Trixology

Weather => Weather Hardware/Measurement => Topic started by: elagache on October 10, 2012, 09:31:37 PM

Title: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: elagache on October 10, 2012, 09:31:37 PM
Dear WeatherCat fans,

Given California weather patterns, weather stations here really need one annual inspection before the start of the rainy season.  So the time has come for me to do that and . . . . . golly where did I put that maintenance checklist? (http://www.canebas.org/Weather/LWC_forum/Custom_emoticons/scratch_head.gif)

We had an old checklist on MacWeather that was in need of updating.  So I went ahead and cleaned it up and parked it on the WeatherCat Wiki:

http://wiki.trixology.com/index.php/Station_Maintenance (http://wiki.trixology.com/index.php/Station_Maintenance)

However, given how frenetic my life is, I decided . . . . maybe I need a printed copy.  That way, if I can't finish the job, I'll know how far I got by checking the items thus far completed.  I've parked a copy of that checklist in a RTF (TextEdit) format on my Canebas server:

http://www.canebas.org/WeatherCat/Wiki%20Support%20Documents/Weather%20Station%20maintenance%20checklist.rtf (http://www.canebas.org/WeatherCat/Wiki%20Support%20Documents/Weather%20Station%20maintenance%20checklist.rtf)

That link is also noted on the Wiki entry.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this checklist over the years and if anyone had additional contributions or edits, scoot them my way!

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]
Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: WCDev on October 10, 2012, 11:13:20 PM
Nice one Edouard - thanks for this  [tup]
Title: You're welcome! (Re: Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.)
Post by: elagache on October 12, 2012, 05:57:46 PM
Howdy Stu and WeatherCat fans,  [cat]

Nice one Edouard - thanks for this  [tup]

No problem . . . I needed it for my station!!  Easy enough to share!

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]
Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: JosBaz on March 04, 2014, 10:29:12 AM
Hi WeatherCat fans,

Thanks Edouard for the Maintenance checklist. I used it when cleaning my station over the weekend.  [tup]
As recommended on the Wiki, I also put the VP2 console in diagnostics mode to "...avoid collecting erroneous data that might be caused by your mucking around with the instruments."

However, when I reconnected it again after an hour or so, and put it back into normal mode, the console showed 1376,2mm daily rain.  ???
So had to go and edit all data manually.

How do I prevent this? My experience is that putting the console in Setup or Diagnostics mode does not prevent erroneous data. I considered clearing the Archive Memory before reconnecting but I think I need Weatherlink for that?

What is your experience? Have I overlooked something obvious?

Many thanks.

Jos
Title: VP-2 shouldn't do that. (Re: Weather Station Checklist.)
Post by: elagache on March 04, 2014, 09:28:44 PM
Dear Jos and WeatherCat weather station caregivers,

Thanks Edouard for the Maintenance checklist. I used it when cleaning my station over the weekend.  [tup]

Glad it was helpful!  :)

As recommended on the Wiki, I also put the VP2 console in diagnostics mode to "...avoid collecting erroneous data that might be caused by your mucking around with the instruments."

I must confess I never bother doing that in part because I would have to put both the console and Weather Envoy into diagnostic mode.  I'm not even sure there is a diagnostic mode for the Envoy.  So I'm afraid I'm little help in terms of experience.

However, when I reconnected it again after an hour or so, and put it back into normal mode, the console showed 1376,2mm daily rain.  ???
So had to go and edit all data manually.

How do I prevent this? My experience is that putting the console in Setup or Diagnostics mode does not prevent erroneous data. I considered clearing the Archive Memory before reconnecting but I think I need Weatherlink for that?

What is your experience? Have I overlooked something obvious?

Honestly, I've used the diagnostic mode only once to make sure that data was coming in clearly from my instruments and it worked perfectly, no erroneous data.  I don't think what you experienced is normal for a Davis station.  If you are concerned, you might send an email to Davis technical support.  Perhaps it is an early sign of trouble with your station.  A quick inquiry might give you peace of mind.

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]
Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: KeithC on March 05, 2014, 02:40:31 PM
Unplugging all sensors before any maintenance activities eliminates the need for diagnostics mode. Plug the sensors back in when finished and there will be no bad data - at least this has been the case for me.

