[wxqc] Improving Rain Gauge Response Time

[Paul Grace]

The bottle my RainX comes in is rotary-blown polyethylene, and my rain guage
appears to be styrene, maybe a UV-treated PVC?  Rain-X will damage headlight
covers (Lexan, a polycarbonate) so I think it's risky to use Rain-X on it,
it would be likely to harden and crack over time.  But they are easy to
replace, so if it lasts in the sun in San Diego next year, then maybe
another email to the group would be great!  (You'll need to refinish the
RainX anyway)

-----Original Message-----
From: wxqc-bounces at lists.gladstonefamily.net
[mailto:wxqc-bounces at lists.gladstonefamily.net] On Behalf Of Victor Engel
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2007 19:28
To: dean at mevis.org; Discussion of weather data quality issues
Subject: Re: [wxqc] Improving Rain Gauge Response Time

Thanks for asking the question. I was wondering the very same thing some
time ago but haven't treated my gauge with Rain-X yet. It reacts negatively
with certain things (read the label), so I've been nervous about trying it
for that reason. Considering the container it's in, though, I most likely
have nothing to fear. Nevertheless, I wanted to do more research before
actually trying it.

By the way, what is your rain gauge made of? Rain-X, I believe, is designed
to bond to glass. Does it even bond to plastic?

On 3/9/07, dean at mevis.org <dean at mevis.org> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> I have noticed, and read others say that there is a delay between when 
> it actually starts raining and when your rain gage starts to register 
> some rain.  Apparently the issue is that the initial rain just sits on 
> the sides of the rain gauge until there is enough rain to break the 
> surface tension of the water and let it flow down to the tipping-bucket
mechanism.
>
>
>
> There is a product out on the market called RainX available at Auto 
> Parts stores.  It is used to keep your automobile windshield clear 
> during the rain.  I have used it on my car and found that water 
> immediately beads up and runs off of the windshield.  I don't 
> understand the chemistry of this product, but it apparently works by 
> making the water slide more easily off of your windshield.
>
>
>
> So it occurs to me that you can apply this product to your rain gauge 
> and it will make the rain slide right down into your tipping-bucket, 
> and you will see rain registered sooner.
>
>
>
> I have applied this product to my rain gauge.  However, I live in the 
> San Diego area and it only rains here about 3 times a year, so I have 
> not been able to see if makes a difference yet.
>
>
>
> Does anybody have any experience using this product or a similar 
> product on their rain gauge?  Does it make a difference?
>
>
>
> Is there anyone out there that lives in a rainy part of the country 
> that can give this a try and see if it makes a difference?
>
>
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