any other application querying your WS3910 ?

What about a method where a phototransistor is used to count drops from a calibrated orifice as they interrupt the light from an LED?

It seems to me it would get all intensities accurately in volume with possibly slight delay in totalling up extreme volumes.

No moving parts. Sure to be easily coded and calibrated as direct replacement for tippers.

Maybe a bit smaller orifice than say what is in a Davis bucket. If the orifice is too big, during light rain events, water can run down the face without making a drop. Not an issue for tipper as it all collects in the little bucket.

A "pipe cleaner" or something once a day to keep orifice shiny clean would be required for accuracy.

June was...
   Warmer than average (77.61°F versus an average of 76.98)
   Wetter than average (5.67 in versus an average total of 3.68)
   Windier than average (a wind run of 552 miles versus an average of 486)

7/14/2025 Update


Introducing a Brand New Interactive Page for Hurricane Tracking:


Cyclone-Peek, Track Tropical Cyclones all over the world!


Visit it here: https://jessewx2011.github.io/Milton-Weather-Page/cyclone-peek/


Report any bugs/issues on this topic! Visit the Milton Weather Dashboard at https://jessewx2011.github.io/Milton-Weather-Page/, or lookup "Milton Weather Dashboard"

Most here are probably aware of the accuracy issues involved with tipping bucket rain gauges. They often have an accuracy range of +/- several percent, which varies based on rain rate. Even with proper calibration, they don't quite hold up to the accuracy of a manual Stratus gauge and are thus not approved for CoCoRahs. Yet the tipping bucket is still the standard in electronic, automated stations (unless you're willing to pay several thousand dollars)..

I'm trying to think of ways to create an automated rain gauge on a reasonable budget that would scrap the tipping buckets for something that's more precise (ie. something that mimics the accuracy of a manual Stratus gauge).

One option that comes to mind is a Weight-Based Method:

Water has a very specific weight and many actually derive their rain totals by placing their manual Stratus gauge on a kitchen scale (If I remember correctly, for the 4" Stratus, each inch of rain = 200.8 grams water weight)...

It's quite easy to replicate a fairly accurate kitchen scale by getting a load cell and HX711 chip and connecting to a Raspberry PI. Unfortunately, you can't just waterproof this homemade kitchen scale, sit it out in the yard with a stratus gauge on top and remotely monitor the weight. The reason being, is load cells suffer from what's known as "creep". That is, the load cell quickly starts to deform after a load is placed on it causing values to start drifting, even if there's no actual change in weight. You initially get precision accuracy, but the values change a fraction of a percent every few minutes that the load is present. Also, temperature and humidity changes in the outdoor environment will cause the values to drift.

About the only work around I can think of would be using a script (ie. Python) to frequently activate the tare function (ie. reset the scale to zero) before your measurements start to drift, then having the script add the values before each tare since midnight to get your daily total. Would take a bit of trial and error to determine just how frequently it would need to tare (every 5 minutes? 30 minutes? hour?)

Next, to make it fully automatic, there would need to be a way for the gauge to empty itself at set time intervals. One method that comes to mind is to build your own rain collection bucket with funnels on top and bottom. Perhaps 2 differing size PVC pipes for the outer and inner shells and auto oil changing funnels. Then put drain tubes with a solenoid on each funnel (top funnel drain with a normally open solenoid and the bottom with a normally closed solenoid)....In normal state, rain pours through the top funnel solenoid into the collection area and the bottom funnel solenoid holds it in. During the emptying phase, voltage is sent to the solenoids so that the bottom one opens (allowing the collected water to drain) while the top solenoid closes (so that if rain is still currently falling, it temporarily gets held in the top funnel while the bottom is emptying). After a reasonable amount of time for drainage, the voltage cuts off returning the solenoids to normal state (the bottom closes and the top opens up to allow rain in as well as any rain that may have collected in the top funnel during emptying)

Diagram:

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On the next image, areas outlined in blue is what gets weighed:

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During the weighing process, the collected rain would be like this:

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And during the emptying phase:

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I'm also researching other options besides weight-based. Perhaps something like an ultrasonic sensor to measure collected water depth (though could be issues with splashing/waves during rain and accuracy range of the sensor may require a very large entrance diameter so that there's enough depth difference between each hundredth of an inch)...Or something that could float on top of the water level to measure the depth? Maybe an arm connected to this floating device that changes angle as the water level increases and a potentiometer that changes as the arm angle changes (think similarly to how digital wind vanes determine wind direction)...

Would be interested in hearing your thoughts on how to improve these ideas and other methods I've not mentioned. This isn't exactly rocket science; It's measuring water in a container. There's got to be ways to automate the process accurately and affordably.