Topic: Anemometer placement. "Accuracy" vs practicality.

[NHWF5510]

I am still in the design phase of my weather station and while i have found an ideal location for the VP2 SS in a field behind my house, i am doubtful the same location would be ideal for the Anemometer though because it's in a low lying area. I live about 1,800 ASL in Southern New Hampshire and my property is a hillside and is surrounded by tall trees although i do have a large open front lawn. We get very strong winds here fairly often. The other day we had winds strong enough to blow my patio furniture across the yard and knock over my gas grill. That being said i am trying to find an optimum location to mount my Anemometer to give accurate readings but at the same time, not be an installation and maintenance headache.

 My roof seems ideal in that it's peak is close to 35' high and their are no trees taller than that within 100'+ So i was considering going with a tripod mount and the remote Anemometer transmitter setup. But i have a few concerns about this location.

1. Right off the bat, getting on my roof will not be easy. It requires a huge ladder that a buddy will have to loan me. It's going to be a hassle just getting up there and installing it. But if it has any issues just servicing it will be a huge PITA. And during the winter months their is no way i am going up there with the ice and snow. I contemplated putting the transmitter in a more accessible location with the Anemometer on the tripod mast but running the wire horizontally along the roof without anchoring it (more holes in the roof) seems like it would be a problem. With super strong winds and New England snow and ice i just worry about the reliability of this sensor.

2. I am not a big fan of putting any holes in my roof. So i really don't like the tripod mount. I considered a gable mount but the end of the house that would work best also has a walkout basement with an awning so i would need a ladder over 40' to reach it. Alternatively i would have to lay down and lean over the edge. Trying to measure, level and drill 4 holes and then attach the hardware while leaning headfirst over a 40'+ drop is not something i would like to try. The same goes for my chimney which is on that side of the house too. And drilling into my brick chimney is not something i would like to do. Only because i doubt i would be able to get it very solid without a whole bunch of hardware.

Is the unobstructed location of a roof top really worth the aggravation factors i listed? My alternative mounting location was on a dedicated mast perhaps near an open area on my front lawn. I was thinking of a 10-20' pole. The pole would be bolted to a steel base set in concrete. So i would unbolt and swivel the pole down if their was any issues. No ladder required. Their would still be trees within 100' that would be taller for sure. But they really don't seem to impede the wind that much considering how things blow all over my yard.

 Thoughts?  Accuracy is important to me but this is a hobby, not my career.  How much am i compromising going with a lower mount vs the roof?  Thank you in advance.

[CW2274]

Placing the anny is almost everyone's Achilles heel. I think you've already answered your question with a roof mount being so difficult, so the ground pole is what I would do. You'll lose a little velocity compared to the "official" 33', but at 20' it will do very nicely compared to the hassle of the roof. Mine's only 16', not ideal, but does quite nicely.

[ocala]

Agree that the pole would be the best placement.
Most of us don't have the luxury of a large open field to mount it so you have to go
with the next best option.
Don't worry you're not alone. There have been many threads dealing with this same topic.

[Central Maine Weather]

Sounds like your in a very similar situation as I am here at our home in Leeds, Maine! I ended up mounting mine in our yard at the highest point on a 15 foot mast. It's open to most directions but the SW where trees are a bit of an issue, but it still does very well even at only 15 feet AGL. I've had it set up here for almost a year now and so far have had a high gust of 51MPH. I would definitely go with the more accessible mounting location due to the need for relatively regular maintenance needs.

At least try it out for a while in that location to see how it works out. If it's not performing as well as you expect it should, you can then consider a different mounting location (i.e your rooftop)

Best of luck finding that ideal location that works best for you!
   - Matt

[Mattk]

Anemometers mounted on buildings and dependent on the type of roof can be more prone to unwanted influences than mounted at the most practical height in the best open environment available. 

[CW2274]

Anemometers mounted on buildings and dependent on the type of roof can be more prone to unwanted influences than mounted at the most practical height in the best open environment available.

No doubt.

[dalecoy]

Most of us don't have a "standard installation".  If you are part of that group, then pick the anemometer location where YOU would like to know the wind speed and direction.

[Scalphunter]

Rent an man lift and get it up where you were thinking.

[mikemaps]

Just a thought with the roof mount, once it's mounted the anemometer doesn't require as much maintenance as the ISS does. I use the transmitter, which you might be able to mount in a better spot or run the wire. I had mine on the roof for almost 15 years and never did anything with it except change the transmitter battery about once every 2 years.

[pfletch101]

Just a thought with the roof mount, once it's mounted the anemometer doesn't require as much maintenance as the ISS does. I use the transmitter, which you might be able to mount in a better spot or run the wire. I had mine on the roof for almost 15 years and never did anything with it except change the transmitter battery about once every 2 years.

I know that others have had similarly good experiences. However, I lost two cables between a roof-mounted anemometer and a conveniently sited transmitter to (I assume) either birds or rodents attacking and dividing them - they were cut reasonably cleanly (one in multiple places) - in six months. Since I don't 'do' roofs, each roofer visit costs $300, and wind is not a primary concern for me, I decided to do without!

[BigOkie]

The problem with anemometers in an area that has long periods of little wind is critters.  I had an issue for several weeks where spiders decided to do their artwork around the cups.  Glad I got the telescoping pole for that.  Also glad as yesterday I had to replace my anemometer with a new one (lasted me about four years).  I have a 20' flag pole I have it mounted to the top of.

