Fan failure and spring maintenance reminder

[elagache]

Dear WeatherCat station caregivers,

Yesterday I noticed that the rattling sound from the fan pulling air through my Davis temperature/humidity probe was missing.  I double-checked and yes the fan motor was dead.  It was only able to last 3 months at over 3 volts.  The guys on the WXForum had reported a similar problems with short life-spans of these fans at higher voltages.  Still 3 months . . . certainly no bargain.  I have already purchased at PC case fan to replace it with, but my do-to queue is seriously overloaded as it is  . . . . oh well.

Speaking over overloaded do-to queues, this is the time of year when we should inspect our stations to look for any structural repairs we might need to make since winter.  In addition to the fan, I need to paint again the wooden bracket supporting the pipe that my anemometer is mounted on.  I painted it in panic last autumn, but I didn't prime it correctly.  So some areas need to be repainted.

Learn from my mistake, double-check that the mechanical supports for your station are in good order - now!  Don't wait until either nasty summer storms or worse bad winter weather takes your station down and it is too difficult to make repairs because of all things - the weather! 

Cheers, Edouard 

[xairbusdriver]

Today, a friend asked about my 'station-on-a-stick' while we were walking in the back yard. I can reach the rain collector from the ground, so I took it off to show him the mechanics of it. When I looked into the top of the funnel it appeared that the trash trap screen was askew. When I removed it to clean it, I then saw that the funnel exit also appeared to be full of dirt! We had a good rain Friday and the readings compared favorably with other sources, so it may not have been as bad as it looked. That ISS hasn't even been up much more than a month! And there are no "dust bowls" around here! Now, 45 days ago, you could write you name in the pollen on anything left outside! But this appeared to be plain old, light-tan dirt. I was able to clear it simply by blowing near the inside end of the funnel/collector. Just a little surprised at the amount and speed of accumulation, even if it doesn't seem to have affected the performance...

Edouard, you seem to be 'snake bit' as we say down here, when it comes to electrik stuff. I'm wondering if you might be better with purely mechanical devices. Maybe you can build a wind-powered, chain-drive for that 'cooling' fan? 'Course, if it's windy enough to move the chain, it's probably windy enough to keep he temp sensors close to the actual air temp... OK, how about a water-powered drive? Just build a small reservoir not far from the station and collect rain water in it that can then be used to turn a water wheel to run the chain drive to... oh yeah... you live in California, don't you... never mind, that store-bought water could make the water-powered thing a little expensive... So, do you have any squirrels on the property? I hear they'll work for peanuts!

[Blicj11]

When I removed it to clean it, I then saw that the funnel exit also appeared to be full of dirt!

This may give you some idea as to what is floating around in the air in your neighbourhood. That's why we recommend periodic maintenance (and why you are now happy you did not mount your ISS on the roof).

[elagache]

Dear xairbusdriver, Blick, and WeatherCat station caregivers,

Today, a friend asked about my 'station-on-a-stick' while we were walking in the back yard. I can reach the rain collector from the ground, so I took it off to show him the mechanics of it. When I looked into the top of the funnel it appeared that the trash trap screen was askew. When I removed it to clean it, I then saw that the funnel exit also appeared to be full of dirt! We had a good rain Friday and the readings compared favorably with other sources, so it may not have been as bad as it looked. That ISS hasn't even been up much more than a month! And there are no "dust bowls" around here! Now, 45 days ago, you could write you name in the pollen on anything left outside! But this appeared to be plain old, light-tan dirt. I was able to clear it simply by blowing near the inside end of the funnel/collector. Just a little surprised at the amount and speed of accumulation, even if it doesn't seem to have affected the performance...

That seems very odd.  Perhaps your rain gauge is too low and vulnerable to windblown debris.  Is there any place you can mount your ISS that would be higher but still have easy access?  You've seen my balcony trick, I don't remember if your house has any spots were you can access something on the second story.  If the problem continues, you might want to consider mounting it higher and resigning yourself to cleaning it with a step ladder.  Alternatively, you can just keep an eye on it and clean it every time you see any dirt.  Since it is easy for me to keep an eye on mine, often I double-check before a storm, I don't want to miss a drop!

