Topic: New Escali scale test measurement vs. tube catch

[ValentineWeather]

It wasn't on the Tree scale but the Escall which had more time to get to room temperature repeatability was good. I'm measuring inside. I'm not touching the 8" SRG until after the snow stops. Very big and bulky plus I only have the one gauge I would lose catch if I brought it in.

[ValentineWeather]

3.3 inches so far the gauge is pretty accurate from my measurements because snow is heavier than the arctic type snows last winter with temperature at 27 degrees and no drifting. I'm getting around 11:1 ratio.

[miraculon]

I have noticed that pouring the liquid water into the measuring tube results in a slightly lower measurement than the weighing method indicates.

For example, today the weighing method resulted in 15g which represents 0.07" of precipitation. It was all rain and not frozen, so I poured this into the inner cylinder. At first I got about 0.05"+. I scraped the sides of the outer cylinder with a plastic spoon which brought it to 0.06".

There were a number of droplets still in the gauge, despite my scraping. When I weighed the outer cylinder again, this "empty" gauge indicated 3g higher than the empty gauge number. This translates to 0.01". Adding this to the 0.06", I get a matching number of 0.07".

I sprayed my "third arm" funnel with the Plexus plastic spray, but I haven't sprayed the outer cylinders yet. I might do this to see if it reduces the amount of "Klingons". 

Otherwise I think that I will start measuring the "empty" cylinder with Klingons and add that difference in as well. I was surprised at how much the residual drops added up to. 

Greg H.

[zackdog]

I have noticed that pouring the liquid water into the measuring tube results in a slightly lower measurement than the weighing method indicates.

For example, today the weighing method resulted in 15g which represents 0.07" of precipitation. It was all rain and not frozen, so I poured this into the inner cylinder. At first I got about 0.05"+. I scraped the sides of the outer cylinder with a plastic spoon which brought it to 0.06".

There were a number of droplets still in the gauge, despite my scraping. When I weighed the outer cylinder again, this "empty" gauge indicated 3g higher than the empty gauge number. This translates to 0.01". Adding this to the 0.06", I get a matching number of 0.07".

I sprayed my "third arm" funnel with the Plexus plastic spray, but I haven't sprayed the outer cylinders yet. I might do this to see if it reduces the amount of "Klingons". 

Otherwise I think that I will start measuring the "empty" cylinder with Klingons and add that difference in as well. I was surprised at how much the residual drops added up to. 

Greg H.

I, too, noticed this yesterday, but it didn't hit me until I dried the cylinder.  This morning I was going to check the "klingons" but we had no snow yesterday.  It was -5° F when I went out to check the gauge and I noticed lots of frost on the cylinder so I took it in and let it melt.  I have always thought the frost was only on the outside, but after it had melted and I wiped it down, there was moisture on the inside.  I weighed the cylinder and found there was 1 g of water from frost.  Interesting.

Mark

[ValentineWeather]

With all the snow recently I found the warm water method to be just as quick and easy. The scales just don't have good repeatability of empty cylinder weight. It works but found between doing the math and weighing each cylinder empty after weighing contents was taking longer than just doing the snow melt method. The idea for me was to make it go faster but its not.

[miraculon]

With all the snow recently I found the warm water method to be just as quick and easy. The scales just don't have good repeatability of empty cylinder weight. It works but found between doing the math and weighing each cylinder empty after weighing contents was taking longer than just doing the snow melt method. The idea for me was to make it go faster but its not.

I weighed each cylinder that I used empty (and dry!) and labeled each with my Brother labeller.

I created an Excel spreadsheet with a separate column for each cylinder's empty weight (mass). I just measure the "with snow" amount and plug it into the spreadsheet, and it calculates the liquid amount in inches.

My Escali scale repeats well when I put the 500g calibration weight on it. As I mentioned previously, I preheat the scale before I measure. (Escali advises not to use below 40°F).

Greg H.

[ValentineWeather]

I'll try it again. I weighed both cylinders and found one at 461 grams the other at 455. I did as you did with marker labeled the empty weight. I should of checked them prior, my bad for not.

[zackdog]

Had .1" of snow overnight.  Using the weight method, the SWE was .005"; using the melt method it was -.01".  The "klingons do make a difference.  When I weighed the cylinder with "klingons" it showed .015" of water which, when added to the melt amount, would yield the same amount as the weighing method.

I plan to continue using both methods for a while, but am leaning toward the weighing method as my primary method.

Mark