Davis rain gauge overwhelmed last night

[Bull Winkus]

I always thought it was just the bird's way of letting me know that those little round beachball (to them) seeds were not their favorite. Since I switched to the more expensive variety, their makeshift loo has not backed up. ? Of course, the spikes help too.



Not my station or image. 

[Felix]

What sort of rainfall rates was your station reporting at the time?  Were you significantly above 4"/hr?

Believe my first post said in excess of 10 inches/hour, three separate times. And those weren't just momentary peaks at that intensity!

Hence, why I said the gauge was "overwhelmed." Quite frankly, I just flat don't believe a tipping bucket design emptying at three times/sec (for a 100 inch/hour rate) could maintain a reasonable accuracy level...which is likely the reason Davis is silent about accuracy beyond the four inch/hour rate.

[xairbusdriver]

I tend to agree with you, Felix. Sounds like some user testing with measured amounts of water are called for! I think the very small hole probably allows some water to be 'stored' in the collector for some time and provide a more constant, but slower tipping process. That would help the total measurement, but could limit the accuracy of any 'rate' info. Frankly, I've looked askance at the "Rain Alerts" that ended up having only hundredth of an inch total accumulation. "Raining buckets at a time?" Probably not. Of course, it's the total (daily, weekly, etc.) that are the most important. A 'professional' instrument might have separate systems for rates and totals. Maybe Bull could train that bird to 'announce' various rates; it might as well be trained to do something rather than prevent accurate wind info!!

BTY, I'm pretty sure that 'bird spike' is an 'after-market' item!

[elagache]

Dear X-Air, Felix, Herb, and WeatherCat station caregivers,

Believe my first post said in excess of 10 inches/hour, three separate times. And those weren't just momentary peaks at that intensity!

Hence, why I said the gauge was "overwhelmed." Quite frankly, I just flat don't believe a tipping bucket design emptying at three times/sec (for a 100 inch/hour rate) could maintain a reasonable accuracy level...which is likely the reason Davis is silent about accuracy beyond the four inch/hour rate.

I guess you have your explanation.  Although 10 inches of rain an hour means the buckets are tipping once every 3 seconds or so.  That doesn't sound beyond what the rain gauge could handle.  Perhaps the problem is at that rate a lot of the water spills around the buckets.

I wonder if there is any station on the market that can cope with rainfall rates like that?  There is one maker who is considered even more rugged than Davis, but I've forgotten the name.

Actually, the cone/top is well below the top/rim of the gauge. Whatever you were using for a cap should still work.

Yes, that's correct.  However, it doesn't seem like enough of an improvement to just buy that considering the shipping.  I'll wait until I need some other Davis parts.

I assume that you do not use/have the anti-bird "spikes" either. The newer collector has ting holes in the top of the little bump thingies around the rim of the collector.

I don't think I could change to the newer collector cone because of the projections for anti-bird spikes.  Here is a photo of my cap before applying the paint:



It really fits very snugly around the existing cone, so it wouldn't work with the new cone.  Here is what it looks like after painting:



Simple, but keeps the dust out during the long dry season . . . . .

Cheers, Edouard 

[Blicj11]

Frankly, I've looked askance at the "Rain Alerts" that ended up having only hundredth of an inch total accumulation.

Depends on where you live. Here in the west we live for a hundredth of an inch. That's definitely a rain day.

[xairbusdriver]

You're correct, you couldn't easily put a cap/cover on the new collector and have the spikes in place. OTOH, they aren't installed when the collector ships; they are too easily bent. They could also be removed anytime you want, of course, being only a friction fit, but you would eventually wear out/enlarge the holes. The birds might appreciate that, however, so they could use the wires as tools to dig out insects/grubs behind some bark...

While I do get a small commission on on each new collector sale, I agree that it's not worth a special order. That commission barely pays the rent now, and I've already got a job lined up for my wife, so we're fine with your waiting a while to by.

keeps the dust out during the long dry season

I suppose you get a week or so warning before any rain?!

[Bull Winkus]

I actually made my spike hat out of square hole wire cloth mesh.



I used a garment tape to measure the circumference of the rain collector, then cut a strip to fashion as a hat with the ends wired together. Then snip, snip with the side cutters until the whole thing looked very uninviting to land on for even the toughest of feathered dinosaurs.

 

[xairbusdriver]

"GARMENT TAPE"!!! Wait until the duct tape police hear about this!!!!

I used some of that "cloth" to block the holes for the attic exhaust fans. No problem with birds, but the regular, nylon screening was no challenge for the raccoons!

And now, back to the regularly scheduled "overwhelmed" topic...

Just a noobie question: Wouldn't the wire cloth break up the regular rain into smaller 'drops'? If so, would that affect the 'rain drop' counter?! 

[Blicj11]

Herb, once again you have maintained your place on my Hero List.

[Felix]

We had another intense thunderstorm last night...0.84 inches in 28 minutes including one five-minute period when the rate was calculated to be 5.59 inches/hour.

The Davis rain gauge had no problem keeping up with that intensity level...as is almost always my experience, it registered 0.02 inches less than the nearby CoCoRaHS manual gauge.

[elagache]

Dear X-Air, Blick, Herb, Felix, and WeatherCat rain gauge architects,

keeps the dust out during the long dry season

I suppose you get a week or so warning before any rain?!

Frankly, I've looked askance at the "Rain Alerts" that ended up having only hundredth of an inch total accumulation.

Depends on where you live. Here in the west we live for a hundredth of an inch. That's definitely a rain day.

As Blick points out, when you live in a drought, you take a very different stance on precipitation.  Lots of us put the automotive product Rain-X on our rain gauges:

https://www.rainx.com/product/glass-water-repellents-cleaners/rainx-original-glass-treatment/

When you are in misty conditions, this reduces the water tension and gets more drops into the rain gauge.  That's how desperate we are out here in the west.

As to how to cope with a cap on the rain gauge, it is really quite easy.  I read the National Weather Service local forecast discussion that are normally updated twice a day.  If there is any chance for rain anywhere nearby - I take the cap off.  When the chance passes by, the cap goes back on.  Even last winter, the conditions were so dry that the cap was on the gauge for a sizable fraction of winter.  During the summer, it is rare indeed that the cap is removed.

As Jimmy Durante would say: . . . . . "Such are da' conditions that prevail!"

Oh well, Edouard

[Bull Winkus]

Just a noobie question: Wouldn't the wire cloth break up the regular rain into smaller 'drops'? If so, would that affect the 'rain drop' counter?! 

Perhaps my description was a little too vague. I don't have a picture of it. I cut a length (or strip) of the material long enough to wrap around the top, overlapping the edge on the outside. It was held in place by friction and the ends fastened together by bending the wire. The part left sticking above the edge of the rain cup was cut up with side cutters, leaving jagged, pointy antennas signaling to the birds, "Don't land here!"
    

Herb, once again you have maintained your place on my Hero List.

THANKS Blick! ? I consider that very high praise coming from you. You have my utmost respect and admiration!