Thanks Edouard for the great list!!
Title: Added your suggestion. (Re: Weather Station Maintenance Checklist.)
Post by: elagache on March 05, 2014, 10:01:58 PM
Hi Keith and WeatherCat station caregivers,

Unplugging all sensors before any maintenance activities eliminates the need for diagnostics mode. Plug the sensors back in when finished and there will be no bad data - at least this has been the case for me.

Okay, that's a fair enough suggestion.  So you are getting sensor errors during this time I presume?  However, you ignore them - correct?

That's better than nothing, and will work with the Weather Envoy.  I added the suggestion to the Weather Station Maintenance Checklist.  However, I don't know of any other weather stations besides the Davis VP-2 where that strategy will work.  I don't know if you even have access to those cables on the Vantage Vue.

Since it would be good to know, I started up a new thread for all those non-Davis folks to contribute strategies to avoid bad data on their stations. 

http://athena.trixology.com/index.php?topic=1198.0 (http://athena.trixology.com/index.php?topic=1198.0)

It would be good to document any ways that other weather station models can set to avoid receiving erroneous data.

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]
Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: KeithC on March 05, 2014, 10:36:00 PM
Hi Edouard.

By your questions it sounds like I might be misunderstanding something. So please allow me to explain the scenario where my suggestion works for me. Hopefully that will help pinpoint for you anything I might be misunderstanding.

Whenever I clean, lube or adjust anything on my VP-2, I disconnect the rain and wind sensors. In this way, for one example, if the tipping bucket tips back and forth, it won't register as any rain. So there's no data errors at all, and none for me to "ignore".

The short time it takes me for maintenance stuff - and thus the short time the sensors are disconnected - does not have a mathematically significant effect on any of the running averages.

If I am missing something, please let me know. But it's been my experience that, since I can in fact disconnect these sensors during maintenance, it's a foolproof way to go about it.
Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: Wildwood on March 06, 2014, 05:49:38 PM
I'm not sure if this goes here but I am having a wird one. My solar & UV sensors keep dropping off line. I have reset all the connections, checked for dirt on top. Anyone else have this issue?

Thanks

Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: KeithC on March 06, 2014, 07:43:21 PM
Hello Wildwood,

To better serve your question, you might get more responses if you were to re-post this question as a new thread. You're in the correct category -- i.e. Weather Hardware/Measurement -- however, your question is at the bottom of a totally different thread. So please try starting a new thread.

Cheers,

Keith
Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: JosBaz on March 06, 2014, 07:59:22 PM
Hi all,

Thanks for the input and suggestions. I think KeithC's suggested way of working (disconnecting sensors as the 1st step) is simple and kinda foolproof - so should work even for me.  ;)

Jos
Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: KeithC on March 06, 2014, 09:47:19 PM
Hi Jos.

Most of the time we probably only need to disconnect the rain sensor during maintenance. Other sensor disconnections will cause brief, insignificant gaps in your historical data. But that's all. So please be aware of that.
Title: Rain Connection
Post by: dfw_pilot on April 07, 2016, 11:34:44 PM
I cleaned up my Davis station today and put Rain-X in the rain cup for the first time. Here's to more accurate rain readings! Using a terry cloth in there was tricky though, with the bird guards in place. Anyway, I also noted that diagnostic mode did nothing to stop errant readings. I'm not sure where that idea came from, but I feel it is inaccurate. There is an easier way however, just like noted above -- simply unplug the rain sensor while the station wobbles from the Rain-X wiping. Easy!

All the best,

dfw
Title: On the buckets or cone? (Re: Rain Connection)
Post by: elagache on April 08, 2016, 12:55:20 AM
Dear dfw and WeatherCat station caregivers,

I cleaned up my Davis station today and put Rain-X in the rain cup for the first time.

Did you put Rain-X on the buckets or just the cone?  I don't think you really need Rain-X on the buckets.  The problem is only with water clinging on the cone and never making it to the buckets.  The Rain-X should only help with the water getting out of the buckets - that has nothing to do with accuracy.

By the way everyone, it is time to think about station maintenance.  Those of us in the northern hemisphere should be thinking about longer term repairs.  For example I need to repaint the support for my anemometer.  Those in the southern hemisphere should be doing those last minute checks before winter sets in.

