I’m planning to install Sky module on the roof and prefer not to go up there every year to change batteries.
Has anyone considered wiring battery compartment and having a battery pack located at an easy to replace location?
Welcome to the forum.
A couple of users have already done so.
Also, WeatherFlow has stated it will develop a solar panel with high capacity capacitors batteries.
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Wow, I had not heard about WF using capacitors/super capacitors, I thought it would be Li-ions. I have been playing around with Nitecore stuff and they seem to work quite well with large temperature ranges, but love the idea. Sure would make putting the SKY up at 10 metres a lot more feasible for me.
I may be wrong but it seems most of the world is going to the 18650 so it’s a safe bet.
The 18650 is not a supercapacitor…
I really need to read what my phone actually puts in text when it auto corrects. No, I need to stop using a phone to write text. Damn small keyboards and I don’t pay attention.
Edit…
It would be cool to see one developed with capacitors. I wonder if it could be made small enough. The birds would love it and it might keep them off the Sky.
Thanks Gary. I did a few searches and did not locate any details. Can you point a newbie to a thread or person with additional information?
But, but, the Davis Instruments Vantage Pro2 weather station uses a super capacitor to power the circuit board of the integrated sensor suite when the sun is absent - during the sunny periods, the solar panel charges the super capacitor.
The Davis hardware does not have to provide anything more than a trickle of power for its sensors. The Sky needs to drive ultrasonic transmitters pretty much continuously, which is more than a trickle.
In my own testing, the ~10 farad ultracapacitor that I believe Davis is using in the VP2 will only power my Sky for ~12 minutes. Getting enough juice for a few days of runtime will require a $50+ USD ultracapacitor, which is larger than a soft drink can and will not fit inside the Sky due to being larger in diameter than the Sky’s housing.
Another item that looks good on the spec sheets, but isn’t practical in reality due to size/pricing…
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I remember back in the dark ages, while in school a professor told us a 1 farad capacitor would be the size of a house. Now I guess he meant a mouse house. 
Do a search for ‘rechargeable’ and you will 2 or 3 topics among the returns.
My answer was to point out that there is, in fact, at least one weather station that uses a super capacitor to power it circuit board.
And why should a LCSC (large capacity super capacitor) be located inside the SKY unit! That LCSC would need to be recharged. So, a solar panel would be needed. Thus, the LCSC could be coupled with the solar panel and power the SKY unit. Also, rather then using a LCSC, many smaller value super capacitors could be connected in parallel to reach the desired retention factor, such as having enough voltage/current to power the SKY unit for up to 24 hours, after which time, the included batteries would take over until the super capacitors are once again charged.
Hey, I have an idea. Turn the mounting pole into a battery. Fill it will rechargeable batteries. it should be able to power the Sky for 25 years.
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I’m interested in an external battery pack instead of a solar panel. How about an accessory that includes a battery proxy for inside the sky unit and an external battery pack to simply move batteries close to ground level?
The level of engineering to have batteries last a year is excellent. I prefer not to have the additional complexity of solar panel, circuit, and rechargeable batteries.
What about an external battery pack with the option of a solar plug-in module. If no solar module then just use the same batteries we do now. With the solar module then rechargeable batteries would need to be used. This would allow people to purchase what they want and only two SKUs to worry about.
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That’s an excellent solution for me. Let’s see if it fits overall WF plan.
I don’t disagree with you however, I would like to know your reason for the preference of a battery pack over a solar power supply.
I prefer simplicity of the original design. Fewer parts for issues. Do not like issues with li-ion batteries.
It can be very overcast for weeks on end during the Winter so I’d prefer changing batteries once a year at kinda predicated time instead of having to watch for issues with recharging system.
All good and valid reasons. The solar panel, as concept drawings show is one piece. An external battery will consist of three pieces. A new base, a power cord of undetermined length and a sealable waterproof case.
Personally I like the idea simply because I am working on a tipping bucket that will need to also be wired. Wireless is nice but I have over 200 wireless devices and I’m finding it too overwhelming. I am switching to wired devices eveey where I can.
Eneloop AA’s in the standard battery enclosure and a panel? They seem reasonable at dealing with temperature variations.
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