WeatherFlow Tempest Review and How To Integrate into Home Assistant

[@MAMDAVEM]

Great video. I've been using WeatherFlow Tempest with Homeassistant for the last 6 months and have been very pleased with it. Curerntly I use the HACS integration. My main use case, other than for local weather forecasting, include; - notification to the family (phones/apple watches) of high UV levels ... .remember hats and suncreen (in the UK this can be quite a rare event ;) - notification of rain if washing is out to dry - using the exterior temperature and humidity to guide ventilation and misting actions in my HomeAssistant automated polytunnel, for example don't ventilate if it is raining - stop ventilating (air into) the basement if it is too cold or if it is raining - gathering data (w/m2) to inform a future planned extension to my solar panel setup.

[@digiblurDIY]

Nice! That HACS one was cloud based by the same developer so I went with the one that uses my data locally.

[@JesseG2573]

Great review. Since you spoke about it 2 weeks ago in another video. I got one and love it. I didn't put it on the roofline, I mounted it on a 9ft 4X4 in the open area of my front yard. All my neighbors want to know what it is... LOL - AND, the HOA said nothing except "that's cool". To date the data is spot on. and just like you said. Lightning alerts are a huge wow factor. My son's soccer club is going to install one at their field house to accurately monitor the weather. I did pull it into HA, but from another link. Thanks for making me spend more money Travis!!!

[@digiblurDIY]

How did you pull it in? Another project I should know about? You must tell me... NOW! :) Great to hear nobody gave you any issues and awesome to hear the usefulness of keeping some kids from becoming lightning rods.

[@JesseG2573]

@@digiblurDIY Check Discord

[@FrankGraffagnino]

really happy that the vendor provides an API for local control... this is why i will consider this product. Good job!

[@digiblurDIY]

Our pleasure!

[@cyclemadkiwi]

Omg....I just started watching your review and right at the beginning I noticed your DIY weather station!!! I designed the enclosure you 3D printed ❤ I am super happy to see it in use. I guess you got it off my grabcad account....looks like you did a great job. I've just installed the Ecowitt Wittboy GW2001 I received a bunch of esp32 boards and sensors too to make motion and presence sensors. Waiting now for my iSG 10" touch screen with HA installed.....let the smart home journey begin!

[@digiblurDIY]

Nice! It was linked on the original project with the STL files ready to go.

[@DBowesMusic]

Love mine, but, one kinda crappy thing, if u lose power because of weather, you lose that data from that storm. I wish it would be smart enough to store 48 hrs of data if it sees the base is not responding. We just had a derecho come through and lost power right at the start and was down for 32 hours. Would have been cool to see that data. Will be adding a UPS to the base.

[@digiblurDIY]

I do remember something about the base storing things but wasn't sure how it offloaded stuff or how long. Very good tip to connect to a UPS

[@DubH00]

Plug the hub into a batter backup.. that might give extended life when power out

[@Phelper99]

2 years later, still happy with this thing? I'm thinking of getting one to tie into HA. Appreciate your videos, you helped me flash my plugs with tasmota a few years ago.

[@digiblurDIY]

Yup!! I still use it daily to feed a few automations and sensor based on temperature and lux levels.

[@Lonestar101]

I have two of these at different locations. They are mostly trouble free. Great customer service. Just know that the small solar panels must see sunshine all day. Otherwise, the battery will deplete as the seasons change.

[@digiblurDIY]

Yeah I could see that. I've watched the battery voltage over time but mine has stayed in normal battery mode. Glad to hear they have great customer service. I've heard that same comment many times!

[@Lonestar101]

@@possibilityspace In north Texas, for me, it needs at least 7+ hours. It can survive several days of cloudy weather, but mine can't handle shade from trees any part of the day.

[@nickgavin6414]

😮

[@sergeantbilko7070]

Thank you for making this informative video. You explained everything about it in great detail which was never boring. Kept my attention during the whole video. I have an AcuRite 5 in 1 weather station right now but have been looking for something a little better and the Tempest seems to fit the bill so again thank you for your video.

[@digiblurDIY]

Awesome! Thank you for the kind comment and I am glad you enjoyed it!

[@Tntdruid]

Been wating for this 😃

[@pierruno]

Is the forecast from the own weather sytem?

[@digiblurDIY]

I think it figures into the crowdsource data like the lightning does.

[@seth2389]

Stevenson’s Screen, mate! BTW, I half expected OG jumping in water-filled street rivers 😁

[@digiblurDIY]

Hahah... that would have been pretty fitting for sure! I was close on the name.

