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Author Topic: WMR968 Anemometer Freezing and Paint....  (Read 2945 times)

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Offline weather_nc

  • Posts: 145
  • Raleigh, NC
    • Fuquay Weather
WMR968 Anemometer Freezing and Paint....
« on: January 17, 2007, 07:27:06 PM »
Well, even with Rain-X on the anemometer, may father's WMR968 still froze up and even 15 mph wind gusts aren't freeing it up with temps remain several degrees C below freezing.  My question is whether painting or using a permanent marker to colour the anemometer BLACK would help, especially when there is full-on sunshine on the anemometer currently.  I still can't understand why the anemometer is white and not black like the Davis one.

You would expect this would help warm the plastic slightly and help free things up.  I can't see an issue with respect to accuracy as long as the paint is applied lightly and equally in the area of the central rotating area.

I even thought that would assist if he were to mount a 100W heatlamp on the support pole that could be plugged in whenever this happens to warm up the area...
Ideas?  Comments?

Offline HobbyTalk

  • Posts: 719
  • Kalamazoo, MI
    • Kalamazoo Weather
Re: WMR968 Anemometer Freezing and Paint....
« Reply #1 on: January 17, 2007, 07:34:35 PM »
What I have been meaning to try but can't find one to buy is a Super Soaker fulled with slightly warmed windshield washer fluid (with anti-freeze). I figure I could give it a few good shots with the Super Soaker and maybe thaw it out but there is not a Super Soaker to be found in the stores.

Offline sidthekid

  • Posts: 46
Re: WMR968 Anemometer Freezing and Paint....
« Reply #2 on: January 17, 2007, 09:41:29 PM »
Wow! Now that's really thinking outside the box.....
If you don't like the weather, stick around, it'll change.....

Offline niko

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Re: WMR968 Anemometer Freezing and Paint....
« Reply #3 on: January 17, 2007, 10:10:15 PM »
Amazon has them. It's a great idea, but just watch out for the neighbors, getting nailed by a stream of warm, ammonia scented, liquid would spoil anyone's day  :wink:

Offline sloweather

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Re: WMR968 Anemometer Freezing and Paint....
« Reply #4 on: January 17, 2007, 10:18:27 PM »
The supersoaker and warm water idea was recently posted somewhere else, maybe Ambient.

Where's your water heater in relation to the unit? (Or a laundry sink with the right faucet set with hose threads on the spigot.) If you have a long enough hose, hook up to the drain valve on the tank and blast the ice off with hot water. Just drain the hose afterward so it doesn't freeze.

Or, get some windshield washer nozzles, a windshield washer pump and something to power it, and some aquarium tubing and tees. Affix the nozzles to anemometer. Run the tube down the mast. With any luck, it's on your house and you can run the tubing inside.

Hook up the pump. Whenever you need to deice, heat a jug of washer fluid in the microwave, drop the pump tube in, and fire up the pump.

Or make a cheap hairdryer weatherproof, and mount it up there on an extension cord and plug it in when it freezes.

Or, strap a 1.5" or 2" plastic pipe to the mast and feed the hot air up it as needed. Might have to make a ring diffuser at the top to heat the circumference.

Or (this one might actually work ;) ) wrap the non rotating parts of the unit with heat tape for gutters, run the cable down the mast, and plug it in as necessary. I used to have some cut-it-to-length heat tape that was resistive across the core that would have been perfect for this. 

SLOweather Chris

Offline weatheroz

  • Brendan
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  • Logan Village, Queensland, Australia
    • Logan Village Weather
Re: WMR968 Anemometer Freezing and Paint....
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2007, 10:44:07 PM »

Or, get some windshield washer nozzles, a windshield washer pump and something to power it, and some aquarium tubing and tees. Affix the nozzles to anemometer. Run the tube down the mast. With any luck, it's on your house and you can run the tubing inside.

Hook up the pump. Whenever you need to deice, heat a jug of washer fluid in the microwave, drop the pump tube in, and fire up the pump.


Fortunately we don't have such issues over here. :)

But extending that old idea of mine, you can usually pick up a 12v 7A gell battery for not a lot of money that you can use to power the windshield washer pump, so it wouldn't matter if you have the anemometer above the roof of your house or on a pole out in the backyard, you could easily walk out there with your container of warm water and battery to drive the pump without too much effort, unlike dragging a 12v transformer with you everytime.