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]
Title: In the Cone
Post by: dfw_pilot on April 08, 2016, 01:04:27 AM
Negatory on putting it in the buckets.
Title: I remove the cone to apply Rain-X (Re: In the Cone)
Post by: elagache 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
Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: Blicj11 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. 
Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: xairbusdriver 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]

"Positive rate, gear up!"
Title: Gutters
Post by: dfw_pilot on April 08, 2016, 04:25:22 PM
LOL! So I should probably stop diverting one of my downspouts into the rain collector??
Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: xairbusdriver on April 08, 2016, 10:03:30 PM
One is probably OK... unless it rains... (http://i1327.photobucket.com/albums/u666/xAirbusDriver/cheer2_zpsuajiabdd.gif)

BTW, cleaned out the buckets today. More 'stuff' in them than the funnel! Pollen! :o
Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: Blicj11 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.
Title: Next time . . . . (Re: Weather Station Maintenance.)
Post by: elagache 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
Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: Blicj11 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. 
Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: xairbusdriver 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).
Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: Blicj11 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.
Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: Blicj11 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:
Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: xairbusdriver 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
Title: Davis recommendation? (Re: Weather Station Maintenance)
Post by: elagache 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]
Title: Re: Davis recommendation? (Re: Weather Station Maintenance)
Post by: Blicj11 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.
Title: Done it yet? (Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.)
Post by: elagache 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
Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: Blicj11 on October 06, 2016, 01:57:58 AM
Just cleaned mine and it needed it.  Davis has a nice video about cleaning the solar and UV sensors, although good luck finding anything on that new website of theirs.
Title: Done! (Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.)
Post by: elagache on October 06, 2016, 11:27:53 PM
Dear Blick and WeatherCat operators of a tidy weather station,

Just cleaned mine and it needed it.  Davis has a nice video about cleaning the solar and UV sensors

Darn it! I forgot to check the radiation sensor.  Fortunately, I just took a quick look and it is perfectly clean.

Although good luck finding anything on that new website of theirs.

Alas, point painfully well taken.  >:(

However, you might have better luck finding their videos on their You-Tube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/davisinstruments (https://www.youtube.com/user/davisinstruments)

Also, you can always resort to doing a Google search of their new website.

Cheers, Edouard
Title: Done it yet? (Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.)
Post by: elagache on October 10, 2020, 10:46:33 PM
Dear WeatherCat station caregivers,

The seasons are changing.  As this happens your window to maintain your station is closing.  Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere might want to go back to the maintenance checklist that is on the WeatherCat Wiki:

https://wiki.trixology.com/index.php?title=Station_Maintenance (https://wiki.trixology.com/index.php?title=Station_Maintenance)

I've started but time is definitely not on my side!  :o

We haven't had any folks from the Southern Hemisphere post in a while, but for those lurkers on the forum.  The start of spring is a good time to look over your station components to see if any significant maintenance is needed: from repainting, to replacing brackets or towers, to replacing instruments or cabling.

Perhaps it isn't glamorous, but it is far better to fix your station in advance than to curse about all the data you lost because your station broken down! (http://www.canebas.org/WeatherCat/Forum_support_documents/Custom_emoticons/big_laugh.gif)

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]
Title: Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.
Post by: xairbusdriver on October 10, 2020, 10:56:38 PM
What would really be nice is for our Left Coast Admin to send us new batteries at least once a year. It would save him time and energy which he spends in writing (or copying and pasting[?]) his seasonal maintenance reminders. Hey! I'm just looking for ways to save him some time that he never seems to have enough of! [lol] 'jis lookin' out fer ya, Eduoard! ThU5:-)

BYW, I need two of those C123 batteries, to replace the two I used last month. :P
Title: Time to check once more! (Re: Weather Station Seasonal Maintenance Checklist.)
Post by: elagache on October 06, 2022, 11:21:18 PM
Dear WeatherCat station caregivers,

Alas for many of you, this reminder might be already too late in the season.  However for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it is definitely time to make any checks that are necessary to make sure your station will operate without interruption through the winter.

Those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, it is a good time to look over your station installation and see if any significant maintenance (repainting, structural repairs, etc.) is required before the heat of summer sets in.

Cheers, Edouard