AcuRite Iris (5-in-1) Indoor/Outdoor Wireless Weather...

Most Helpful Review

"I like it, BUT BUYER BEWARE.The AcuRite Pro Color Weather Station is a simple, yet complete home weather station that will tell you everything you need to know about your local weather. It is pretty accurate too, but there are some issues that are directly related to the design itself that can create problems. That design places all of the components, temperature/humidity sensor, anemometer and rain gauge all together in a single unit. This makes it really easy to install and setup. The problem is that in order to get an accurate wind speed and direction, it needs to be set up high--placing it in the sun, Direct sunlight heats up the temperature sensor resulting in a reading that may be 10-15 degrees too high.The solution is to have a small fan, powered by a solar cell, blow outside air onto the sensor. The system works pretty good too, but there seems to be problems with the fan motors. Mine came with an inoperative fan. Checking the forum on the AcuRite website suggests that these fans sometimes run for several months (or less, like right out of the box) and then quit.Face with a brand new station that didn't work, I could either return it to Amazon or contact AcuRite and give them an opportunity to replace or repair it. Based on what I read in the forums, it seemed like their customer support was aware of the fan issue and was good about replacing them. I chose to give them a chance.I emailed Chaney Instruments' customer support and got an automatic response saying someone would respond within 3 business days. Two days later I got some troubleshooting steps which I finished on the same day, and responded. It took another two days for Chaney Instruments to respond back, asking me to send verification of purchase and dates. I again responded on the same day and am still waiting for their response. It seems that it always takes them at least 2 business days to respond to anything. I eventually did receive a response, after another 5 days saying they were going to replace my solar cell and motor with an upgraded unit, but it might be 4-6 weeks because they were back ordered.So, the bottom line: I like the station, and would really like it if it gave an accurate temperature reading. Without a working fan, that isn't going to happen. If you buy this station, be prepared to eventually have to replace the fan--possibly as soon as you open the box. If you choose to go through customer support, be prepared for a couple of weeks to get anything done. My advice would be to return it to Amazon if it arrives broken. You don't need the aggravation that I'm experiencing. Better yet, consider buying on the the stations that separate the anemometer and the temperature sensors. They might take a bit longer to setup, but you have the option of placing the temperature sensor in a shaded, protected area out of direct sunlight.Update: It has now been 6 days since I submitted the info that Chaney Instruments requested, and I have heard nothing more from them.Second update: Still haven't heard anything for over a week. I'm dropping my review to a single star since if you buy one that is broken, or if it becomes inoperative after a few weeks, customer service from the company is not at all responsive.Last update I'm going to do. The company did fix my station by sending me a new fan/solar cell which is still running as of May 2017. In the last 6 months, my rain gain seems to be stuck and no longer records rain. Maybe since I live in southern California, and we get so little rain, the buckets are just dirty, but I have tried to clean it without making a difference. On hot days, the temperature is about 2 degrees hotter than it should be, but the fan is still running, so at least that has continued to run normally."