Topic: Highest wind ever recorded on your AcuRite 5 in 1 or 3 in 1

[sundevil01010101]

What is the record high wind recorded by your AcuRite 5 in 1 anemometer?

I have only had mine for about 90 days but on Aug 11 a  decent t-storm blew thru and I got a 27 mph high wind so far.   Theoretically, according to AcuRite the 5 in 1 can record 0 - 99 mph but the sensor reading is only taken every 18 seconds so if the gust comes between readings you missed it.,,.  (See nincehelser's corrections below)

It would be nice if it sampled more often but I can live with it, you're going to catch one of the peak gusts at a sensor reading eventually.  Also, and probably a lot of folks don't realize this but on the color monitor the Avg number at the botton left of wind circle is for last 120 seconds the and Peak number at bottom right is for the last 60 minutes. 

See the specs for yourself...

http://www.weatherequipment.com/assets/images/PDF/Five-in-One-Professional-Weather-Station-Specifications.pdf

AcuRite's claims on Digital sensor accuracy..

http://www.acurite.com/accuracy

 

[nincehelser]

\I have only had mine for about 90 days but on Aug 11 a  decent t-storm blew thru and I got a 27 mph high wind so far.   Theoretically, according to AcuRite the 5 in 1 can record 0 - 99 mph but the sensor reading is only taken every 18 seconds so if the gust comes between readings you missed it.,,.

18 seconds is the reporting interval.  It's not the sampling rate.

The speed reported is based on the maximum number of cup rotations in 4 consecutive seconds of the 18 second reporting interval.

It's in the PDF you referenced.

The WMO standard for capturing wind gusts is 3 seconds, so Acurite is only 1 second out of that definition.

The highest speed I've recorded this year is 55 mph.

[chief-david]

on my Acurite: 40 to 42 mph.  I am surrounded by trees

On my Davis at school: 80 mph  no blockages

[sundevil01010101]

Thanks nincehelser for the correction and clarification...

I also realized I had bookmarked that link to the 5 in 1 spec out of one your posts here so thanks for that too.

[sundevil01010101]

on my Acurite: 40 to 42 mph.  I am surrounded by trees

On my Davis at school: 80 mph  no blockages

55 and 80, wow pretty good gusts indeed even though the 80 was on the Davis!

If we'd actually get a real good t-storm (our AZ monsoon has been pretty weak this season in the Phoenix area) I could be up there in the 50-60 range.

[vreihen]

My highest gust ever is only 21 MPH.   My neighborhood is in a bowl-shaped depression in the terrain, and the wind rarely reaches ground level to even blow leaves around.  Judging by the wind's effect at the top of mature trees in my yard, I'd have to go up 50+ feet with my 5-in-1 to get a good wind sample.....

[DoctorKnow]

I was around 40 one time in a severe T-Storm. The storm ripped up an umbrella and threw it across the yard into the neighbors yard, so I think the wind was at least what the Acurite showed, probably higher. My anemometer does seem to start up and report pretty good in the mornings compared to surrounding sites. Sometimes it's even higher than the airports.

[Inverno]

23 mph I think, during a bad snowstorm. My house blocks the west and southwest wind, which is the predominant direction of strong winds where I live. Sucks but nothing I can so unless I raised my station about 30 feet

[haroldashe]

The highest wind speed I've seen was 27 mph but the sensor is only 10' above ground level and there are some trees.

[AjaxKnights29]

Highest I've ever recorded is a sad 44 kph (27.3403 mph)

[DoctorKnow]

I wonder if some of us with spare parts should try to improve the anemometer. I was looking at the Davis VP 2 in action and noticed how rapid the cups turn, and how the arm that holds the cups is really short compared to ours. I bet if we took off most of the arm, and mounted the cups at the top of the bearing cap that we could get more rotation out of the anemometer. Any thoughts on that?

[nincehelser]

I wonder if some of us with spare parts should try to improve the anemometer. I was looking at the Davis VP 2 in action and noticed how rapid the cups turn, and how the arm that holds the cups is really short compared to ours. I bet if we took off most of the arm, and mounted the cups at the top of the bearing cap that we could get more rotation out of the anemometer. Any thoughts on that?

Trying to force "more rotation" would mean your measured speeds would no longer be accurate.

