Topic: New to Forum, New weather Station on the way!!!!! Mounting ???'s

[WXIowa]

I live in Iowa and have always had an interest in following weather. Yesterday I was doing some Black Friday shopping and came across a La Crosse WS-2811 weather station at Farm and Fleet. I have wanted a weather station for a while, and the price was right, so I purchased it. After I got home I decided to check the web for some reviews on this unit. After reading the reviews on this forum and several others, it became clear that this unit has been plagued with errors with no resolve for a while now. Most pertaining to the rain amounts and wind speed being inaccurate. Needless to say, that unit was returned to the store that afternoon. While researching the La Crosse unit it appeared that everything was being compared to Davis weather stations. I read a lot of good reviews and it sounds like Davis has a great reputation. I shopped around and ended up pulling the trigger on a Davis Vantage Vue 6250 weather station hopefully to be here sometime next week. I would like to get a mounting idea lined up for when it arrives. I would assume the roof at the highest point would be the best place to mount? I have attached a picture of the side of the house I would like to mount the station. I currently have a Satellite Dish mounted on this end of the house as you can see. I was doing a little research on mounts and it looks like they do make a S mount that attaches to the current dish mount and is 39 inches tall, I would assume for attaching an additional antenna. I was wondering if this would be a possibility? The diameter of that mount is 1.66" OD, not sure if that would be to big for the Davis station?, Or if that would be to gaudy on top of a dish? haha.... Also I could do and eave mount and I would assume I would want to make sure the station is above the satellite for accurate readings?......... Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..........Thank you very much

[SlowModem]

Welcome and enjoy your stay! 

Here is everything you wanted to know (and then some) about sensors and placement:

http://home.comcast.net/~dshelms/CWOP_Guide.pdf

[utahweatherbear]

if you want the most accurate wind readings, then go with the roof mount. if you are more concerned with better temps and precip, try somewhere in your back yard, as far away from your house and trees as possible, about eye level. mine is on the roof, mainly because I wanted the accurate winds, and don't have a good place for that in my yard. The temps are better than expected, It's about 5 feet above the peak so it doesn't suffer from much if any shingle heat effect. you will notice that minimum temps will read a degree or 2 higher on the roof compared to the ground on clear and calm nights, depending on how high it is. mine is at least 30 feet above ground level. not so much when it's cloudy or breezy. being exposed to the wind has its disadvantages with this integrated unit, as strong winds will cause some of the rain or snow to miss the gauge, or just hit the sides. I have seen a 20-30% loss in precipitation with strong winds, does fine when there is no wind though. I use a software package (WUHU) http://home.comcast.net/~wuhu_software/ that tweaks the rain and temps, so I can send accurate data out to the world. My mount is somewhat unique. I took an 8 foot 1 1/2" chain link fence pole, drilled a hole at the roof peak and shoved it down against the joist center support. It goes down about 3 feet where I bolted it solid against the joist, and it extends about 5 feet above the peak. seems pretty solid. I then sealed around where I inserted the pole with roof tar. no leaks. http://weatherbear.startlogic.com/weather/where.html

good luck!

[Bushman]

Your idea will work.  Here's mine:  http://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=4519.0

[kevnjill]

It does sound like a good idea to me!  The only thing ya need to think about is getting the ISS bout 5 or 6 feet off the peak of the roof as to avoid wind turbulance or up drafts off the slope of the roof!  I have not purchaced a unit yet but im really considering the davis vantage pro 2!  Just because the anamometer seperates from the temp unit.  to be more accurate!  If you would like to talk to some one in person go talk to your counties emergency management cooridinator!  I went and talked to ours and he has 4 of the units i am considering and has had really good luck with them!  One of them is 5 years old and never a problem!  But he was very knowledgable on weather stations!  I am also from iowa thats why i reccomend you talkin to him!  he maybe agle to help you out alot!  Good Luck!

[HopeMaineWx]

You made an excellent choice with the Vue, you wont be disappointed!

[daswx]

Here's another for the Vue!!!
A really nice "all-in-one" unit for the $$, IMHO....
Enjoy!!

[DaculaWeather]

Had mine a year and 2 months with zero problems.

[WXIowa]

Thank you for all the suggestions and comments. Upon further consideration I decided, which I hate saying...haha, that the Vue Station would be a bit of an eyesore at my original suggested location. I currently have the eave mounts all ready to go on the back side of my garage.  The station will be pole mounted 5 feet above the peak of the garage. With the pole mount the station will actually be pretty much level, maybe a little higher than the highest peak, so hopefully my readings wont suffer from that direction. If so the higher peak is in the NE direction,of the station, which we rarely have winds from in Iowa. The station will be here on Thursday, I will post pics as soon as I can. What is suggested for setting up the unit, do you get everything mounted and level and then plug in the base station so no false data is recorded upon setup?  Or does the station need to communicate with base console before setup?............Thank you very much in advance for comments, looking forward to my new Vue!!!!

[DaculaWeather]

When you get it just read the instructions carefully and you won't have any problem. I didn't read anything that said you also bought a datalogger? Is this going to be hooked up to a computer?

[WXIowa]

DaculaWeather, at this point I am just setting up the station. In the future I do plan to hook up to computer, but not at this time.

[DaculaWeather]

You're good then. It's a very simple setup, you won't have any problem. Make sure that you have a way to determine north/south, you'll need to aim the solar panel on the Vue so that it points due south. Other than that, you should be good.

[daswx]

WX......
2 things to double-check BEFORE you mount the Vue ISS.........

1.) BE SURE the backup battery (CR123) is SECURE in its holder.....and the weatherproof cover is also secure
2.) MAKE SURE the rain tipping-bucket mounting screw is SECURE - FINGER TIGHT!! Over-tightening can strip the threads!!

As DaculaWeather said.....just follow the instructions....and you'll be fine!!
Good luck!

[WXIowa]

Thank you very much for all the comments and suggestions. Got the eave mount installed on the garage yesterday, and my 5 foot pole painted and ready to go. Vantage Vue is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. Was wondering if it was better to mount the pole to the garage first and then the station last, or vise versa?.....I guess I'm just wondering if their is any way to make adjustments as far as on the station itself, or do adjustments have to be made at eave mount to get station level?..........Thanks in advance

[DaculaWeather]

The adjustment to get it level will have to be done with the mount. The station will slip of the top of pole and a U clamp will secure it to the pole.