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Weather Station Hardware => Davis Instruments Weather Stations => Topic started by: ConligWX on August 15, 2019, 03:07:37 PM

Title: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: ConligWX on August 15, 2019, 03:07:37 PM
Hey guys

Just ordered on of these since my tipping bucket needs calibrated and since Davis will be including this version on all new vPro2's thought i'd upgrade now. this is a Metric Model though guess you guys in the US will have an imperial one too?

Quote
Davis Vantage  Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade 7345.147​​​​​​​ released June 2019

New for 2019 a redesigned rain tipping spoon assembly which improves accuracy according to Davis. Soon to be standard in all newly purchased Pro2 stations.

Simply remove the existing see-saw assembly of the Pro2 and clip this in its place with the emptying spoon facing the rear of the station.

Measures in 0.2mm increments.

looks like these two firms are selling them but are now both out of stock.

US: https://www.scaledinstruments.com/shop/davis-instruments/parts/vantage-pro2-parts/rain-collector-parts/davis-7345-147-single-spoon-tipping-bucket-rain-collector-assembly-0-2-mm-metric/

UK: https://www.weatherspares.co.uk/davis-vantage--pro2-rain-tipping-spoon-upgrade-7345147-1058-p.asp

I hope it performs better than the previous one.

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Title: Re: just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: weather34 on August 15, 2019, 04:33:59 PM
had mine a few weeks now from weatherspares metric just not had any significant rainfall to draw any conclusion.
Title: Re: just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: ConligWX on August 15, 2019, 05:45:55 PM
I'd ordered mine as I had only just seen these were available and my tipping bucket at present is not reporting the correct values at all.

Hopefully this new bucket will perform on par with other local stations and manual rain gauges once fitted.

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Title: Re: just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: dport on August 15, 2019, 07:21:57 PM
There is a 15 page thread found here:

http://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=35153.0

Seems to have mixed reviews so far. This last few pages of the thread are where folks have begun posting real world results and comparisons. 
Title: Re: just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: weather34 on August 16, 2019, 01:25:08 AM
I'd ordered mine as I had only just seen these were available and my tipping bucket at present is not reporting the correct values at all.

Hopefully this new bucket will perform on par with other local stations and manual rain gauges once fitted.

Sent from my GM1913 using Tapatalk

simon only observations i been able to make it does trigger a rain start earlier and seemed more sensitive to the light short rain events we have had but as above i have not had any significant daily rainfall last months less than 4mm since i installed it .

i followed the thread mentioned above for many months and thought it was a worthy upgrade and adrian at weatherspares made it a no hassle simple shipment to turkey .

dont be heavy handed when removing existing one ....brian
Title: Re: just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: ConligWX on August 16, 2019, 06:48:53 PM
Thanks for the update guys, hoping to get my new gauge in the post tomorrow.
Title: Re: just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: wxman13 on August 16, 2019, 08:10:46 PM
Just recently , upgraded my VP2 of 11yrs to a new VP2, and mine came with the new tipping spoon, after 3 light rainfall events found mine to underreport significantly( Have read that most have found just the opposite to be true), compared to my Stratus gauge. The tipping spoon is much easier to adjust/calibrate than the tipping buckets to me, just remove the top screw and the top separates from the base, underneath you will find a 1/4" hex bolt to make the adjustment. Mine has now been exactly in line with my Stratus Gauge on most events, or within .01" so far. Need more rain events to make a final assessment here.

Title: Re: just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: ConligWX on August 17, 2019, 04:46:15 AM
Thanks for the tip. Just got mine fitted this morning and have a CoCoRaHS Rain Gauge to put up in a too so I can evaluate both readings.



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Title: Re: just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: weather34 on August 17, 2019, 04:52:53 AM
oh to live in the uk such fast delivery  :grin:

just got back to istanbul this morning first time ive been able monitor with actual rainfall whilst im here and can confirm it does trigger off reasonably well under light rain conditions it was just a matter of minutes before registered its first tip and certainly not a heavy significant rainfall start but now its tipping regularly now the rain has intensified..overall im happy and as always i view in a relative manner..dont think your be disappointed..have fun...brian
Title: Re: just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: ConligWX on August 17, 2019, 04:59:22 AM
Yeah considering I live in Northern Ireland we usually incur and extra day delivery and and extra expense, but to be honest Royal Mail special delivery (Saturday) works very well and is reasonably priced, though our weather is usually much wetter than your location. I guess there is a trade off, warm weather or good Postal service ;)

