Author Topic: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting  (Read 9030 times)

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Offline CW2274

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #75 on: November 06, 2022, 04:33:26 PM »
The two gauges should have their openings at the same height and ideally be almost touching
I would suggest a little caution here, depending on the gauge and type catch (some are quite shallow), this might cause splash out from one catch to the other in heavier events. My RW and Stratus are about six inches apart just for this reason.

Offline Mattk

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #76 on: November 06, 2022, 05:01:31 PM »
Bonjour ,

Ici en France le mono auget métrique  ,je le calibre à 4.05 ml pour 0.2 mm , j'ai testé un mono auget inch , je le calibre à 3.9 ml pour 0.254 mm (convertit de 0.01 inch)

The amount to tip an imperial gauge (0.01") will be larger than the amount to tip a 0.2mm metric tipper. It is also recommended to physically measure the cone diameter as there can be slight variations Example a typical older style Davis cone is "around" 164.2mm, some Aerocone are around 165.8mm which induces a slight difference before a calibration check.

Using  the Aerocone @ 165.80mm then a 0.2mm tipper/spoon tips at 4.32ml, with a 0.01" tipper/spoon requires 5.58ml     

Offline TMThomson

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #77 on: November 06, 2022, 07:24:53 PM »
CW2274,

[/quote]Davis's rain gauge has always been a weak point. Several of us here use this. It's hands down a superior tipper on paper, and in actual use. It can be hardwired to the ISS just like the stock tipper and behaves the same.

https://rainwise.com/wired-rain-gauge
[/quote]

How easily does this wire into the Davis ISS? Is it a simple plugin?

Offline CW2274

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #78 on: November 06, 2022, 07:34:59 PM »
How easily does this wire into the Davis ISS? Is it a simple plugin?
If you can plug in a phone jack and twist two wires together, you're good to go. Not only, you can place the RW bucket wherever you want apart from the ISS should you choose. BTW, I notice on the RainWise site, they say two accuracy are available, one 5%, the other 2%. No idea how this is supposed to work, all I've ever seen is 2%.

Offline TMThomson

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #79 on: November 06, 2022, 09:20:42 PM »
How easily does this wire into the Davis ISS? Is it a simple plugin?
If you can plug in a phone jack and twist two wires together, you're good to go. Not only, you can place the RW bucket wherever you want apart from the ISS should you choose. BTW, I notice on the RainWise site, they say two accuracy are available, one 5%, the other 2%. No idea how this is supposed to work, all I've ever seen is 2%.

Thank you!

If I don't get the desired results w/the Davis tipper after a few adjustments, I'll go with the RW option next spring.

Offline TMThomson

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #80 on: November 22, 2022, 08:27:26 PM »
This is a quick guide to the new tipping spoon assembly for the VP2.  I've started this as a separate thread so as to make the information easy to find.
Firstly this is not a "how-to" for calibrating a rain gauge, merely how to adjust the spoon especially as it seems Davis think you can't do it.

The spoon assembly is essentially a larger version of the one used in the Vantage Vue ISS

The spoon assembly
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The reed switch - sealed unlike the old type but with the same pin-out
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The magnet and adjusting screw, the closer the screw end is to the magnet the more water it takes to tip the spoon
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Remove this screw and the spoon mechanism comes away from the base
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The adjustment screw on the underside of the mechanism, turn anti-clockwise to reduce the amount of water before the spoon tips (increase rainfall sensitivity) and clockwise for the reverse.
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Fifth Horseman-
This adjustment seems to be very effective. I have my readings to +10% (As opposed to the +43% I started with) I would be making further adjustments, but the cold weather has set in. Will probably have to make some final tweeks in spring. Thank you for this valuable information!

Offline ocala

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #81 on: May 29, 2023, 07:37:03 AM »
Reviving an old thread.
Bought the new Davis spoon tipper back in March. I had installed a Rainwise but it developed communication issues so I got rid of it. I was waiting for a heavy rain event to see how it compared to the coco which is mounted at the same height about 8 inches away. Leading up to that the new Davis was pretty close for moderate rain. Here is the comparison for the month of May for the days I received rain.
Davis .08  Coco .08
Davis .21  Coco .22
Davis .42  Coco .40
Davis .61  Coco.57
Davis .36  Coco.35
Davis  2.21  Coco 2.09  Rain Rate 9 inches
Davis .05  Coco .05
Davis  2.17  Coco 2.07  Rain Rate 8.86 inches
The 2.21 rain event had several minutes of horizontal rain as it was very windy.
The 2.17 event was a downpour with no wind.
Overall I'm happy. The old Davis would vastly under report in heavy rain. While the bias is to over report I am reluctant to make any adjustments. I know people in this thread have had issues. This bucket was bought in March. Maybe Davis did some adjustments to address that. 
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Offline Dj1225