[@OldCurmudgeon3DP]

I have a 20+yr old uniden 900mhz phone. From inside a block wall house, thru foil-lined insulation, moderate tree coverage, it would hold a conversation at 260yds. It only dropped the call because I lost LOS back to the house. 900 is da-bomb for "long"-range, simple data use.

[@digiblurDIY]

I remember the same during the era of the cordless phones. Everyone was getting 2.4 and then 5ghz phones and wondering why the older 900 ones worked. The 49mhz ones were a bit excessive with their 2 foot antennas though.

[@mjbates]

@@digiblurDIY Have you noticed any interference with Z-wave devices?

[@digiblurDIY]

Sorry I don't have any Zwave devices as my 900mhz band in the past had some serious interference issues and Zwave didn't work well. It doesn't seem to impact this device though.

[@mjbates]

@@digiblurDIY oh well, I’ll let you know. Thanks to your video I picked up a Tempest. Thanks for the great video!

[@BrummBilt]

I’ve looked at Bloomsky before. Interesting network community and the camera is pretty cool. Same price range, but I like this - seems simpler.

[@ecoseekerwx5020]

I have just gave you your 500th like for this video. Keep it up!!!

[@digiblurDIY]

Thanks yo!

[@lmamakos]

I've had a Tempest for a while now, but didn't notice the new Home Assistant integration! That seems much more complete that then python script that I found earlier, and I'll have to switch over to it ASAP. Thanks for another great video.

[@digiblurDIY]

Technically not an integration, while there is one, it appeared to be cloud so I went with the MQTT one.

[@adamporter5793]

What kind of coupler did you use to connect the tempest pole to your conduit or Galv fence top pole? There’s a picture of it at 7:38

[@digiblurDIY]

Just a regular PVC coupler. I brought the two pieces to local hardware store and dry fit them in the store to find what I needed. I did tap two self tapping screws in it.

[@jimbrewer5821]

Great video Travis! I've been thinking about a local weather station (DIY, as well as purchased). I really like the tech of no moving parts! Now with Father's day around the corner, just maybe I may drop a few hints here and there. ;-) It is a bit pricey (at the time of this video), but there is a lot of innovative tech in that package. Thanks for shedding light on this unit (and sharing the OG outros).

[@digiblurDIY]

I totally missed throwing in his flood clip that Seth mentioned! I have seen them do sales on their website from time to time and I could see father's day being one.

[@mikezylstra7514]

Will it in any way transmit to an internet-equipped laptop computer which uses wifi? No i phone use here.

[@digiblurDIY]

Yes. I was using Home assistant to view it but there might be other apps as well. Their community forums are great resources

[@davidwiniger3799]

Never did tell us about the extension pole and how it connects at the bottom to the tempest mount.

[@digiblurDIY]

I believe I showed pic. Just a PVC pipe I got from the hardware store

[@barkman1one]

You can also use HACS to integrate to home assistant.

[@digiblurDIY]

I looked at that one and it was showing as cloud.

[@divelandy]

How has the tempest weather station held up over the last year?

[@digiblurDIY]

Still loving it. Only maintenance I have done is level it a smidge after some extreme wind and wipe down the solar panels for good measure.

[@fredjaquish]

Hey Travis, This video is a year old. Are you still a fan? I need to upgrade my Ambient Weather station since the bearings in the Anemometer are shot and AW says too bad. I see this one has no moving parts....I would assume this means better reliability, but is it accurate?

[@digiblurDIY]

Still loving this thing! Still working great and I haven't touched it since I put it up.

[@fredjaquish]

@@digiblurDIY Thanks, $40 discount for father's day, I placed my order.

[@darrenstone7308]

Quick question, have you checked the accuracy of the rain gauge with a standard rain gauge, is there calibration procedure if it’s off?

[@digiblurDIY]

I know they do some adjustments based on other nearby sensors.

[@copyrightvideos1]

The dark mode can be found in the app under settings -> display options -> theme -> dark

[@digiblurDIY]

Yup! They added it in the recent update! Glad to see it.

[@charlescostigliola5478]

Great video!

[@digiblurDIY]

Thanks! Glad you liked it.

[@gadget1968]

So does this unit have to call home to work or can you keep it locked behind the fire wall ? And great video as always

[@digiblurDIY]

Thanks! I haven't tried that part. I'll try to block it and see how it behaves and update you.

[@AnarchyEnsues]

Hey Travis. I have a coragated metal roof. Will this work with a metal roof?

[@digiblurDIY]

I don't see why not. Lots of install methods I have seen.

[@nickelms1588]

How did you connect the PVC pipe to the tempest Universal Bracket?

[@digiblurDIY]

It is the pipe mount on the bottom. I did add a few wraps of electrical tape to the pvc to add some additional tension when I screwed the fitting down.