You can't have both - lol

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Title: Re: just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: weather34 on August 17, 2019, 05:17:12 AM
i would swap istanbul night humidity for uk weather anyday it’s oppressive night time 25c - 27c temp dewpoint 22-23 humidity 80-90% that combination absolutely mullers you ..

as for the tipping bucket winds are fluctuating 20-30kmh presently whilst not ultra windy but significant breeze and  its tipping away frequently..have fun simon
Title: Re: just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: GBJr on September 03, 2019, 02:31:03 PM
Just recently , upgraded my VP2 of 11yrs to a new VP2, and mine came with the new tipping spoon, after 3 light rainfall events found mine to underreport significantly( Have read that most have found just the opposite to be true), compared to my Stratus gauge. The tipping spoon is much easier to adjust/calibrate than the tipping buckets to me, just remove the top screw and the top separates from the base, underneath you will find a 1/4" hex bolt to make the adjustment. Mine has now been exactly in line with my Stratus Gauge on most events, or within .01" so far. Need more rain events to make a final assessment here.

Hi! I'm trying to figure it out if I need to adjust clockwise or counterclockwise, and how many % a 360º turn could represent. In my Vantage Vue I know counterclockwise is for a "plus" setting (because it is printed there), which means more readings.

My VP2 is underreporting by ˜20% in comparison with a Stratus rain gauge right beside it.
Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: wxman13 on September 03, 2019, 09:22:57 PM
Counter clockwise (looking from underneath the top with the spoon) should increase your tips(increases the distance from the tip of the screw to the magnet), not sure what the percentage is for each turn. For now I just used 5.44ml (US Version)of water to calibrate the tipping of the spoon. Would be more accurate to use a large volume of water run through the gauge over time I believe.

I have encountered under reporting still on very light rainfall amounts, for example .04" event in my Stratus gauge from a very light rain event, recorded as .01" in my new VP2.
Looking at the inside of the new Aerocone right after this event I noticed a lot a water cohesion to the inside wall and debris screen of the new rain cone, so maybe that would explain the difference in my situation. My older VP2 rain gauge cone sheds the water very well, so it doesn't seem to be a issue with the old cone. Maybe with age the new Aerocone will not have this issue?

Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: Muzz on September 29, 2019, 04:04:00 PM
I've installed the single tipping spoon upgrade and I'm having an issue. The spoon fills but just doesn't seem to tip or at least it doesn't register any rainfall.

I've tested it manually by pushing the bucket down and it registered on the console but despite local lots of rain in the UK over the last few days, I've not registered any rain.

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Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: ConligWX on September 29, 2019, 05:37:42 PM
Sounds like a defective spoon. If its brand new contact your retailer.

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Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: ConligWX on September 30, 2019, 06:25:53 AM
Just updated my spreadsheet for this month.

so far the new Tipping spoon has performed well.

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Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: johnd on September 30, 2019, 06:31:05 AM
This is the sort of data that's essential for any proper evaluation of rain gauge performance. Unfortunately most users don't have the time/patience/persistence to run long term trials like this. Would be great if you could continue this trial as long as possible and post eg monthly updates here.

Is this tipping spoon calibrated at all or simply used as is out of the box.
Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: ConligWX on September 30, 2019, 07:26:20 AM
Hi John. 

The tipping Spoon was straight out of the Box.  I thought I'd give Davis the benefit of the doubt.

I will continue to take readings for a longer period to see how it goes, but it is much better than the older tipping bucket that was installed that used to miss quite a few tips during the day in constant rain conditions.

Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: weather34 on September 30, 2019, 07:37:59 AM
FWIW a continuous running comparison however living here with a 60% drop in annual rainfall to date in comparison to last year doesn't throw much info to draw a conclusion.however the human eye observes the single tipper over the original dual tipper with single more frequently tipping under rather mellow rain conditions. in the past often observed rainfall generally had to be steady for the dual tipper to tip frequently . this is an observation I have seen as our rainfall in last month at best barely reaches a steady rainfall more sporadic sometimes blink of an eye its passed.

charts as of today. not much in it some days either measures more but very small marginal differences at most was .2mm difference (20th Sep) and that rain coincided with a 40-50kmh wind .

the difference noticed on the 25th when inspecting the single tipper next day 26th had 3 quarter of fill un tipped may account for difference seen on the 25th

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Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: WheatonRon on September 30, 2019, 05:29:18 PM
Results from rainstorm, September-28-30. Conclusions? Spoon tipper runs wet consistent with most other findings in this Forum. Details follow (in inches), first reading is September 28, second reading is September 29, third reading is September 30–using data for the 24 hours ended at 7am, Central US daylight time,  using measurements received by CWOP as posted on MesoWest.


