Topic: Rainwise 111 rain gauge upgrade

[MarkWX]

I finally incorporated a Rainwise 111 rain gauge into my VP2 station and so far it's working out great!
It has had about 23 rain events over the past month+ with some high rates and low rates. Each time it has been within 0.01 (or the same) of my 4" stratus gauge that is located near by at the same height. I calibrated the gauge in house before ever setting it up outside using the novalynx calibrator I have had for years. I tried 2 different orifice sizes when doing the setup and got pretty close results with high and low rates so I'm excited to see how it does over the long term. I may end up tweaking it a tiny bit at some point. Interestingly it needed a fair bit of adjustment out of the box.

My station was purchased in 2009 so has had some updates over the years. Some years ago I installed the new tipping spoon. I must say this was a huge downgrade from the original tipping buckets. It was way off out of the box and of course says it's not adjustable. Well I adjusted it anyway (very  tricky and time consuming) and got it much closer but I was still not satisfied. I never could get consistent results using the calibrator.

I mounted it separate from the ISS because I wanted it lower to the ground. This is something I have wanted ever since I bought this station. It was supper easy to hook up.

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[CW2274]

I calibrated the gauge in house before ever setting it up outside using the novalinx calibrator I have had for years. I tried 2 different orifice sizes when doing the setup and got pretty close results with high and low rates so I'm excited to see how it does over the long term. I may end up tweaking it a tiny bit at some point. Interestingly it needed a fair bit of adjustment out of the box.

Nicely mounted! I may have a reason the RW needed tweaking out of the box. As stupid and unbelievable as this is, RW has been advertising that 1" of rain equated to 801ml of water. Novalynx and other very smart people here said, no, it's 824ml. So, after all these years of wondering why my RW bucket kept showing 3-4% higher than my two Stratus gauges, I recalibrated at 824ml. Lo and behold, after 4+ inches of rain this year, the comparison is absolutely spot on. I have two RW buckets, and the two Stratus's that are slightly different, and the difference is ~1-2% between the four. Finally, some reliable data!

[ocala]

If you go to this thread from a while back I did the same.
https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=39042.0
Unfortunately my RW developed connection issues with the ISS so I got rid of it for a new Davis  gauge.
I did like it and it was pretty close to the coco gauge on the other side of the 4x4.

[ocala]

I calibrated the gauge in house before ever setting it up outside using the novalinx calibrator I have had for years. I tried 2 different orifice sizes when doing the setup and got pretty close results with high and low rates so I'm excited to see how it does over the long term. I may end up tweaking it a tiny bit at some point. Interestingly it needed a fair bit of adjustment out of the box.

Nicely mounted! I may have a reason the RW needed tweaking out of the box. As stupid and unbelievable as this is, RW has been advertising that 1" of rain equated to 801ml of water. Novalynx and other very smart people here said, no, it's 824ml. So, after all these years of wondering why my RW bucket kept showing 3-4% higher than my two Stratus gauges, I recalibrated at 824ml. Lo and behold, after 4+ inches of rain this year, the comparison is absolutely spot on. I have two RW buckets, and the two Stratus's that are slightly different, and the difference is ~1-2% between the four. Finally, some reliable data!

Is one of them my old rain bucket.

[CW2274]

If you go to this thread from a while back I did the same.
https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=39042.0
Unfortunately my RW developed connection issues with the ISS so I got rid of it

Thanks again!

[CW2274]

I calibrated the gauge in house before ever setting it up outside using the novalinx calibrator I have had for years. I tried 2 different orifice sizes when doing the setup and got pretty close results with high and low rates so I'm excited to see how it does over the long term. I may end up tweaking it a tiny bit at some point. Interestingly it needed a fair bit of adjustment out of the box.

Nicely mounted! I may have a reason the RW needed tweaking out of the box. As stupid and unbelievable as this is, RW has been advertising that 1" of rain equated to 801ml of water. Novalynx and other very smart people here said, no, it's 824ml. So, after all these years of wondering why my RW bucket kept showing 3-4% higher than my two Stratus gauges, I recalibrated at 824ml. Lo and behold, after 4+ inches of rain this year, the comparison is absolutely spot on. I have two RW buckets, and the two Stratus's that are slightly different, and the difference is ~1-2% between the four. Finally, some reliable data!

Is one of them my old rain bucket.

[DaleReid]

Nice picture and looks like a very sturdy set up and high quality install with the separate mounting and looks like under ground protected wire connection to the Davis.

I like the satisfaction that nice work brings to a hobby or interest.  I enjoy fiddling with my  weather sensors and appreciate your pictures.
Dale

[DaleReid]

Rain calibrator:
I see you mentioned the Novalynx calibration bottle and I think RM Young has one, or the same one, too.

The price is amazing, for a piece of plastic and a bottle, but then they aren't on everyone's wedding registry for gifting, either.

I was going to try to fashion something that was more reproducible for hobbyists wanting to make a device that provided a constant drip rate, sort of what I call a chicken watering device so the water ran out after going through a sort of self-filling dam.

I am no genius with 3-d printers.  I use one that my son has and only with the scripts that load instructions onto the chip, and then am amazed that the programming takes the image and makes it into a series of commands to make stuff.

I'd wonder if detailed measurements and pictures were available of the 'magic' inner parts that make the flow rate constant until the bottle was empty someone could use their fancy cad-cam to generate a file for 3-d printers and thus make flow rates available.  I've used bottles with various sized holes, an old IV bag and tubing with a clamp thing to adjust the drip rate and so on, but is very cumbersome compared to the Novalynx calibrator.

Anyone with 3-d printing experience?  Dale

[CW2274]

The price is amazing, for a piece of plastic and a bottle, but then they aren't on everyone's wedding registry for gifting, either.

This obviously doesn't answer your 3D question, but the $$$ for the Novalynx is exactly why I made my own from a gallon milk jug. It doesn't supply a constant rate, but I have it to where it starts ~3" per hour and drops under 1" when empty. I actually think that is more realistic in the real world, anyway. Been using it for eight years or so.

[DaleReid]

Ingenuity.  More than one way to skin a cat.  I wonder how many ways there are, but as you say, the last time it rained here, it wasn't constant from beginning to end.