[@layer3networkgeek]

Considering using a Tempest to trigger adjustments to my Dahua LPR camera based on Lux values and integration with Hubitat

[@digiblurDIY]

Definitely a cool idea with the Lux.

[@MeOnTech]

Nice!

[@marcusone1]

I love mine!

[@digiblurDIY]

I blame a few folks in my discord talking about these over the past few months. 😎

[@q95oldies57]

Good presentation

[@q95oldies57]

How accurate does it seem to be on the range gauge feature.

[@TheLightworkz]

Looks good…does it integrate with the Orbit B-Hyve sprinkler controller?

[@digiblurDIY]

Currently supported integrations: help.weatherflow.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005229547-Integrations community.weatherflow.com/c/developers/integrations/12

[@PolarSun1]

I own 2, but hate the fact having to cycle the on/off switch on the base if tempest goes offline.

[@digiblurDIY]

I've had one of mine stop responding once but that was about it, I only had to reboot the hub. I haven't had to take mine down yet. That would be a total pain where mine is located.

[@Wandering_Kerrs]

Does it have GPS? Can you use the data to update the HA instance to your current location when you travel?

[@digiblurDIY]

The device is stationary.

[@whatevah666]

Seems like us in europe are screwed... i guess i could mail them and ask what's up since there IS mainland EU option that's greyed out when you try to add it to the basket for some reason...

[@digiblurDIY]

I did contact their support, probably 1st level, but they only said it would be soon. But how long is a rope? Who knows.. I'll try to update things if I find out more.

[@MAMDAVEM]

I 'm in the UK and I had to write to them to allow me to purchase a unit, they sent me a code that allowed me to do so.

[@magic7s]

Can I use this in the Southern Hemisphere?

[@digiblurDIY]

Their map shows people using it there so I don't see why not.

[@talesmaschio]

Just point the arrow south I suppose.

[@JimVanderveen]

Yeah, the bird deterrent is cheap and works great. I got tons of false rain events before I added that.

[@digiblurDIY]

It really should come with it in my opinion.

[@BowWowPewPewCQ]

Thanks for the review from the view of an HA user. I do suggest some more objective, rather than subjective, references. i.e. "I've gone pretty far". I have no clue how far that is, nor do I know the size of your backyard. How about some units? Microns, feet, meters, furlongs, miles, parsecs, you pick.

[@digiblurDIY]

I have a small backyard compared to some of the install pictures shown in some wide open rural areas.

[@manuelmatus2959]

could you do a video on how to actually set it up in Home Assistant? Please!!!!

[@digiblurDIY]

I did that but using the docker container. What type of install do you have?

[@manuelmatus2959]

@@digiblurDIY I am installing it via Home Assistant Supervised. I was able to install the repository, and I have my mqtt running with 1882 port. When I go to configure the weatherflow2mqtt, I put the station ID, the Token, mqtt user and password, however, I am unsure of the MQTT HOST... Any idea?

[@digiblurDIY]

I would leave it on default 1883 and the host is your HA IP address or name.

[@manuelmatus2959]

@@digiblurDIY thanks for the help. So I left the MQTT to 1883 and added the IP of my HA. Still no luck :( Does it get added after restarting? Cause I don't see anything being found on the network...

[@digiblurDIY]

@@manuelmatus2959 are the logs of the weatherflow showing anything?

[@newtscott8502]

Always wanted Barad-dûr on my house.

[@digiblurDIY]

Just inverted right?

[@mikemattice42]

The unit is specific to the northern hemisphere too. You point that north so the solar cells face towards the sun, or south.

[@digiblurDIY]

I would think you just point the cells and adjust the compass as needed.

[@mikemattice42]

@@digiblurDIY In the south it appears they say to point the arrow facing south and the configuration rotates the wind direction if it's set up below the equator.

[@benbrodbeck3699]

I'm having trouble setting this up via Docker Compose. I can spin up the container, but I don't see anything in Home Assistant. I tried adding the WeatherFlow integration in HA but I get an error that reads "Unable to discover Tempest WeatherFlow devices. Click submit to try again. UDP Discovery Error." Any idea where I'm going wrong?

[@digiblurDIY]

Is the device on the same network?

[@benbrodbeck3699]

@@digiblurDIY yes it is. I am super new to HA & have been successful getting things working for the most part. I ended up finding the WeatherFlow Forecast integration and installed that. Not sure if that gets me the same thing but that’s what I was able to do for now. Let me know if there’s something different I should be doing! Love your channel. Merry Christmas!

[@digiblurDIY]

@benbrodbeck3699 I think there are two. One is cloud based and the other hits your tempest directly. Sounds like something isn't letting it connect locally.