CoCo gauge, 1.75; .66; .06
Rainwise 111, 1.72; .65; .06
VP2 spoon tipper (CW5020), 1.94; .72; .08
VP2 old tipper (FW3075), 1.44; .59; 05
VP2 old tipper (FW4350), 1.28; .29; .02

The CoCo gauge was about a foot away (same height) from my VP2 spoon tipper as well as my Rainwise 111, whereas the other two VP2s were about 40 feet away from CoCo gauge. Rainfall was steady but not a deluge and wind was likely not an issue.

Spoon tipper hasn’t been calibrated since acquired this past Spring from Scaled Instruments. All three VP2 stations had clean tippers and rain collectors before storm. Rainwise was clean too.

Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: CW2274 on September 30, 2019, 05:53:36 PM
CoCo gauge, 1.75; .66; .06
VP2 spoon tipper (CW5020), 1.94; .72; .08
VP2 old tipper (FW3075), 1.44; .59; 05
VP2 old tipper (FW4350), 1.28; .29; .02
No matter how you look at it, that's horrible. ](*,) Where's your RW 111 at?
Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: WheatonRon on September 30, 2019, 06:34:13 PM
CoCo gauge, 1.75; .66; .06
VP2 spoon tipper (CW5020), 1.94; .72; .08
VP2 old tipper (FW3075), 1.44; .59; 05
VP2 old tipper (FW4350), 1.28; .29; .02
No matter how you look at it, that's horrible. ](*,) Where's your RW 111 at?

I forgot my Rainwise. Now added to original posting.
Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: CW2274 on September 30, 2019, 06:46:01 PM
CoCo gauge, 1.75; .66; .06
Rainwise 111, 1.72; .65; .06
=D> Thank you. I preach the Rainwise tipper for a reason...especially since it can be easily hardwired into the VP2.
Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: ConligWX on October 01, 2019, 02:55:36 AM
charts as of today. not much in it some days either measures more but very small marginal differences at most was .2mm difference (20th Sep) and that rain coincided with a 40-50kmh wind .

the difference noticed on the 25th when inspecting the single tipper next day 26th had 3 quarter of fill un tipped may account for difference seen on the 25th

Brian. is the Cocorahs readings an manual entry on your websetup (mb-smart-setup.php) somewhere? just curious if this is a new addition to your template.
Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: weather34 on October 01, 2019, 03:10:28 AM
CoCo gauge, 1.75; .66; .06
Rainwise 111, 1.72; .65; .06
=D> Thank you. I preach the Rainwise tipper for a reason...especially since it can be easily hardwired into the VP2.

if i could overcome the import tariffs crap and localized fees i would source a rainwise but for now im going to setup a 8” extension as opposed to a 10” idea to the aerocone had a rethink on what i did the other day and will use that for a period to compare again its got a layer of super hydrophobic coating on the inside and if it shows any better performance then ill uv coat it  . then again without any significant rainfall it might be a total waste of time . only confusion it might cause is not comparing the single tipper in a standard aerocone configuration.

just for a bit of fun or relative info

we had a 6 magnitude usgs rated 5.8 earthquake last week we are 30km from the active epicenter lots of material damage in the property but for reference the single tipper didnt budged or record anything erroneous the weatherflow system which uses some haptic sensor recorded wildly in the 25 seconds of the earthquake and numerous recorded in the aftershocks.

anyway now for the tedious task calibration  :-(

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Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: weather34 on October 01, 2019, 03:15:04 AM
charts as of today. not much in it some days either measures more but very small marginal differences at most was .2mm difference (20th Sep) and that rain coincided with a 40-50kmh wind .

the difference noticed on the 25th when inspecting the single tipper next day 26th had 3 quarter of fill un tipped may account for difference seen on the 25th

