Could you post the link to your station’s data? I’m planning on installing one of my Tempests at a similar location.
Sure! Just a heads up, the property is in a weird spot for wind. It’s kind of like a wind tunnel area it seems, so wind data may not be the most accurate. I’ve only had my station online for just over 24 hours so I hope to have a better sense of the data after comparing it to other stations near me. https://smartweather.weatherflow.com/station/19369/grid
Thank you! That’ll be good info for later. Comparing it so far to other weather stations in the area, the wind seems pretty accurate.
I’ve taken too long to post this shot. So far, I love the forecast data coming from it. We’ve had several quests over the last few weeks and planned activities around the changing usual weather sources. The Tempest has been, by far, the most accurate even when it differed from the commercial sources.
hello jimyouse
If you can and it is allowed, just push it a bit higher, this will avoid excessive turbulence from wind hitting the garden wall. And use the wooden pole to fix your tube , less prone to vibrations I think.
grab those conduit clamps from Lowes or Home Depot and that pole will snap right into it !
A little higher would be nice. It is about 8 feet off the ground now. The pipe is threaded so I can easily add another small section for more clearance over the fence. The picture looks worse than it is because everything is on a hill. The pipe is the only level thing in the picture and standing in 80 lbs of concrete.
Thanks.
If you have the pole in 80lbs of concrete I would not attach it to the fences just be a source of vibration steel threaded pipe you should be fine.Hopefully you put it far enough away that it does not sway and tap fence? If thats the case you will have to use pipe hangers. I always seal the ends with spray foam or silicon when the bottom is not buried in concrete 
You can’t tell in the picture but the pipe is about 5" from the fence. The fence posts are 3’ in the ground and also in concrete. The fence barely moves when pushed or in high wind. They will not touch.
The bottom in the concrete is sealed. It seems pretty solid to me but based on what I’ve read I may fill the pipe with sand if vibrations seem to cause false rain alerts. This is the first station I’ve setup so I’m waiting to see what happens before doing anything I might regret. It has only been installed for 2 days.
I am awaiting my delivery, but scouting out locations and how to mount to my house. I am thinking at the peak of my roof line, and was reading how many used a metal fence post from Home Depot. Is there any concern of that being a lightning rod? Why not use PVC instead? I am just curious of the reasons behind using a metal pole.
The metal pole doesn’t flex nor degrade in the sun, and it would be much less prone to false rain readings. After a few years PVC even bends due to pressure from prevailing winds.
I am using a vinyl wrapped wooden closet rod. We’ll see over time how it holds up but I would think it will be better than PVC. It probably lies between PVC and a metal pole but doesn’t have the potential conductivity issue some may face.
I think the wobble isn’t a huge problem–the vibration is a bigger problem from what I hear. The longest furniture grade I could find was 5’ (I mispoke above and will fix). You could couple two or three pieces together to make a 10 or 15" mast. I’m not sure if you can fit the 1/2" PVC through the coupler and would be hard to put sand in the entire length. You could attach guy wire to stabilize it and attach guy wire half way up the mast. Then fill only the top segment of the mast with sand to help dampen vibration from guy wires. I went with PVC because 1) I wanted to decrease the risk of lightning strikes and 2) wanted to dampen vibration and false rain.
Hi, thanks for the response. I’m working on another pvc solution now. If it works I will share. Be well.
You also could try a larger diameter pipe but unfortunately I think 1” is largest I could find for furniture grade. The furniture grade is reported to be stronger and UV treated.
Eric
If someone wants the best of both worlds here is what you could use https://plastibond.com/product/prhconduit-1 Don,t faint though when you go to buy it runs 160 + per 10’ Ran a lot of it in chemical plants and coal temples a pain in th a@@ to install
