[HW] Tipping bucket device

indeed - but there’s also something to be said for accuracy when you spend $100 or more for something. Cool technology for sure - has to be pretty tough to make something like that work from mist to hurricane intensities.

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3 posts were split to a new topic: Hardware request

you split/moved the discussion to a page nobody can reach…it’s marked private or does not exist

It is just a discussion of what constitutes a “Feature Request” so no need to bother everyone with the nuances of the definition.

Since the haptic rain sensor is a big fail, I really hope that Weatherflow is working on this. The price should be low because that feature should have already worked properly with the Tempest.

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I was hoping the WF mount would fix my vibration issues but it has not fixed it. The haptic sensor is a novel idea, but unless you install it perfectly, it’s not a practical rainfall measuring device IMO. Any ideas to help me eliminate vibration errors due to high winds are appreciated. I think the tipping or weighing gauge is the only solution to this.

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How about wrapping the pole with some rubbery tape, then tightening the Tempest mount around that? BUT, not TIGHT, keep it a bit loose. Tight enough to grab the pole, but not so tight that it’s “permanently” attached to the pole?

I’ve noticed that my two devices (SKY & Tempest) do NOT produce false rain… and they are both “loosely” attached to my poles.

Food for thought… :smiley:

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I have a similar issue with a Field Test device I am using. The mount I have is similar to your picture above. . .but not not using the installation kit per se. Since all of the weight is at the top (Tempest device) I had to not only support the lower and middle portion of the PVC pole. . .but also. . .the top has to secured in such a way so that Tempest won’t vibrate in. . .say. . .a 20 mph breeze. To me…it looks like to could use some sort of guy wire or small cable. . .and wrap it around the top portion of the pole mount (i.e. the top of the “tightening nut”). . .then guy/secure the other end by extending it a little ways to the pinnacle of your roof. In other words. . .guy the top portion down and fasten the other end of the guy wire to 2nd or 3rd shingle from the end of the roof. That way, you’d have it secured at Top, Middle, and lower end of the PVC mounting.

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if you go the guy wire, do not use steel cable or so as they act like snares in high wind. Use rope (like climbing rope, nylon) that will not induce any micro vibrations under wind load. Personal experience with my 9 meter pole :slight_smile:

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oh good point @eric . And I forgot that thin wire could be “razor sharp” and could actually “Cut” in to the plastic like a saw and possibly do some damage.

The higher you go the stronger the wind, the more soild the mount needs to be. I have mine lower to reflect the wind in my environment and yard, not a professional so it’s pointless having it 30 feet up. Makes more sense measuring Wind speed in your own yard.

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Could you show me pics of your installation setup?

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I now have what I consider three rain measuring devices. My Davis Vantage VUE, my CoCoRaHS gauge and the Tempest. I have rarely considered the Vue accurate compared to the Stratus (CoCoRaHS) because the Vue measures high. We had some heavy rains early this afternoon. I was “impressed” with what the Tempest recorded. Here are the three individual measurements…

DAVIS … 1.00"

Stratus … 0.92"

Tempest … 0.98"

Would I like to see all three within + / - .02" or so, sure. But those are fairly close. As a personal note, I ALWAYS use the reading from my Stratus for my daily weather recordings.

Basically loosely mounted on the pole, which is loosely tied to the fencing…

No vibrations and no false rain.

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Thanks! My problem could be that the pole is mounted tightly to the roof.

Worth a try?
Just sharing my experiences with having things too tight…

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I’ve been very happy with the Peet Bros drop counting rain gauges which I have a few of. No moving parts at all. Available in a heated version, don’t know if there could be a way to measure snow with this kind of unit.
https://www.peetbros.com/shop/category.aspx?catid=12

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I have a manual glass rain guage, the Tempest Sensor, and a tipping bucket rain guage. The manual glass one and the tipping bucket always read within a few percent of each other. The Tempest wildly under counted the rainfall compared to the other two devices. Even after requesting calibration from Weatherflow, it still under reported rain, typically only reporting 30-50% of what my other devices measure. And for about a year now my Tempest reports NO RAIN ever. Since it was always so inaccurate I haven’t attempted to get it repaired, I’ll stick with my other weather stations.

Did you post regular rain reports to the link WF has set up for such reporting? If not, there isn’t much that can be done with just a few reports to support. That being said, it should have had some level of calibration if there are other stations in your general vicinity.