Weather Station Maintenance
Each sensor that makes up a weather station requires a bit of regular maintenance order to continue to report accurate data. The manufacturer should provide a manual with recommendations on how to best clean and maintain your weather station.
Here are some general guidelines that may help you:
For temperature humidity sensors, dust off any dirt or debris that may have amassed on the solar radiation shield at least once a week. Ice and snow that accumulate during winter also need to be removed.
Anemometers, the wind sensors, must be inspected and cleaned, and the bearings lubricated at least once annually. To ensure the accuracy of the directional wind data, check that the wind vane is oriented properly and adjust it if you need to. In winter, be careful with trying to remove ice as the plastic of the sensor can easily break at very low temperatures. It is usually best to simply let the ice melt by itself or bring the sensor inside where it is warmer. Most of the year, you don’t have to perform any maintenance unless you notice that it stops rotating freely during light winds. In that case, you must closely examine and probably clean it. If the problem persists, you may need to contact the manufacturer as the issue might be a case of bad bearings.
The primary issue with rain gauges is that the funnel can be clogged by dirt, debris, or even birds’ nests, and must be checked frequently. Thoroughly clean both this and the tipping bucket, if your model of rain gauge has one, with water and a mild detergent. Check underneath the sensor as well, but be wary of any potentially dangerous insects that may be living under it.
Solar radiation and UV light sensors should be inspected more frequently. Their lenses and/or covers need to be cleansed of any dirt, dust, or debris that accumulates.
Maintaining the power sources of your weather station sensors is extremely important as failure to do so may result in an interruption in data collection for the entire weather station. For solar powered units, it is a necessity that the solar panels be kept clean. For battery powered units, consult the manufacturer’s recommendations on battery replacement, but consider replacing the batteries slightly more often. This would help ensure that there is always a strong connection between the sensors and the indoor console.
Keep in mind that different types of batteries may perform better at different times of the year. During winter, for instance, when the temperature may remain below freezing for extended periods of time, using lithium batteries is ideal because they function much better at low temperatures than alkaline batteries. Those are known to lose power in the cold and even freeze. When they thaw, they will start working again, but obviously you do not want to have to wait for that.
On a side note, know that it is normal behavior for the LCD screens of remote sensors to fade when the temperature reaches -18C. Like alkaline batteries, they will resume working when the weather warms up again.