

Which sensor do you use for the graph?

488

sensor.rainfall_today

The graph matches now. Simulated 34 flips.

Do you know of a way to delete all of my testing data?

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489

The fastest way would be to just rename the entity ids in YAML

490

this was great, very easy to convert this thing to wireless.
I 3D-printed an extension bucket to have a bigger receptor for better accuracy.
Wanted to share with the community.
Link to 3D file

2023-10-25 11.23.27
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the larger surface area of this one is 231 cm2, so you’ll need to re-calibrate using these numbers.

in return i hope someone can show me yaml code for how to get the past dayly rain and forcast rain for next days into one graph using apexcharts-card as shown in first post.

491

Cool! Thanks for sharing the 3D file.

Which weather service you want to integrate the forecast with?

492

im using Open Weather Map

493

To make a graph like that, you need data points with the amount of rain in the following way

12:00 → 1mm
12:10 → 1.1mm
12:20 → 1.3mm
…

I don’t think Open Weather Map provides that looking at the documentation, but if you find something like that, let me know.

1 Like
494

which weather provider did you use for creating that forecast graph from your original post? for me it doesnt matter yet which service to use as i am still setting my entire HA up from scratch

495

It’s a Dutch weather service so the question is, are you Dutch? :wink:

496

yep, dutchie here too, but i live in spain. looks like buienalarm works here too. I now saw your earlier post of the code for the apexchart of sept22. So i’ll use that (though i’m strugling to understand the code for the “data_generator”)
Another interesting usable integration would be openweathermapHISTORY. It supports rainforecast per day for the next 7 days. so you could make another chart with that for a longer period.

497

You’ll need this custom component: GitHub - aex351/home-assistant-neerslag-app: Neerslag app for Home Assistant. All-in-one package (Sensors + Card).

That will create a sensor that contains the precipitation data in it’s attributes.

The code converts it into data that the graph understands.

498

It’s been almost 3 years since I created the rain gauge and it’s still running on the same battery. Great piece of hardware that Aqara made.

2 Likes
499

Great, printed it and installed the extension bucket.
Perfect fit.

I recalculated the mm/pulse value to be (based on 231,66 cm2 area)

mm_per_pulse = 0.072088405

I wonder how much this will affect battery life, as it will flip 4x more than the original situation :wink:

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3 Likes
500

hi @jjansen85 , nice solution on roof of garage mounted on a simple piece of wood :+1:
But I would be concerned that the electronics would be flooded in heavy rain (tropic thunder storms) if the roof was “under water” for a short time? :thinking:

br Frank

501

There is a hole within the wood to drain the collected water.
I have not experienced a flooded roof yet, but that might be an issue for the electronics if it occurs. You’re right.

502

awesome to see my design in your setup! nice to see its immediately adopted!
my sensor is calibrated at 0,9 mm per pulse, 2,1 ml per tip.
Still had no rain here in spain! so i havent seen my own setup in real action :stuck_out_tongue:

1 Like
503

In the meantime I have ordered and received several door sensors and the Aquara has several advantages over the other models:

  1. Build Quality is really good
  2. It seems to fit directly into the rain gauge casing

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So right now I am using the original magnet that nicely triggers the Aquara Reed sensor - at first I wondered if it will, as the orientation normally is 90deg shifted, but in HA it works perfectly.

So I would just glue the Aqara board to a piece of plastic that keeps the sensor at the correct position for the magnet.

504

Does anyone have a ready-made solution for this? I ordered the parts as mentioned in this post, but I find it very difficult to attach the wires to the Aqara sensor. very error prone. it drives me crazy