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #82 on: May 30, 2023, 12:35:40 AM »
Reviving an old thread.
Bought the new Davis spoon tipper back in March. I had installed a Rainwise but it developed communication issues so I got rid of it. I was waiting for a heavy rain event to see how it compared to the coco which is mounted at the same height about 8 inches away. Leading up to that the new Davis was pretty close for moderate rain. Here is the comparison for the month of May for the days I received rain.
Davis .08  Coco .08
Davis .21  Coco .22
Davis .42  Coco .40
Davis .61  Coco.57
Davis .36  Coco.35
Davis  2.21  Coco 2.09  Rain Rate 9 inches
Davis .05  Coco .05
Davis  2.17  Coco 2.07  Rain Rate 8.86 inches
The 2.21 rain event had several minutes of horizontal rain as it was very windy.
The 2.17 event was a downpour with no wind.
Overall I'm happy. The old Davis would vastly under report in heavy rain. While the bias is to over report I am reluctant to make any adjustments. I know people in this thread have had issues. This bucket was bought in March. Maybe Davis did some adjustments to address that.

I went back into an old thread about the tipping spoon when I first installed mine in the summer of 2020, and posted my results. This was July 22-26 2020 on the Mississippi Coast on the wet side of Tropical Storm Hanna, and my results from back then basically mirror yours now. So maybe Davis did actually address the rainfall issue. I also have a rainwise rain gauge wired to work with the VP2, but I have been so satisfied with the results over the last few years I haven't swapped it out.
 
7/22 VP2 0.83"   Coco 0.81"

7/23 VP2 0.20"   Coco 0.18"

7/24 VP2 1.51"   Coco 1.48"

7/25 VP2 2.22"   Coco 2.16" (rain rate 9.00/hr)

7/26 VP2 0.71"   Coco 0.68"

Offline tractorganic

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #83 on: June 03, 2023, 08:49:53 PM »
I'm sending my VP2 and ISS in to Davis for repair, calibration and upgrades including this new single spoon. Do you think they'll hard wire the spoon in like Iv'e read about here and do any calibration and/or testing? If I say pretty please?

Offline WheatonRon

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #84 on: June 03, 2023, 09:03:09 PM »
I'm sending my VP2 and ISS in to Davis for repair, calibration and upgrades including this new single spoon. Do you think they'll hard wire the spoon in like Iv'e read about here and do any calibration and/or testing? If I say pretty please?

They should but the Davis website states all of their products are made in the USA, but we know that statement is incorrect. What does Davis currently charge for this service?
Davis VP2 with SHT31 (3 complete VP2 systems—2 with a daytime fan and 1 that has a 24 hour fan); CWOP--CW5020, FW3075 and FW4350; WU--KILWHEAT17, KILWHEAT36 and KILWHEAT39; WeatherCloud.net; CoCoRaHS--IL-DP-132; and Weatherlink 2.0

Offline Garth Bock

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #85 on: June 03, 2023, 09:11:08 PM »
I'm sending my VP2 and ISS in to Davis for repair, calibration and upgrades including this new single spoon. Do you think they'll hard wire the spoon in like Iv'e read about here and do any calibration and/or testing? If I say pretty please?

The new spoon just plugs in like the older see-saw tipper. Not sure what you mean about it being "Hardwired In". If you are referring to an earlier comment
Quote
If you can plug in a phone jack and twist two wires together, you're good to go. Not only, you can place the RW bucket wherever you want apart from the ISS should you choose.
.. it was referring to replacing the Davis bucket with a Rainwise bucket.

Offline CW2274

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #86 on: June 03, 2023, 09:25:39 PM »
I'm sending my VP2 and ISS in to Davis for repair, calibration and upgrades including this new single spoon. Do you think they'll hard wire the spoon in like Iv'e read about here and do any calibration and/or testing? If I say pretty please?

The new spoon just plugs in like the older see-saw tipper. Not sure what you mean about it being "Hardwired In". If you are referring to an earlier comment
Quote
If you can plug in a phone jack and twist two wires together, you're good to go. Not only, you can place the RW bucket wherever you want apart from the ISS should you choose.
.. it was referring to replacing the Davis bucket with a Rainwise bucket.
Sorry, I don't identify as an "it". I'll deal with those repercussions later. I still go by "one hell of an awesome dude."  ;)  UU

Offline WheatonRon

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #87 on: June 03, 2023, 09:39:04 PM »
I'm sending my VP2 and ISS in to Davis for repair, calibration and upgrades including this new single spoon. Do you think they'll hard wire the spoon in like Iv'e read about here and do any calibration and/or testing? If I say pretty please?