[Intheswamp]

Anemometer?  Shoot, you need to be figuring a way to anchor that gas grill down!!!!!! 

[dalecoy]

Rent an man lift and get it up where you were thinking.

...which would result in a non-standard installation, also with possible interference from "roof effects".

[BigOkie]

This is how mine wound up when I sited it in 2013.  Right in the center of my backyard.  Trees around, but I had to compromise.  I love this telescoping flag pole.  Works great for maintenance.

[Yank61s]

Here is a pic of my setup. I have separated the ISS and anemometer since this pic was taken. The tower is a Rohn antenna tower, at 20 feet tall. anemometer is on a 8ft piece of pipe attached to the top. I have 35-40 ft tall trees to the South and East, I would love to go taller but its not going to happen. good luck on your install

[btw-nc]

Looks perilously close to those power lines. Hopefully it's an illusion.

This is how mine wound up when I sited it in 2013.  Right in the center of my backyard.  Trees around, but I had to compromise.  I love this telescoping flag pole.  Works great for maintenance.

[NHWF5510]

Thank you all so far for the insights and suggestions. I have literally spent the last week going over ideas in my head on a daily basis. Presently i am now down to 3 possible mounting ideas (subject to change at any minute!)

1. Telepole Superior 1 Telescoping 25' pole. I have heard nothing but praise about this pole. It's mentioned on this site as working very well for this application and on Amazon it has almost a perfect 5 star review for being very high quality. This would certainly give me the most flexibility in finding a location and would make maintenance a snap. But since it's 25' and that's it i would still have to pick a good spot that would not be too close to trees. Digging the hole and mixing and pouring cement would be no more than a day project i could do solo. Total cost with Cement: A little less than $300

2. Adding 20' of mast section* to an existing basketball goal post. The current post is 20' tall. 3" welded steel with a 14" steel base. So it's plenty strong enough to handle the added mast. I just don't know how much sway i will get if i go 15' higher. *(20' of added mast but it would be bolted on for about 5' so the total added height would be about 15'). I would have to go this tall to clear tress nearby this location. Would definitely require an extra set of hands and an afternoon. Total cost with all hardware: About $100

3. An eave mount on the opposite side of my roof from the "scary" end. I would still have to go on the roof and in turn, have to go BACK on the roof if their was an issue. But this location would be much closer to the "lower" side of the roof and i can get a ladder very close to this location. I would still run the remote transmitter down to an easily accessible level so i would only have to go back on the roof if their was an issue with the Anemometer itself. It would take maybe 2 hours for the install and i could do it alone. Total cost with all hardware: $60

  Still welcome any other suggestions and will update once i finally make a decision and start construction.

[Scalphunter]

get quickete at lowes,or home depot. no mixing  . Just pour in hole  add water then cover over. Save lot of back breaking work.

John

[Yank61s]

I like the telepole idea. I tinker with my anemometer often enough trying to get a bit taller (currently at 30ft) but still not totally satisfied with wind direction out of the South. My setup will never be perfect in my thinking but always fun coming up with new ideas and trying them (my wife thinks i'm nuts with all the time I put into the whole weather station thing) For me its a fun hobby.
Please post pics of what you come up with

[CW2274]

But this location would be much closer to the "lower" side of the roof

Without pics hard to know what this would be, but the anny needs to be a good 5-6 ft above the highest portion of the roof or your readings at times will be wrong due to the roof's influence.

[NHWF5510]

But this location would be much closer to the "lower" side of the roof

Without pics hard to know what this would be, but the anny needs to be a good 5-6 ft above the highest portion of the roof or your readings at times will be wrong due to the roof's influence.

  Forgive my horrendous photo editing, but the picture shows both of my potential Gable mounting locations. I would attach a 10' mast to the mount so total mast height would be about 8' from the top of the roof. The chimney is about 4' from the top of the roof peak.

[Yank61s]

#2 looks like it would be easier to get to and service

[CW2274]

But this location would be much closer to the "lower" side of the roof

Without pics hard to know what this would be, but the anny needs to be a good 5-6 ft above the highest portion of the roof or your readings at times will be wrong due to the roof's influence.

  Forgive my horrendous photo editing, but the picture shows both of my potential Gable mounting locations. I would attach a 10' mast to the mount so total mast height would be about 8' from the top of the roof. The chimney is about 4' from the top of the roof peak.

Jeez, looking at the pic, and with a 10' mast, I think I'd just metal strap it to the short side (closer to the roof apex) of the chimney. Zero drilling.

[W3DRM]

This is how mine wound up when I sited it in 2013.  Right in the center of my backyard.  Trees around, but I had to compromise.  I love this telescoping flag pole.  Works great for maintenance.

<photo removed>

Two comments:

• Nice job. Looks very clean. Has it really been up since 2013?
• The lifespan of the VP2 anemometer cable will be very limited if it is installed as shown in the picture. You need to tie-down that cable from the top to the bottom so there is no possibility of movement due to the wind or you will wind-up with an intermittent and/or a non-functional anemometer. I know this from personal experience as I have been a victim of this myself when I first installed my VP2 back in 2005.

[WXman]

Anemometer placement is indeed one of the most difficult parts of home station installation.   I've racked my brain for hours trying to find the best spot.  It's just hard to feasibly do unless you own a good amount of acreage.