Hello,
I’ve always wanted my own weather station so after some research I bought a Weather Station parts kit together with the Pimoroni Weather HAT.
I am just starting to put everything together and then I realised, the sensors for temperature, pressure, humidity and light are on the Weather HAT board itself - but - if this board is located with a weatherproof enclosure this will affect the readings because it won’t be ‘outside’ it will be ‘inside’ the weatherproof enclosure. And as it fits on the top of the Raspberry Pi board as well the heat given off by the board will affect the temperature read by the HAT.
I’ve searched the forums and have done more research and the only thing I can think of doing is having the PI in a waterproof enclosure and then using a long ribbon cable to connect to the Weather HAT - this at least keeps the HAT away from the PI and weatherproofs the PI.
However, I still can’t expose the Weather HAT to the elements. I found elsewhere the suggestion for a Stevenson Screen but my worry is that the wind and rain or at least moisture can still get in via the gaps in the screen which would ultimately destroy the sensor. Plus if it is within a screen you can’t see the LCD display on the main board.
Does anyone have any suggestions for what I can do to get the most out of this board so the elements don’t destroy it?
Thank you for your help.
Rob
Will it fit inside this?
Weatherproof Cover/Enclosure for Outdoor Sensors (Stevenson Screen) (pimoroni.com)
EDIT: Ops sorry, should have read your entire post
I have one, with a BME280 inside. Rain hasn’t gotten inside, as far as I know. We have had some serious downpours with heavy wind and its still working.
1 Like
Another option is something like this.
Waterproof Plastic Enclosure (IP66 rated) – 220mm x 170mm x 110mm (pimoroni.com)
Drill vent holes in the bottom so air can get in. And put a couple on the side near the top, but drill those at an angle so any water running down the side won’t go in. That will let the hot air from the Pi get out.
1 Like
@alphanumeric,
Thank you for your replies. I hadn’t seen that enclosure, thank you for the suggestion. I like that.
Thinking about it. What I might to is put the Pi in one enclosure (or possibly keep it inside) and have a ribbon cable connect to the Weather HAT in another enclosure. Then have holes to let the air get inside and that way I can see the screen through the clear window and it should allow air in/out so that the sensors can get the correct information.
Thank you for your replies in helping me clarify that potential plan.
Rob
Another option is to get a BME280 or BME680 breakout, and put that outside. Put it in the Stevenson Enclosure. If you cut the address select jumper on the breakout you can read it via i2c with a minor code change. You could then do indoor outdoor as the Weather Hat would be indoors. You can read both sensors independently once you change the i2c address on one of them. I used a USB cable to wire up my BME280. I just cut the connectors off each end. I had a nice black flexible rubber one. One small hole in the wall, and sealed with a dab of silicon on the outside.
1 Like