After reading the replies since I posted about 30 minutes ago, I don’t understand what you want Davis to do. If you are asking them to attach a Rainwise gauge to the Davis setup—absolutely not. That would be like asking a BMW dealership to use a Volvo air cleaner in your BMW in for maintenance because you “like it better.”  Please clarify what you are asking them to do.
« Last Edit: June 03, 2023, 11:30:40 PM by WheatonRon »
Davis VP2 with SHT31 (3 complete VP2 systems—2 with a daytime fan and 1 that has a 24 hour fan); CWOP--CW5020, FW3075 and FW4350; WU--KILWHEAT17, KILWHEAT36 and KILWHEAT39; WeatherCloud.net; CoCoRaHS--IL-DP-132; and Weatherlink 2.0

Offline Mattk

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #88 on: June 03, 2023, 11:02:38 PM »
.... Do you think they'll hard wire the spoon in like Iv'e read about here and do any calibration and/or testing? ....

Some clarification required for this one

Offline Garth Bock

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #89 on: June 03, 2023, 11:29:29 PM »
@ CW2274 "Sorry, I don't identify as an "it""

I never called you an "it" . I placed the quote in the middle of the sentence. The sentence without the quote was...

"If you are referring to an earlier comment, it was referring to replacing a Davis bucket with a Rainwise bucket" .

That is what I said. There was no reference of you being an IT. Also the Davis rain bucket plugs into the ISS transmitter. Not sure what you mean about hardwiring it in.

Offline CW2274

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #90 on: June 03, 2023, 11:46:30 PM »
Sigh... should have known better. I thought my obvious sarcasm and the emoji thingies would have confided my intent of trying to be humorous. Guess not.

As far as "hard-wiring", there, I was trying to convey that the RW bucket would plug in the same as the Davis bucket. Once again, obviously, didn't fly.

 

Offline ocala

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #91 on: June 04, 2023, 10:07:49 AM »
@ CW2274 "Sorry, I don't identify as an "it""

I never called you an "it" . I placed the quote in the middle of the sentence. The sentence without the quote was...

"If you are referring to an earlier comment, it was referring to replacing a Davis bucket with a Rainwise bucket" .

That is what I said. There was no reference of you being an IT. Also the Davis rain bucket plugs into the ISS transmitter. Not sure what you mean about hardwiring it in.
Garth CW2274 is really Cousin it from the Addams family. He just moonlights on here as a weather geek. :-)
« Last Edit: June 04, 2023, 10:09:56 AM by ocala »
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Offline Jim_49

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #92 on: June 07, 2023, 12:15:23 PM »
@ CW2274 - I thought you were damn humorous.

Offline CW2274

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #93 on: June 07, 2023, 07:22:45 PM »
Sometimes conveyance can be difficult without a real face/inflection attached, emoji thingies or not.  #-o

Offline Brewer55

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #94 on: September 10, 2023, 02:38:16 PM »
Did you ever get a resolution to the rain gauge accuracy? Were you able to make the adjustments that are discussed in this thread.
I'm having the same issue. We got a lot of rain last night. My Davis Vantage Pro2 spoon dipper gauge clocked in .76". A simple tubular rain gauge showed a 1" total.

Offline Mattk

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #95 on: September 10, 2023, 04:40:25 PM »
The difference between 0.76" & 1" has all the hallmarks of an incorrect configuration? There appears an imperial/metric cross over in that?

Offline Brewer55

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #96 on: September 10, 2023, 04:48:20 PM »
Forgive me but, I'm not sure I understand. I was not aware that these spoon tipping units could be configured. I just looked at it again and everything appears to be sealed within the unit. Can you elaborate? Thanks.

Offline johnd

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #97 on: September 10, 2023, 05:02:20 PM »
Davis rain gauge tippers are manufactured in 2 increments - 0.01" and 0.2mm.

The console and and linked software have no way of knowing which increment your gauge is fitted with (the console simply counts the number of tips that the tipper has made) and so this increment must be specified in the setup of both console and software.

In the US the default tipper size will be 0.01" (unless you specified or were supplied with an 'M' model). Outside the US the default is typically 0.2mm. So you need to:

1. Check the increment of your tipper. (There's usually a small sticker somewhere on or adjacent to the tipper)

2. Ensure that the console is set to the correct increment for your actual tipper and, separately, that any software is also similarly correctly configured.

NB This is nothing to do with whatever units of measure you choose to display your rainfall data in. You can have a 0.2mm tipper and display in inches with high accuracy or vice versa. We're talking about the setting for the tipper increment.

If the increment is incorrectly set then this will immediately give an error of 20-25% in measured rainfall.
« Last Edit: September 10, 2023, 05:12:49 PM by johnd »
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Sorry, but I don't usually have time to help with individual issues by email unless you are a Prodata customer. Please post your issue in the relevant forum section here & I will comment there if I have anything useful to add.

Offline Mattk

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Re: Tipping spoon (new type) - adjusting
« Reply #98 on: September 10, 2023, 05:09:53 PM »
They come in metric (0.2mm/tip) & Imperial (0.01"/tip) version,that's a relationship/factor of 127 or around 78.7% so you can see the relationship to a measured .76" compared to 1"

Davis rain data is read and stored as a number of tips and converted to an amount of rain relative to rain factor configured in the console or WeatherLink.com etc