Obviously the areas which have these freezing issues might get several days of waking up to a frozen anemometer, so to make it quicker and easier, this might be the best option, as these batteries are small enough to sit inside at room temperature whilst charging, and when taken outside to do the job, they would still be running at full capacity, i.e. you get reduced output from a battery when it is really cold.


Aquarium airline tubing whilst cheap, is not UV tolerant, although I'm sure you'll get a few years out of it before it perishes, but drip sprinkler tubing is UV tolerant so for the difference in price it would be well worth it if this was your plan of attack.

Offline niko

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Re: WMR968 Anemometer Freezing and Paint....
« Reply #6 on: January 17, 2007, 10:59:28 PM »
I would be concerned whether a windshield washer pump can develop enough head?

Offline weather_nc

  • Posts: 145
  • Raleigh, NC
    • Fuquay Weather
Re: WMR968 Anemometer Freezing and Paint....
« Reply #7 on: January 17, 2007, 11:11:37 PM »
Well, so far it sounds like painting is probably not a consideration.  In this case, with the Anemometer mounted on the chimney, I think the hot air option might work although the hose diameter at the anemometer would have to be fairly small to not interfere with the wind or anemometer direction vane.

Mount a 2" diameter pipe up the chimney and then reduce the diameter to maybe 1" or less along the arm to the anemometer assembly.

Offline weatheroz

  • Brendan
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  • Logan Village, Queensland, Australia
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Re: WMR968 Anemometer Freezing and Paint....
« Reply #8 on: January 17, 2007, 11:24:30 PM »
I would be concerned whether a windshield washer pump can develop enough head?

Maybe, maybe not.

Perhaps if one pump can't do it by itself, then maybe a second one within range of the first one to 'boost' it ?

As I said before, we don't experience these conditions here, otherwise I would've given it a shot myself by now. :)

Offline Weather Display

  • Posts: 64,498
Re: WMR968 Anemometer Freezing and Paint....
« Reply #9 on: January 17, 2007, 11:44:09 PM »
where we live here, on a bit of a hill top, i have not even recorded a frost yet.... been here 3 years now :wink:

Offline kv-swe

  • Posts: 282
  • Sweden
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Re: WMR968 Anemometer Freezing and Paint....
« Reply #10 on: January 18, 2007, 04:12:19 PM »
Hi
Here is a easy fix for frozen vind vanes/anemometers:  :D OS, Lacrosse and others.

I used the bottom of a soft plastic bottle and cut a hole in it and pushed in on the anemometer.
When time and weather allows i will take it down and make a new one that looks/fits better  :oops:
It works fine like this, it's just ugly to look at  :roll:

 :) Krister

Offline Weather Display

  • Posts: 64,498
Re: WMR968 Anemometer Freezing and Paint....
« Reply #11 on: January 18, 2007, 09:29:54 PM »
thats the idea....a skirt  :wink:
(which a davis station has)

Offline wxwise

  • Posts: 17
  • Dorchester, Ontario, Canada
    • Weather Wise Instruments
Re: WMR968 Anemometer Freezing and Paint....
« Reply #12 on: December 25, 2007, 07:12:31 PM »
The skirt is a really good idea. I have a WMR968 and it has been raining and then freezing here constantly for the last couple of weeks. This always makes my anemometer freeze, during large wind gust, too. I am getting really frustrated as when we get a storm it never works. I was wondering how about you make the skirt so the rain can drip off and not freeze. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Doug
Weather Wise Instruments
www.wxwise.com

Offline derrylynne

  • Posts: 135
  • Cwmparc, South Wales, UK
    • Cwmparc weather
Re: WMR968 Anemometer Freezing and Paint....
« Reply #13 on: December 26, 2007, 02:26:46 PM »
Davis made a skirt to fit to their Pro2 to stop freezing, so obviously is an ideal solution. Just a case of not lettting the water get where it can freeze and cause the problems. We have had 14 air frosts here this month and have had no problems with the Davis I have....

Offline jds

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  • John
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    • Jamestown, Pa. Weather
Re: WMR968 Anemometer Freezing and Paint....
« Reply #14 on: December 27, 2007, 03:59:44 PM »
Excellant topic with excellant ideals. While recently out of town ours froze up. The lady of the house couldnt hit it with the soaker. She usually has a good aim. But then thats with a wet cloth.
Wishes for a Good New Year to all.

John
John Souders
Jamestown,Pa.

 

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