Weatherflow Tempest = Awesome Device and Awesome Company

Hardware
1

I wanted to just write a note about Weatherflow. I got a Tempest a couple of months ago and the top cap blew off and a bit of the coating was flaking. I jumped on a chat with Weatherflow and right in chat he sent me a brand new unit with a prepaid label to return the old one when I got the new one. The whole process took about 5 minutes. They answered the chat within about 10 seconds.

This is the kind of company I love to do business with.

If you are thinking about a PWS then definitely consider Weatherflow, it’s easy, pretty accurate and a fantastic company!

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2

How does it integrate with HA?

3

Very well. There’s a HACS plugin for it (or manually installed if you prefer) and it’s very comprehensive, including a very nice weather integration that’s been far more accurate than most for me.

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4

that link is for zwavejs2mqtt.

is that correct? is it a zwave device?

5

That was the wrong one, it’s fixed now :).

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6

It’s a little pricey but I’ll look into it.

Thanks!

7

My Weatherflow Tempest just stopped holding a charge and they want me to buy a new unit. How many of the kickstarter backers have had to buy a new unit already?

This seems like planned obsolescence to me. Don’t include a replaceable battery and then just ask people to pony up for a new one every few years.

Do any of you still function without dropouts or is this just a fairy tale they tell us?

8

My Tempest died from a battery issue about 6 months ago, they gave me 50% off on a new one. I figured it was fair, but 2 years wasn’t a long time. I like the company and the product and it’s unique in the space so I’m not too put out.

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9

You willing to do that every 2-4 years !?

10

I was willing to do that on an early generation weather station that has otherwise served me very well and continues to be improved and evolve.

11

What happens next time?

12

Mine died because of a “battery issue” but the real issue was living in a northern latitude with lots of cloud where there wasn’t enough hours of light or especially sunlight to recharge the battery consistently in the winter months. So nothing actually wrong with the Tempest. I added the Power Boost Accessory since I happened to have access to 110 VAC nearby. All is good now and I must say that I love my Tempest weather station and the integration with Home Assistant. I have a number of automations that are triggered by input from the Tempest - and Home Assistant operates flawlessly with input from the Tempest integration.

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13

I’m wondering if I can use the “power boost” accessory with some AA batteries and avoid buying a new unit.

14

Yes, but the PBA will only provide battery power from the AA batteries when the Tempest’s internal battery is low (as a backup supply to charge it during cloudy days or long nights). If the PBA is being powered by its wall transformer input (or DC voltage through that socket), then that power is used as the primary power by the Tempest…

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15

I’m hoping the internal battery will still work in the summer at least.

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