AcuRite 01517RM Wireless Weather Station

[Lee Schierer]

I have an AcuRite 01517RM Wireless Weather Station with a rain gauge and I noted yesterday while we were getting a lot of rain that the rain gauge is not recording. Up until a few weeks ago the rain gauge was working. I suspect that a spider may be the culprit and its webbing has jammed the rain tipple inside the unit. Does anyone know how to remove a spider from inside? My station is mounted above the roof top on my detached garage and not accessible without a ladder, which I'm no longer comfortable working upon.

If I get the unit down is it possible to get inside without damaging the unit.

[Kev Williams]

I have an old rain gauge 'bucket' that simply pulls apart, but have no idea on how to get into yours, and FWIW the rain gauge on my Ambient Weather unit isn't working either- I'm suspecting wasps, they're horrible around here...

[Dick Adair]

I have a Davis weather station, and occasionally mine stops working. It's probably from trees or birds sitting on it doing their thing. The top cover or cone is removable. Mine is on a 16" post that I can take down. A few years ago I replaced the top with one that has spikes on it to keep birds from sitting on it. That stopped most of the problems. Mine is 22 years old and still works great.

[Ole Anderson]

I see no way to fix it without accessing it. I have basically the same gauge mounted 5' above my roof peak and have never had a problem in the 4 years I have been using it. I have another digital gauge that reads remarkably close to my rooftop unit, often within 2%. The anemometer however is another issue, always reads about 30-40% low in a wind storm.

[Roger Feeley]

I cleaned my Ambient Weather rain gauge yesterday. If you get up there, you should be able to remove a funnel on top to reveal a ‘tipper bucket’. The rain funnels down into this little bucket. When it’s full, it tips and dumps out the water. There’s a sensor that simply counts tips. In my cast a leaf had made its way into the bucket and lodged it into the dump position. It took about ten seconds to clean.

I too am not all that thrilled with messing with a ladder. I bet there are some amateur radio guys here that could suggest some way I can lower my sensor array from the ground. I attached my array to a 1.5” pole and mounted that on an outdoor play set. The bottom support is about 5’ off the ground and the upper support is about 8.5’. I would like the bottom support to be a bolt that would let me tip the pole down. I would like the upper support to be some sort of (kid proof) clevis pin. I can easily access the upper support with a step stool.

[Bill Dufour]

look at how a flagpole in mounted. Two vertical uprights with the pole between on a pin. Another pin lower down that can be removed to tip the pole down. Lots of steel plates bolted to the pole to balance the weight. Metal poles may have concrete in the lower 1/3.
Bill D.

[Roger Feeley]

Thanks Bill,
since I’m dealing with a kids play set as a foundation, I have some limitations, not the least of which is preventing and kids from laceration. I picked up som 2x2 angle iron and I’m going to make some brackets. I’ll round all the corners. It will swivel straight out from the bottom bracket. That should be ok.

i just realized in dealing with this thread and recently cleaning my sensor array that I should make access a whole lot more convenient. At the very least, I have to replace the backup batteries once a year or risk corrosion.

[Lisa Starr]

Lee- PM sent.

[Lee Schierer]

I came up with an idea. I definitely have to take down the weather station to determine the problem. Most likely what ever it is, assuming the electronics didn't quit, it will likely happen again. So here's the idea. Critiques are welcome.

I will get the station taken down. Who ever goes up the ladder will have the tools to take down the old one and a screw eye to place into one of the existing holes. Once I repair the rain gauge problem, the existing mounting pole will be attached to a 12 foot 2 x 4. Near the top of the 2 x4 will be an "L" shaped hook with the point down. I will raise the 1 x 4 with the weather station back in the air, placing the L hook into the previously installed screw eye. The bottom of the 2 x 4 will be securely attached to the side of the building near the ground with a bracket. Should the unit need servicing in the future, I can release the bottom of the 2 x 4 and lift the pin off the screw eye and lower the weather station to the ground. The power cord is long enough to accommodate this design.

Did I miss anything?

[Roger Feeley]

Lee, I think your best inspiration might come from the amateur radio folks.

My sensor array is on a 1.5” galvanized mast. I’m making a lower bracket from two 4” pieces of 2”x3”x1/8” angle iron. I bolt the angles to my grandsons play set and run a bolt through them and the mast so the mast can lower. The upper brackets are similar. I would use a clevis pin but two little boys would mess with it. A bolt with a lock nut is more in order.

[Lee Schierer]

Lee, I think your best inspiration might come from the amateur radio folks.

My sensor array is on a 1.5” galvanized mast.

I'm trying to not create a lightning attractor, hence the wood mast.

[Roger Feeley]

Gee, I didn’t think of lightning. I wonder if I have a problem. My installation isn’t ideal fo wind measurement. It’s about 20 feet from my 2 story house. It’s about 20 feet high. The galvanized conduit mast is attached to the side of of the wood play set. The legs of the play set are anchored in concrete for the zip line I plan to add. There’s a very old maple tree at least 50ft high nearby.

[Lee Schierer]

With the help of a neighbor, I got the weather station down and after testing it with some water, I proved that the rain gauge was not tipping back and forth. Upon examination, I found 4 screws that looked like they would separate the upper half from the lower portion. As soon as I got it opened, I could see a couple of threads of spider web holding the teeter otter in place. Once these webs were removed the teeter totter was free to move. I reassembled the unit and tested it successfully.

I had gathered all the materials needed for my new mount and started putting the pieces together. While we had the ladder up my neighbor had screwed the L Hook into one of the existing mounting holes for the weather station at the peak of the roof. I attached the original support pole with the weather station to the end of a 12 foot 2 x 4. I installed a screw eye about 2 feet down from the top of the 2 x 4 so that the bottom end would not interfere with the lawn mower going by. I secured the power wire to the top portion of the board so it wouldn't flop around in the wind. I had fabricated a Vee shaped piece of aluminum that would help guide the hook into the eye and attached it directly below the screw eye.

With everything ready, I carefully raised the assembly up high enough that the eye was slightly above the hook. The hook slid into place on the second attempt. I had fabricated a wood bracket to hold the bottom of the 2 x 4 away from the wall of the building, but some adjustments were needed to get the 2 x 4 perfectly vertical.

Here is the end result:
IMG_0712.jpg
Here is a closer view of the bottom bracket.
IMG_0714.jpg
Note the screw that is visible in the gap between the 2 x 4 and the angled piece of wood. This screw was put in intentionally so that true vertical could be adjusted. There are two other screws on the side of the 2 x 4 that you can't see for adjusting the other direction.

Thanks for your ideas.

[Bill Dufour]

I had a cheap outdoor wireless thermometer. It was kind of useless for me. The batteries failed above 100 and just above freezing. As the temperatures became more reasonable the batteries worked again.
Bil lD

[Roger Feeley]

I had a cheap outdoor wireless thermometer. It was kind of useless for me. The batteries failed above 100 and just above freezing. As the temperatures became more reasonable the batteries worked again.
Bil lD

LOL, Bill

Reminds me of an old 2 cycle snow blower than would only start in warm weather. If it snowed, we would bring it into the house to warm up. I got rid of that thing. Our current solution is a John Deere lawn tractor. In the summer, it's a 36" mower. In the winter, it's a 44" snow blower. It's a win-win all round. The engine gets run a few times in the winter and I don't have to deal with a winter-only snow blower.