[@kccustom1]

Where is that map?

[@digiblurDIY]

This one? tempestwx.com/map

[@kccustom1]

@@digiblurDIY Yup, thank you.

[@SteveJj-w6p]

Yeah I bought the accurate weather station about 2 weeks ago and it's horrible It keeps losing connection to the app 😳😡 bought it off Amazon and it is going back. Called technical support and they tell you to unplug it and take the batteries out😮 well that only works once in a while but the problem with that is when you pull the batteries out you lose all of your weather data history. 😳😳😡😡

[@lcarter194]

A little on the high side for me. Have to wait for Christmas. I do like the concept of mechanical free wind and rain sensors. Caught this back in some old electronic magazine. Somebody out there will figure it out. FYI Blade free Sonic Anemometer BY DAVIS INSTRUMENTS Sold out for $550.00 Louis Carter

[@digiblurDIY]

Yeah Davis was a little steep for me for my needs.

[@oakfig]

My birds be like, thanks for that framing for our new house. 😂

[@digiblurDIY]

Hahah.. Mine did exactly that after a day. Had to get that mad max spikey deal.

[@layer3networkgeek]

My question is why did they design it after a Fleshlight ?

[@digiblurDIY]

Designers had a lot of experience with said product maybe?

[@BrillianceAutoSpa]

Thanks for making buy this thing 😂

[@digiblurDIY]

Lol. I love it. Use the hell out of it for automations too for lighting. I can say I have had so many questions of what is that!?

[@blblawhoo4338]

I like that shirt lol

[@digiblurDIY]

Thanks!

[@KikiF7]

If measures rain, but what about snow?

[@digiblurDIY]

community.weatherflow.com/t/sensing-snow-and-freezing-rain/2750

[@talesmaschio]

I wonder how many have been struck by lightnings after being installed higher than others neighboring structures 😅

[@digiblurDIY]

Guessing not many due to no ground issues. The damaged ones I saw on their forums seemed to be mostly blunt force trauma causalities.

[@JesseG2573]

Probably little to none. No different than a hot water vent sticking up through the roof,

[@talesmaschio]

Ah I got it wrong. I thought there was a cable running from the external unit to the wireless/Bluetooth internal unit. Now I see, it’s wireless. I was hearing to the video while driving, I probably missed that part.

[@ObservaDome]

😎App DOES Have Dark Mode😎

[@digiblurDIY]

Indeed it does! I was excited to see them add it not long after this video. Oh so nice looking!

[@shaunwhiteley3544]

The UK link seems to point to the wrong product. Too pricey for me at £545 and some pretty negative reviews on its reliability. Thanks for the review anyway. Cheers

[@digiblurDIY]

Amazon likes to flip stuff around for some odd reason. The positive customer support testimonies swayed me a bit on things myself. But time will tell and I will definitely update things later.

[@marcusone1]

I did have my Gen1 version die after almost 2 years (failed wind sensor). They gave me a great discount on Gen2 (the one in the video). Its been working great for several months now.

[@jeanpierredussol3558]

Je possède 3 de ses stations la batterie se décharge durant l’hiver, et pas évident de la recharger avec le power booster.Concernant le pluviomètre sur les 3 stations 1 seule donne des données correctes les 2 autres surestiment et parfois largement les quantités de pluie.les points positifs le détecteur d’eclairs est performant bonne précision pour les données températures,vent,radiation UV et pression

[@upnmytree11]

Or u could run around the neighborhood with it and pretend it’s the Olympic torch! Or use it as a prop torch while u go as lady liberty for Halloween. Just an idea!

[@phenry5083]

Davis Instruments Vantage Pro 2 is the BEST and most affordable pro grade weather station. Vantage Vue if you want something in the same price range as this but with far better build quality, reliablity, and accuracy.

[@digiblurDIY]

I did look at that one but it was out of my price range.

[@marclevine3139]

Stevenson Screen

[@calebjpryor]

Scary looking Fleshlight

[@digiblurDIY]

Beeffffyyy. I'm sure the discord filter won't let me post pics of it as usual.

[@guyaldrich5878]

I was not inpressed with Tempest ! I loved the idea with no moving parts but nothing about it is accurate. I have been a weathergeek since 1965.

[@digiblurDIY]

Oooff... Wunderground and others pulling the data should block them if this is true.

[@guyaldrich5878]

Your data that you upload to the weatherunderground does not have to be accurate.I was looking into buying the tempest weather station until I started researching the data uploaded within 2 miles of me. I have 4 weather stations. I think most of them are using the same sensors and are usually the data is very accurate on all of them. @@digiblurDIY

[@ObservaDome]

👉 NOT SO, IT'S VERY ACCURATE👈