[CW2274]

I wonder if some of us with spare parts should try to improve the anemometer. I was looking at the Davis VP 2 in action and noticed how rapid the cups turn, and how the arm that holds the cups is really short compared to ours. I bet if we took off most of the arm, and mounted the cups at the top of the bearing cap that we could get more rotation out of the anemometer. Any thoughts on that?

Trying to force "more rotation" would mean your measured speeds would no longer be accurate.

I'd have to agree with that. You change the mass, you change the calibration.

[vreihen]

<sarcasm>

I think that we should change to *longer* arms, to save wear and tear on the anemometer bearings by slowing down the rotation..... 

</sarcasm>

[DoctorKnow]

I wonder if some of us with spare parts should try to improve the anemometer. I was looking at the Davis VP 2 in action and noticed how rapid the cups turn, and how the arm that holds the cups is really short compared to ours. I bet if we took off most of the arm, and mounted the cups at the top of the bearing cap that we could get more rotation out of the anemometer. Any thoughts on that?

Trying to force "more rotation" would mean your measured speeds would no longer be accurate.

LOL! Mine aren't accurate anyway with all these obstructions I have. It's just a test with the spare heads.

[jimmy1913]

Back in April my Davis had a 50 mph gust and my AcuRite had a 67 mph gust there both at the same height 27' the AcuRite always has a higher gust than the Davis, it also has higher gust than my Vue also same height!

[DoctorKnow]

Wow. Maybe I just got a bad top. I haven't had my warranty replacement on long enough to judge how good it is yet, but it seems to be a little better than the top with the bad fan motor...

[sundevil01010101]

67 is a pretty good gust, still at 27mph on mine.   

T-storms are building up daily all around but they keep missing my area or we just get a little wind from it but not the main storm track.

[DoctorKnow]

I finally got around to redesigning my anemometer. I took some pins and drove them into the top of the sides of the wind cup helmet. Of course I cut off the wind cup arms from the helmet and took off most of the arms from the cups, just leaving enough to attach the cups to the pins. The hardest part was attaching the cups but I used some very small zip ties and cement glue. Getting the weight distributed properly on the bearing has made a big difference in the rotation speed for sure! The cups will spin really good now, and am excited to install this thing tomorrow. From my calculations, I should pick up 5 or 6 mph more and account for gusts really well. The design was flawed in that the weight of the helmet and cup placement being below the top of the bearing was dragging the speed down at higher levels. No other anemometer I have seen has the arms and cups at the bottom of the support like this one. The weight should be at the top and the arms should be straight. Also you have to think about the weight of the magnet on the bottom of the bearing causing a drag on top of the other issues... There should be next to no drag to get proper speeds... and now the magnet spins very nicely. I'll update the improvement as I get some real world results.

[sundevil01010101]

Seems to be an adventurous modification so how will you be able to confirm that the wind reading is now
acurite ? ( couldn't resist 😁)



.

[DoctorKnow]

Seems to be an adventurous modification so how will you be able to confirm that the wind reading is now
acurite ? ( couldn't resist 😁)



.

I have a spare anemometer that acurite sent me, so if this is way too high or not inline with surrounding stations, I will go back to the spare. I know it is too low based on surrounding Davis instruments and airports. The trees bend over and the highest gust is 17 MPH. Surrounding sites are near 30 MPH. My station is well off the ground at 28 ft.

[DoctorKnow]

I just finished installation, and the wind is steady between 6 - 16 MPH which is inline with nearby sites. It is a very windy day as a low is moving in offshore. This is a fun time to watch and compare.

[Zug]

Highest I seen was on my 3-in-1 was 61 MPH.  Unfortunately, I had to rest the desktop unit a couple weeks later, so now the all time is only 27 MPH.

[sundevil01010101]

I just finished installation, and the wind is steady between 6 - 16 MPH which is inline with nearby sites. It is a very windy day as a low is moving in offshore. This is a fun time to watch and compare.

Well I am glad it worked for you although I have to say mine seems pretty accurate when I compare it on WU to the stations in my neighborhood.

[sundevil01010101]

Highest I seen was on my 3-in-1 was 61 MPH.  Unfortunately, I had to rest the desktop unit a couple weeks later, so now the all time is only 27 MPH.

Yeah that's mine too although I've only had it since July...