Davis Vantage Vue 6250 Review

Davis Instruments has long been a favorite of the weather station professional.  The Davis Vantage Vue 6250 brings the accuracy and reliability to a lower cost home weather station.  With its all in one Davis weather instrument, mounting hardware, and a bubble level, it’s much easier to install for the weather newbie.

You get the well-known Davis durability and experience in a package priced alongside the average household weather station.  Similar to its big brother, the Davis Vantage Pro2, the Vantage Vue is solar powered with a battery backup system.  Both models can actually be mixed and matched in the field.

Here’s an un-boxing video from Davis Instruments:

Connectivity

The Davis Vantage Vue 6250 is wireless from the integrated sensors back to the display console.  It can transmit data up to 1000 feet, but in practice, it’s typically closer to 200-400 feet due to line of sight issues.  This is still better than 90% of the home weather stations on the market today.

You can post weather data from the Vantage Vue 6250 to the internet, but you’ll need the WeatherLinkIP, sold separately by Davis.   Here’s a list of what it can do:

• Automatic or manual data download to computer
• Ability to use add-on modules for extended capabilities
• Expanded reporting: view information not available on the console
• Free online personal weather page & data hosting
• Uploads to WeatherLink.com automatically
• View your data on free Davis apps
• Automatically send data to Weather Underground, Glob, and CWOP

Display Console

The display of the Davis 6250 uses an AC adapter, but can also be operated on batteries alone.  When a storm knocks out your power, the console will keep running for up to 9 months on three C-batteries.  Finally, the console can be set up to retransmit the data it receives to other wireless Vantage Vue or Vantage Pro2 consoles or Weather Envoy.

The display console offers 12-hour advanced forecast icons so you know to expect sun, part sun, cloudy, rain, or snow today.

Davis Weather Instruments

Davis is known for designing durable/rugged weather instruments.  The Vantage Vue is no exception.  Here’s what comes on the integrated sensor:

Power Source for Weather Instruments

Like most Davis weather stations, the Vantage Vue 6250 is solar powered and contains a battery backup as well.

Accuracy

As one might expect from the Davis Instruments name, this wireless home weather station is amazingly accurate.  In fact, it’s as accurate, or more accurate, than most of the top weather stations available.  Here are the stats:

• Temperature: ± 1° F
• Humidity: ± 3-4%
• Barometric Pressure: ±0.03 inHG
• Rain: ± 5%
• Wind Direction: ± 3°
• Wind Speed: ± 2 mph

The standard radiation shield ensures that accurate temperature samples are taken even if the sun is beating down on the integrated sensor suite.  Unfortunately, the 24-hour fan-aspirated radiation shield offered on the Davis Pro2 model is not available for the Vantage Vue 6250.

Update Frequency

Weather Instrument readings on the Davis Instruments 6250 update every 2.5 seconds.  This is blazing fast for the pricetag on this particular weather station model.

Affordability

The Davis Vantage Vue 6250 brings a lot of value to the table.  Its all-in-one sensor suite includes all of the weather instruments you’d expect in a home weather station.  In addition, the update frequency is on par with the top weather stations available.  Strangely enough, this model is priced around the level of an average station.

What Are Actual Customers Saying?

For the most part, existing users love the Vantage Vue. During our research, we’ve had many customers tell us how happy they’ve been with their purchase and how easy it was to install.  There are a few that have commented on the price, stating that it could be lower.  

Davis Vantage Vue 6250:  Pros & Cons

PROS

CONS

Requires additional purchase of WeatherLinkIPto send weather data to the internet

Sensor suite is not expandable

Display console is powerful, but appears outdated

Davis Instruments 6250 Vantage Vue:  Summary

This home weather station by Davis is trusted by meteorologists, gardeners, storm chasers, and weather enthusiasts across the world.  It’s easy to set up, accurate, and reliable.  Davis has given amateur weather enthusiasts an affordable option into their platform.  I want to be clear; I still recommend the Davis Vantage Pro2 for professionals and serious weather watchers.  However, for those who can’t afford the Pro2 or who’s just getting into the hobby, the Vantage Vue is a great place to start.  Consequently, this is the type of person I’d recommend this model to.

Is the Davis Vantage Vue 6250 not quite what you’re looking for?

Check out our other Davis Instruments Reviews…

>  Davis Vantage Pro 2 Review

>  Davis Instruments Brand Review