Author Topic: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.  (Read 39439 times)

elagache

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I remove the cone to apply Rain-X (Re: In the Cone)
« Reply #15 on: April 08, 2016, 01:08:54 AM »
Dear dfw and WeatherCat station caregivers,

Negatory on putting it in the buckets.

To put Rain-X on the cone I normally just remove the cone, apply Rain-X and reinstall it.  I put a bit of grease so that the cone isn't too difficult to remove.  Since i frequently have to clean it anyway, I find that more convenient.

Of course you need to be able to put enough torque to release it.  I don't know if you can reach your collector cone easily or not.

Cheers, Edouard

Blicj11

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Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
« Reply #16 on: April 08, 2016, 03:11:12 PM »
I have a reminder set for annual maintenance later in the year, after the snow melts. I use the Davis Rain Collector Heater in my cup to melt snow and get an accurate precipitation record for each day during snowstorms. I still use Rain-X on my collector cup. Keith, thanks so much for the tip on unplugging sensors. DFW, thanks for the photo. I too normally won't have the need to unplug the anemometer, but the rain sensor makes sense. 
Blick


xairbusdriver

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Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
« Reply #17 on: April 08, 2016, 03:18:21 PM »
I hope you did not put Rain-X on the Bird Pokers!! The surface are of those things will drastically increase the total surface area used to capture and divert it into the buckets and increase the recorded rain values!! I suggest you add some very small disks (material and color of your choice) and mount them near the bottom of each BP. Be sure to drill the needed hole at about a 47.35? angle so they tilt downward on the BP. This will help divert any water draining down the BP Obviously, you should take care to have all these mini-divertors have  their lower part away from the funnel. These mini-divertors needn't be more than a quarter inch in width, just large enough to prevent any drops from creeping over he high side. My mini-divertors are slightly concave with the 'bowl' facing upward. I find this also helps prevent stray droplets from escaping into the funnel. You may not want to do that much work, but I would encourage you to file down any burrs on the edges (preferably before you mount them) as these can facilitate droplets ignoring the slopped surface and ending up in the funnel!. Detailed engineering drawings and more detailed instructions are available for a small handling, printing, and shipping fee (no checks, please).

Should you decide to ignore my suggestions, I hope you will, at least, file the tops of the BPs at an angle (slopping toward the outside of the ISS, of course)! sThis will assure that any drops hitting the top will be 'encouraged' to continue its downward trajectory away from the funnel! After all, it's the least you can do in the name of scientific excellence and accurate data collection! [rockon]

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dfw_pilot

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Gutters
« Reply #18 on: April 08, 2016, 04:25:22 PM »
LOL! So I should probably stop diverting one of my downspouts into the rain collector??
A clear conscience is a great pillow.


xairbusdriver

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Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
« Reply #19 on: April 08, 2016, 10:03:30 PM »
One is probably OK... unless it rains...

BTW, cleaned out the buckets today. More 'stuff' in them than the funnel! Pollen! :o
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
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And the United States = The Banana system


Blicj11

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Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
« Reply #20 on: August 11, 2016, 06:05:11 PM »
Hey Guys:

I did my annual maintenance thing this morning and have a couple of questions.

I forgot to unplug my rain sensor cable, so I have 7 errant bucket tips. What is the best way to get rid of that .07 in of rain? Do I just use the Daily Rain Editor or do I edit the data file? If I edit the data file should WeatherCat be shut down at the time? I could also use the Data Viewer/Editor tool and zero out all rain fields, i.e. Rain/hr, Daily Rain and Raw Rain.

Whilst doing this I noticed my bubble level on the ISS itself (not the UV or radiation sensors) was not on center. I could not find a way to adjust the ISS itself, so I called Davis and they told me you have to level your mounting pole. Duh. So I put a little elbow grease into leaning against the pole and it leveled our nicely. How did it get out of level in the first place?

Maybe those eejits that stole Herb's ISS were in town and just bent it for fun.
Blick


elagache

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Next time . . . . (Re: Weather Station Maintenance.)
« Reply #21 on: August 11, 2016, 11:27:21 PM »
Dear Blick and WeatherCat station caregivers,

I did my annual maintenance thing this morning and have a couple of questions.

Why so soon?  Summer is already starting to fade away in the mountains?

I forgot to unplug my rain sensor cable, so I have 7 errant bucket tips.

It is easier to put your station into setup mode to avoid any incorrect data.  Alternatively, you could have cleared your data logger before restarting WeatherCat.

What is the best way to get rid of that .07 in of rain? Do I just use the Daily Rain Editor or do I edit the data file? If I edit the data file should WeatherCat be shut down at the time? I could also use the Data Viewer/Editor tool and zero out all rain fields, i.e. Rain/hr, Daily Rain and Raw Rain.

Actually I think you need to clear the data on your console first.  WeatherCat will use the console data for things like total rain for the month.  You'll need to check the Davis manual for that.

Once you get the console taken care of, I think the Data Viewer/Editor tool will take are of the data on the WeatherCat side.

Whilst doing this I noticed my bubble level on the ISS itself (not the UV or radiation sensors) was not on center.

