Author Topic: Vantage Vue pole mounting question?  (Read 1018 times)

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Offline boldblue737

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Vantage Vue pole mounting question?
« on: April 23, 2018, 04:08:57 PM »
I currently have an Ambient Weather 1401 station mounted on a 1 3/8" diameter galvanized chain link fence top rail post that is 7'3". I intend to replace it as it has begun to malfunction with a Davis Vantage Vue.

The way the old Ambient Weather worked was there was a small 8 inch pole that went directly into the station and that pole then slid into the top rail post and there was a bolt that went straight through holding them together. This gave me almost one foot extra height to 8+ ft. Do you think I can use the U-clamp on the Davis to mount to the top of the old 8 inch swedged pole and then just slide that into the top rail pole and use my existing bolt to connect the two just like before with the Ambient to give me more height, plus make it so I don't have to remove the U-clamp in the future to remove the station? Is there a downside to this? The extra height moves me further above the top of a nearby vinyl fence I don't want affecting temps. Obviously the alternative is to clamp directly to the top rail post and live with it being 8-12 inches lower than my old station. The pole is set in concrete so I don’t want to redo it.

Thanks!
« Last Edit: April 23, 2018, 04:14:44 PM by boldblue737 »

Offline Mattk

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Re: Vantage Vue pole mounting question?
« Reply #1 on: April 23, 2018, 04:33:54 PM »
That sounds like it will work. Main thing would be no movement exists in the pole assembly and it is as vertical as possible

Offline boldblue737

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Re: Vantage Vue pole mounting question?
« Reply #2 on: April 23, 2018, 05:27:45 PM »
well the pole is very level. in heavy wind it sways *slightly* but the Ambient Weather station mounted on top was always accurate until the last 6 months the rain tipping bucket began repeatedly sticking despite trying to clean it. (you can't replace just the bucket). the size of the stations are very similar but i'm just guessing the Davis has higher quality, heavier construction than the Ambient so not sure if that means it will sway more. I don't think the connection itself between the pole and the 8 inch extension causes instability but the added length itself means the moment arm of the weight of the station will likely always increase sway slightly then if I just mounted it lower. The pole was 9'3" but it has 2 feet of that length directly in the ground with concrete.

I suppose the one true thing is if I don't like how it looks / mounts / sways with the extension it won't cost me anything to remove the extension and mount it directly on the main pole.
« Last Edit: April 23, 2018, 05:31:38 PM by boldblue737 »

Offline dtidmore

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Re: Vantage Vue pole mounting question?
« Reply #3 on: April 24, 2018, 09:11:21 AM »
Not sure if you were using the "Transformafence" adapter between your fence pole and  the bottom of the AW station.  I too used AW hardware for about 18 months and used that device which as you describe gave me about a foot of additional height.  The difference in my setup was that I clamped another 12ft section of 2 3/8" heavy gauge fence pole to my well footed fence pole such that my station was at roughly 15ft.  I used 3 fence pole to timber U-brackets back to back to secure the two poles together (3 such clamps over a 4 ft section).  You might consider doing the same even if you did not go as high as I did.  Never had ANY issues with movement regardless of wind, but then the fence pole is deeply secured in concrete, 2 3/8" diameter and at a corner such that there is another identical pole on the right angle side of the corner making that location VERY rigid.

I recently switched to a Davis Vantage Pro2 Plus, so now all that is mounted at the very top is my anemometer/wind vane (I retained the Transformafence).  The rest of the station I mounted at about the 10ft level so as to keep it above curious hands height but within reach using a tall step ladder.  In the attached pics, you can see the Transformafence adapter at the top of the pole.  Unfortunately the small company that made these well designed little adapters was undercapitalized apparently and closed up shop despite being offered on the AW site. 

David
« Last Edit: April 24, 2018, 09:22:35 AM by dtidmore »

Offline boldblue737

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Re: Vantage Vue pole mounting question?
« Reply #4 on: April 24, 2018, 09:30:36 AM »
the picture below shows my current setup with the Ambient Weather WS-1401 on top where the Vantage Vue will go. I have to measure it out but the "extension" (you can see it if you zoom in) only really gets me an extra 8 inches maybe so I'm not sure it is worth it, but on the other hand I don't think it contributes to extra flex either so I figure I might as well use it. The 1 3/8" fence tubing is 2 feet into concrete but it will sway in very high winds, but only ever so slightly. It is more like a "vibration." My rainfall totals in the WS-1401 were always accurate to other PWS in the area so I lived with it and I'm not sure it affected anything, although in hindsight I would use stronger, larger diameter tubing. I sure don't want to dig up my concrete though without at least trying the current setup. Connecting it to the fence isn't an option because the fence also sways. I believe guy-wires that connect to the ground deeply would also work but then I have increasing issues with mowing?
« Last Edit: April 24, 2018, 09:35:28 AM by boldblue737 »

Offline dtidmore

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Re: Vantage Vue pole mounting question?
« Reply #5 on: April 24, 2018, 09:39:45 AM »
Ok, I see that your setup is significantly different than mine. I was assuming that your pole was part of the fence supporting structure like mine rather than an independent, free standing pole.  As for the weight difference on the Davis Vue vs the AW all I can say is that comparing the VP2 Plus to either my original AW WS-1400 or the later WS-2902 station is like comparing an economy car to a bus.  My Davis hardware is significantly heavier and WAY larger than the AW hardware it replaced.  Granted, you are considering the Vue rather than VP2, but still the pole you are currently using may be questionable for the Vue hardware.  Depending on the prominent wind direction in your area, it might be possible to guy wire the pole to either the fence or the ground to stabilize it in that plane.

David

 

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