Topic: Impact of unlevel WS

[Fokis]

I have a WS2902A and recently picked up a MK-III Mono Mount for it. 

Up on a ladder, roughly 25 feet in the air, I had to drill some 2X4s into the side of my shed at the roof line.  Let's just say, it wasn't exactly safe and it made for a difficult install as far as getting exactly level...

Below are some pictures of how it turned out and it's been bugging me ever since because I'm worried about the accuracy of my rain gauge.  Look closely and you'll see the little water bubble (forgive my ignorance). 

Does anyone have any idea how much impact this amount of uneven'niss has on measuring rain?  Comparing with neighbors yesterday and today, I am lagging behind.  For example, I've got .22 inch of rain and most everyone around me is >.25.  I do also live in an area where the amount of rain you pickup can vary slightly just by walking over to your neighbors.. but I don't recall seeing this much variance before when my WS was level on a PVC pipe.

One plus that I am enjoying is wind readings!  Because I got it so high up, I'm picking up 26MPH this morning in the Seattle area 

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[galfert]

That is a tough call to know how much of a difference it makes. This is my biggest aggravation and why I haven't yet attempted to install my new flag pole. I have it just sitting here and I'm dreading the pouring of concrete and messing it up and not being level. I have a buddy that said they would help me....but still. I'm just not ready mentally. I feel like a need a sure fire plan.

One thing I've thought about doing is a test. I want to get up on a ladder and poor in a measured 0.01 inches with a dropper. Then I want to see how much it fills the tipping bucket/spoon. I want to see if the 0.01 inches is an exact measurement where the spoon is full or not. My hope is that the spoon does not fully fill with 0.01 inches. If so then it wouldn't matter if the device is a bit off level as there should be no loss due to spillage before the tipping action. Once I know this ....maybe I'll feel better about installing my flag pole with less stress about getting perfect. So I need to do this. Or maybe someone can do it and report their finding. I need a way to measure exactly 0.01 inches with a dropper. I would do this test with the funnel removed and dropping directly into the bucket/spoon.

[Fokis]

Thanks for the reply.  I hear ya.  I thought I was going in level when I drilled the 2X4's into the siding but turns out I was off just a hair.  That's all it takes to throw the whole system off.  At this point it's not worth redoing..unless of course I can prove it's totally screwing my readings up.

You're inspiring me to go with my original plan which is to order a rain gauge and just compare what the gauge catches vs my WS.  It's not bullet proof but it might help me.

Also, I got a bet going on who gets the most rain by March.. loser has to buy BBQ meat and wine.. so I want to make sure I'm not skewing things here

[galfert]

I agree, getting a CoCoRaHS style rain gauge is probably beneficial and another way to test your station.