Brian. is the Cocorahs readings an manual entry on your websetup (mb-smart-setup.php) somewhere? just curious if this is a new addition to your template.

hello simon

no i take a reading after each event for the Cocorahs and insert it into a local csv i run it through a local server an old mac mini  , the single tipper data is realtime recorded via the meteobridge nanosd as per website. its more for my personal observations and comparison.
Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: CW2274 on October 01, 2019, 04:15:29 PM
CoCo gauge, 1.75; .66; .06
Rainwise 111, 1.72; .65; .06
=D> Thank you. I preach the Rainwise tipper for a reason...especially since it can be easily hardwired into the VP2.
anyway now for the tedious task calibration  :-(
Honestly, I think the bigger issue between the two is not the size of the catch (although it no doubt helps at times), but the tipping mechanism/spoon design itself. The 4" Stratus is just that, and it is very comparable to the 8" RW in other than extreme events, where all rain gauges are susceptible. Either way, GL with your efforts! 
Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: WheatonRon on October 03, 2019, 02:54:21 PM
Another rain event last night of interest at my house with very little wind:

CoCo gauge                    1.62 inches
Rainwise 111                   1.57
VP2 spoon (CW5020)       1.91

The above three are located within a foot or so of each other, clean and level. The below gauges are located about 40 feet away from the CoCo gauge et al.

VP2 old tipper (CW4350)  1.20
VP2 old tipper (CW3075)  1.57

Bottom line, consistent with prior posting, the new spoon tipper is a big disappointment.
Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: drew1021 on October 03, 2019, 06:39:10 PM
Agree, it is a big disappointment. I recommend you calibrate it as I did. It’s pretty spot on now with my stratus.
Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: CW2274 on October 03, 2019, 07:00:48 PM
I recommend you calibrate it as I did.
Utter BS that that even need be done in the first place. I don't recall that requirement in any of Davis's lit, ya know, kinda like "batteries not included". ](*,)
Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: ConligWX on October 03, 2019, 07:25:40 PM
again, not need for calibration for me, on my tipping spoon, as shown by my last month of stats.

I'll post again at end of month once I have collated October's readings.
Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: ConligWX on October 31, 2019, 07:33:56 PM
Ok Octobers readings show a pretty good result for the Single tipping spoon again.

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Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: WheatonRon on November 20, 2019, 05:53:38 PM
Another disappointment with the new spoon tipper. I have 3 VP2s, one of which has the new spoon tipper. We had a minor rain event this week and the station that has the spoon tipper recorded no rain. I got up on my ladder and discovered that a single pine needle had fallen into the rain collector, got wedged between the spoon and the holder that prevented the tipper from working, thus no rain. This has never happened in my other VP2s that I have used for about 10 years that have the standard 2 bucket tippers and yes, I have pulled pine needles out of them over the years. My conclusion? An unintended design flaw with the new spoon tipper.
Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: galfert on November 20, 2019, 05:59:10 PM
You need the little debris screen mesh.
Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: weather34 on January 06, 2020, 04:51:17 PM
got to say today was the first real opportunity to measure the performance here in istanbul simply due to the lack of consistent rainfall last 6-8 months .anyway today was ideal conditions to put it through a observation test under these 40-75kmh winds all day and continuous rain conditions my previous dual tipper combined with the aerocone struggled for any regular tips under similar conditions it is in identical position only difference is the single tipper.

the chart below highlights the frequent consistent tips with winds gusting 40-75kmh throughout and still is .

if you haven't got one of these yet put it on your shopping list its a worthy DIY upgrade ..

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Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: ocala on June 13, 2020, 05:32:34 PM
Ok Octobers readings show a pretty good result for the Single tipping spoon again.

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Late to the party here.
Looks like all but one of the comparisons were light rain events.
Do you have any comparison with a short lived heavy rain event.
Something along the lines of 26MM in about 20 minutes or so.
Title: Re: Just bought a Davis Vantage Pro2 Rain Tipping Spoon upgrade (7345.147)
Post by: ConligWX on June 18, 2020, 05:30:30 AM
Hi there.

I only what I have shown on the forums already.

I have an ex-metoffice colleague who checks my weather stats daily from my site and compares with the local Met office stations. he has not contacted me for a while since the new Tipping spoon was installed.

Prior to this, the tipping bucket was not reporting as well as this new spoon does and this is why I upgraded in the first place.