Edouard, you seem to be 'snake bit' as we say down here, when it comes to electrik stuff. I'm wondering if you might be better with purely mechanical devices. Maybe you can build a wind-powered, chain-drive for that 'cooling' fan? '

Hey, if I want some serious "power" for my cooling fan, I know "exactly" where to look . . . .



At over 500 horsepower and 500 foot-pounds of torque . . . . I think - this - will get the job done!

Cheers, Edouard 

P.S. Speaking of trusty wagon power-plant, the new engine builder had a "surprise" when they tried to put back the aluminum cylinder heads.  The green paint washed right off!  So the engine will have a very different appearance after the repairs.  The heads and front timing cover will be clear aluminum while the valve covers will be this Buick engine green with the lettering for Buick and TA-Performance machined to be a shiny aluminum.  Add to this that the exhaust manifolds are how a shiny silver ceramic coating, and you might need to wear sunglasses to look inside my wagon's engine bay! 

[xairbusdriver]

Perhaps your rain gauge is too low and vulnerable to windblown debris.

There was one Crape myrtle seed pod, I never got round to cutting back last years blooms. But what really surprised me was the dirt/dust! There are no un-vegitated areas within ~2000 feet of my house! Nor have there been any dust storms come through in the last several decades! It's possible it was actually pollen from the Oak and Pecan trees within ~100'. It did come out rather easily, not like the clay soil we live on. Oh well, something to keep an eye one.

I think you may have a good solution for your fan problem. Just be sure to have the exhaust pipe at least 50 feet long to avoid it getting into the thermometer housing. You might even make a 50' tall exhaust and put the anemometer up there at the 'approved' 33 foot spot!! You might even get by without a muffler with it that far from the ground! Save that nickel!

[Blicj11]

The heads and front timing cover will be clear aluminum while the valve covers will be this Buick engine green with the lettering for Buick and TA-Performance machined to be a shiny aluminum.  Add to this that the exhaust manifolds are how a shiny silver ceramic coating, and you might need to wear sunglasses to look inside my wagon's engine bay! 

Nice photo and I like the new colour combination under the hood.

[elagache]

Dear xairbusdriver, Blick, and WeatherCat fans of "assertive" cooling fans . . . . . 

Perhaps your rain gauge is too low and vulnerable to windblown debris.

. . . .
 Oh well, something to keep an eye one.

On second thought, probably the best policy for now.  No reason to change your setup until you have a better understanding of what is causing the problem and how frequently you'll have to clean the collector cone in actual service.  I have a cap that I put on mine in between rainstorms, but I suppose you get rain throughout the year so that wouldn't be practical.

I think you may have a good solution for your fan problem. . . . . .

NOT!!!    I do have a very fancy high-quality PC case fan.  If I could just find the time to install that, my problems should be very effectively solved.

Nice photo and I like the new colour combination under the hood.

That picture was taken in September 2012 when the engine arrived from the first engine builder.  I'm planning on repeating the same sort of photo shoot when the engine arrives from TA-Performance.  It may add a bit to the installation costs, but I really want to have the comparison photos.  Also, this engine may look so nice that TA-Performance might want to use it for their catalog, so I want to make sure I get the sort of photos they can use.

Cheers, Edouard 

[Blicj11]

I'm planning on repeating the same sort of photo shoot when the engine arrives from TA-Performance.

Remind me again, what's the latest projection on said arrival?

[elagache]

Dear Blick and WeatherCat horsepower fans,

Remind me again, what's the latest projection on said arrival?

Still no ship date yet.  There were a few aspects of how the engine had been originally put together that the owner of TA-Performance didn't like, so he was straightening out those issues.  Once the engine is fully back together, they will break it in over there.  So there are a few more things to do.  With any luck it will ship before the end of this month or perhaps early June since Memorial day might delay things some.

Cheers, Edouard 

[Blicj11]

Keep us posted.