I don't think the station has to be spot on level to work.  It should be close but close is good enough in that case.

Cheers, Edouard

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Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
« Reply #22 on: August 11, 2016, 11:44:27 PM »
Thanks for your thoughts Edouard. I'll clear the console and then edit the WC side as you suggest.

I did it today because I have an aerial man lift here today for sanding and staining. My ISS had to be installed higher than ideal because it needs to clear 5 - 8 feet of accumulated snow. I have to have a ladder to get to it and it was so mulch easier to use the man lift. Also, temperatures are already cooling off considerably from last month.

Davis Tech Support told me that putting the console into setup mode does not prevent errant data during maintenance when you have a data logger. 
Blick


xairbusdriver

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Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
« Reply #23 on: August 12, 2016, 12:16:31 AM »
Quote
My ISS had to be installed higher than ideal because it needs to clear 5 - 8 feet of accumulated snow. I have to have a ladder to get to it
If that ladder is leaning on the 'pole', it could be very easy to cause it to be off from vertical. That ladder creates a pretty efficient 'lever' to move the 'pole'. "Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world", John Archimedes (very early Internet guru).
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system


Blicj11

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Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
« Reply #24 on: August 12, 2016, 12:26:35 AM »
The ladder is leading against a 14-inch diameter log vertically mounted in 5 feet of concrete. The ISS is mounted to a short metal pole that is attached with three bolts into the log about 15 feet up. It doesn't move.
Blick


Blicj11

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Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
« Reply #25 on: August 12, 2016, 12:51:14 AM »
Edouard and all ISS maintaining WeatherCatters:

Update: After I cleared the Daily Rain from the console, which automagically fixed MTD and YTD Rain, I took Edouard's advice and edited all the errant rain away from today in the Data Viewer/Editor tool. Entering zeros for Raw Rain also zeroed out the accumulated rain (hoorah for Stu). I also zeroed out the Rain/hr fields. WeatherCat was still churning out Raw Rain data in the latest data rows, so when I got the last row zeroed, I quit the 'Cat and restarted it to load the revised data. To my astonishment, it all worked perfectly and after the reboot, WC kindly refrained from adding .07 inches of rain to the new Raw Rain entries.

I am always astonished when something I try in WeatherCat or html works.

Lessons learned:
  • Unplug your sensor cables (or otherwise disable data) whilst cleaning out your ISS - its much easier than editing your data
  • Stay hydrated and eat lots of snacks - this is one of the lessons learned on every project I do
Blick


xairbusdriver

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Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
« Reply #26 on: August 12, 2016, 03:50:49 AM »
Quote from: Blick
The ladder is leading against a 14-inch diameter log vertically mounted in 5 feet of concrete.
Well, there's your problem! [banghead] That "system" must weigh a couple of tons! Did you do a soil compression test before you dug that "basement"?! [rolleyes2] The only thing that will save your "Leaning Tower of Utah" is the fact that termites have probably eaten most of that buried log by now. Of course, that also means you may next see your "weather" info reporting a sudden decrease in altitude and your Solar sensor reporting total darkness! I'll bet you didn't even mount a two-axis spirit level on that concrete, either. :o
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elagache

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Davis recommendation? (Re: Weather Station Maintenance)
« Reply #27 on: August 12, 2016, 11:43:42 PM »
Dear Blick, X-Air, and WeatherCat station caregivers,

Lessons learned:
  • Unplug your sensor cables (or otherwise disable data) whilst cleaning out your ISS - its much easier than editing your data
  • Stay hydrated and eat lots of snacks - this is one of the lessons learned on every project I do

Definitely stay hydrated!   [sweat2]  It might not just be global warming but I definitely disliking the heat more and more . . .  >:(

Davis Tech Support told me that putting the console into setup mode does not prevent errant data during maintenance when you have a data logger.

So did Davis recommend anything else other than unplugging the sensors?  That seems a little extreme and on my setup would definitely be inconvenient since my rain gauge is far away from the ISS.

Curious minds want to know!

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

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Re: Davis recommendation? (Re: Weather Station Maintenance)
« Reply #28 on: August 13, 2016, 01:38:07 AM »
So did Davis recommend anything else other than unplugging the sensors?  That seems a little extreme and on my setup would definitely be inconvenient since my rain gauge is far away from the ISS.

No, but I didn't ask if there was any other way. I told him that I had been told that putting the station in setup mode would prevent errant bucket tips from registering and he said that is not true if you are using a data logger. I asked him if unplugging the sensor would work to prevent extra tips and he said yes. I did not ask if there was another way because on my setup, the rain collector is sitting on top of the ISS.
Blick


elagache

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Done it yet? (Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.)
« Reply #29 on: October 05, 2016, 11:22:12 PM »
Dear WeatherCat weather station caregivers,

For most of you this would rather late, but just in case.

For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere - it is definitely time to go over your station before the onset of winter.

I'm desperately hoping to free up enough time to do this sometime this week.

For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere - it would be a good time to inspect your station to see if any major repairs are needed before the heat of summer sets in.

I hope you'all are more successful at this than I've been!  :-[

Cheers, Edouard