“Aren’t they supposed to be mount from 5 to 8 feet above ground?” No. Whatever height above ground you chooose, you configure in the station setup. Tempest uses that information in various calibrations and adjustments. See Tempest location : 10 meters above ground? et al for more details.
Any “all-in-one” class of weather instrument (like the Tempest) rarely has an optimal height since different parameters have different standard heights, so, as @vinceskahan stated, it is advisable to choose the height depending on what parameter you are most interested in. Also, wind readings are greatly affected by surrounding terrain, foliage, structures, etc. so the optimal height for wind readings is often not attainable without choosing a different location .
Mounted my Tempest on a 10ft metal pole with three guide wires. Elevation is 23ft off the ground and total elevation of 894.9ft. Dealing with high wind vibrations causing false rain events.
Cemented-in 4x4 post with a 1 inch galvanized steel pipe strapped to it on the south side. Top of pipe is just over 13’ height. Mount was painted hunter green. Bird deterrent on top. Station works great. I can slide the pipe down the 4x4 to access the station using a small ladder. Our location is in a small valley. Cooler air usually settles in here until the prevailing winds hustle it away. North & south ridges usually reduce wind velocity compared with more exposed neighbors. Temperature & wind velocity are sometimes as much as 10 degrees & 10 MPH different than just 1 mile up the road.
You’re correct. Cherry County is 6000 square miles in area but with only ~ 5800 people. We do have on average however, approximately 166 thousand head of cattle. And now you know the origin of my 166k ‘handle’. Valentine also has a couple of PurpleAir air quality monitors that I tap into. Moo!
Nice. How rigid is the SCH80? No one had it in my area, so I went with 1" galvanized steel. Interesting brackets, especially the bottom cup. 3D printing seems to be getting more popular for custom stuff.
I put a 4’ wooden dowel inside the area where the pole rises above the fence line because I’m concerned about how flexible it is. I may need to switch to 1" metal conduit if I see it flexing a lot.
If our small town had the pvc, I probably would have put in a piece of rebar inside & then poured in sand to fill the gap. Even our steel pipe sways a bit in the wind. It’s 6’ up after the 4x4’s 88" from the ground for a total of 13’ plus some. I don’t believe a bit of sway effects the readings, but vibration would. Good luck!
@yostevo42 - I looked at this type of pipe at my local HD this afternoon!
This may affirm my ideas for trying to mount my Tempest.
It will be an “outside-of-the-box” idea, but then I am working with
an “outside-of-the-box” location to mount it for
the maximum possible access to the elements. THANKS!
@fjk6515 ! ( : ^ } ) I am hoping you may still be out here some 4+ years after you posted. I was hoping to speak to you about how your experience has been using this post system, particularly in its stability against wind sway, and how accurately your Tempest has been reporting. This is one of the options I am looking at for my new Tempest. I attempted to send you a “private message” via this site. It you got it, great! If not, I am hoping this might be seen by you. Enjoy! Hoping to hear from you one way or another.
@cmayes - You have SO inspired me! Never thought of integrating my bat box (that has been dormantly sitting on a shelf in the garage for endless years) with my Tempest placement! Thanks for this idea!
Actually, I’ve only been HERE for less than a year or whatever. I THINK the antenna pole (steel from the then Radio Shack) works fine for grafting onto a fence stake. I got one of the longer, solid type so that so is well-driven into the ground. As I was “pile driving” it in, I kept using a level to make sure it was going in perpendicularly to the ground. I will admit, while tall, it is still probably sheltered from wind due to its location. My house is generally north of it about 25 feet away and it is above my garage to the south. But then there’s a neighboring house.
I did re-erect it and added its “crown of thorns” bird protector and stuffed much excess wire into the hollow pole.
Temps definitely seem accurate and when it rains, it is not too different from another weather station’s rain gage.
I think Home Depot, etc probably sell these antenna poles and it is probably stiffer than the closet poles others have used.
Actually, having trouble locating longer poles/masts. Seems that prices are up and lengths seem to be limited to five feet.
If you buy 4 of them and some other miscellaneous fencing hardware, you can improvise a 10-foot tall semi-portable tripod in the middle of the woods with nothing more than two pairs of pliers and no digging:
Live Long & Prosper,
