Author Topic: A reminder for some Radiation Shield/Temp-Humidty Sensor cleaning.  (Read 3583 times)

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Offline sam2004gp

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Ask yourself when was the last time you cleaned your shield and sensors.

Yesterday I took about 2 hours to remove my Outdoor temp/humidity with Radiation shield.  After disassembly I found one lady bug, and a spider had taking up residence in the small bell shaped cover of the sensor itself.  The inner plates of the shield had a layer of caked on dust, so I washed those off.  The exposed outer portions of the plates had a build up of mildew, which would not come off when using normal dish detergent in the sink.  So to get that off, I did the same thing I do when I want to sterilize my fish tank decorations.  Immerse the plates in a 5 Gallon bucket of clean hot water and then pour in about a 1/2 cup of household bleach.  Let sit for about 30 minutes.  Remove and rinse the plates, and they will look sparkly new.  
Clean the exposed sensor "bullet" itself with a damp paper towel, being careful not to get any "loose water drops" in the vents/electronics itself.  As for the solar panel just use a soapy rag, to wipe it off, and then rinse it in the sink under a light spray(similar to rain), do not immerse  it.

I have no "data" to support it, but I would imagine that the dust/pollen/bugs/spider webs/lack of radiative cooling buildup, will eventually cause your numbers to drift off somewhat.  

I guess I will tackle the rain gauge sometime in the next few days when I have a little bit more free time.
« Last Edit: July 30, 2009, 07:57:59 AM by sam2004gp »
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Offline wxtech

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Re: A reminder for some Radiation Shield/Temp-Humd Sensor cleaning.
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2009, 07:56:09 AM »
Thanks for the reminder.  I disassemble the shield plates and remove all parts from the plastic.  Then I put the plastic in my dishwasher.  I have green algae and pollen on the white plastic parts which makes the system look neglected.
To clean manual rain gauge cylinders; use a newspaper rolled length ways.  Some Cascade and water, then  scrub the cylinder inside with the newspaper, gets the polycarbonate cylinders sparkling.  It's hard to find a brush to fit a 2.5" x 20" Standard Rain Gauge cylinder; newspaper works fine.  Don't use aggressive scrubbing products like Comet and be careful how much bleach is used.  
« Last Edit: July 30, 2009, 11:27:38 AM by wxtech »
Al Washington, Lexington, Ga.,  NWS Coop station=LXTG1, Fischer Porter, SRG, MMTS. 
CoCoRaHS=GA-OG-1. CWOP=CW2074.  Davis VP2+ WLIP 5.9.2, VP(original) serial, VWS v15.00 p02. ImageSalsa, Win7 & Win8 all-in-one.

Offline sam2004gp

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Re: A reminder for some Radiation Shield/Temp-Humidty Sensor cleaning.
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2009, 08:00:53 AM »
You should try a fish tank pipe cleaner for that cylinder scrubbing.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752260&lmdn=Fish

« Last Edit: July 30, 2009, 08:06:05 AM by sam2004gp »
SAM --->>> http://www.mountcrawfordweather.org
OS WMR-968 with a Dedicated PWS Weather Computer running VWS v13.01 p09


Offline Downlinerz2

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Re: A reminder for some Radiation Shield/Temp-Humidty Sensor cleaning.
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2009, 09:27:34 AM »
   Weatheryourway (on  the CoCoRaSH website) has a brush for cleaning the tube ect.
 It is $6.25.

Offline SoMDWx

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Re: A reminder for some Radiation Shield/Temp-Humidty Sensor cleaning.
« Reply #4 on: July 30, 2009, 10:09:43 AM »
Wow, funny you brought this up now Sam...

The humidity sensor on my OSI THGR122N went south I think ( low humidity readings compard to all around me). Looks like the trend has been going on for some time. So I decided to TRY to clean the unit to see if any dust/dirt might be causing the problem. didn't help so I just ordered a replacement unit. I cleaned the shield also last night. It was caked with dust and dirt. Ended up throwing the plates into the dishwasher... Brand New!   \:D/

Now just waiting for the replacement unit...   :-(

Jim

Offline wxtech

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Re: A reminder for some Radiation Shield/Temp-Humidty Sensor cleaning.
« Reply #5 on: July 30, 2009, 11:26:31 AM »
Those 'test tube' cleaner brushes are good for the CoCoRaHS measuring cylinder.  When I clean the Standard Rain Gauge cylinder which is 2.5" x 20" it takes something larger than a toilet brush.  Shown in this picture; toilet brush, SRG inner cylinder with 24" measuring stick, CoCoRaHS measuring cylinder, and some bottle cleaning brushes.
Newspaper rolled lengthways is a free cleaning tool.
Al Washington, Lexington, Ga.,  NWS Coop station=LXTG1, Fischer Porter, SRG, MMTS. 
CoCoRaHS=GA-OG-1. CWOP=CW2074.  Davis VP2+ WLIP 5.9.2, VP(original) serial, VWS v15.00 p02. ImageSalsa, Win7 & Win8 all-in-one.

 

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