Cumulus Support

Anyone ever devise some kind of heater for the Anemometer /Wind Vane?
My Anemometer froze up for the second time tonight. We are experiencing mega freezing rain.
A pain to climb the tower at night with driving rain. And yes I do have drip rings and the large cups on my Davis VP2.

A quick search reveals 'this' thread and the link to the site with the 'how to' is 'here'.

While this is not for a VP2 it may give you somewhere to start.

If your requirement doesn't have to be a heater some people here in the Mid-West US use a Super Soaker toy squirt gun that shoots a stream of liquid approximately 35 high. I can testify to it shooting 25 ft. I use RV anti-freeze which meets the GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) requirements. Of course the first word in that is "Generally" so there is still a decision to be made. Anyway, I cut loose on my anemometer last month when some light freezing rain immobilized it. Did the trick.

midcon07 wrote:..........some people here in the Mid-West US use a Super Soaker toy squirt gun that shoots a stream of liquid approximately 35 high. I can testify to it shooting 25 ft. ............

I think I'd pay to see that sport

Hi,

I've no experience with Davis stations so can't say if it would be possible to put a heater inside their sensor. It would be really easy to do with a Fine Offset sensor, but the fact that nobody seems to have reported success (or even tried? ) might be a clue.

The "heater" should be easy enough, just use a "watty" (usually wire-wound) resistor of a value to suit the available supply voltage. Alternatively, an "old school" incandescent (e.g. tungsten filiament) lamp, somewhat under-run on voltage can make an excellent heater.

The real issues are "How much heater power is required", "Where does the power come from" and "What controls it"? Melting ice needs lots of power so you probably need a wired system to a mains power supply (which might solve the other issues). But a thermostat would be wise if it can't be switched off manually (and you have the expertise).

Personally I wouldn't even consider "solar" powering, because of the probable unavailability of sufficent power when it's needed. But if you want to look at the possibilities, I suggest the WeatherDuino forum. Because it uses "off the shelf" Arduino controllers, it has far higher remote (external) power requirements than a "normal" station. However, its 1 watt (12v, 100 mA) supply is probably still much less than you'd need.

Cheers, Alan.

Thanks for the ideas.
Never thought about using "RICE" lights. Only need enough heat to keep the area a few degrees above freezing.
I like the idea of a super soaker with some safe anti freeze in it, but would be most difficult to use in the conditions that cause the freeze up to begin with. I have some rice lights around here that I will have to see just how much heat they can produce. Don't want to melt the plastic of the anemometer unit. I actually use some incandescent bulbs in my old weather station for the rain gauge during the winter time. Worked great, and I could run it off of a 12V wall wart.

Bob