Mounting poles, masts and tripods
How you mount a weather station affects your readings more than which station you buy. An anemometer in turbulent air behind a roofline will under-read wind speed badly, and a temperature sensor bolted to a sunlit wall will over-read by several degrees. The hardware on this page exists to get sensors into clear air at a sensible height.
The range covers universal mounting pole kits that fit most brands, Davis-specific poles and tripods, ground and roof tripods, and radiation shields. For sensors, brackets and replacement parts, see sensors, spares and accessories.
Choosing a mounting method
There are four practical options, and the right one depends on what you are allowed to fix to and how high you need to get.
A wall or fascia-mounted pole is the most common domestic solution. It is quick, needs no groundwork, and a pole extending above the roofline gets the anemometer into cleaner air. The universal mounting pole kit covers this for most brands, and the Davis mounting pole kit is the matched fitting for Vantage Vue and Vantage Pro2 hardware.
Where the wall face is not usable, or the sensor needs to stand off from the building, the universal crank-shaped mounting pole kit offsets the sensor away from the structure. That offset matters: a sensor mounted flat against a wall sits in the wall's own microclimate, warmed all afternoon and shielded from wind on one side.
A ground tripod is the answer where you have open space and want the sensor at a standard measurement height rather than as high as possible. The Davis EZ-Mount tripod is available in a standard version and a version supplied with lag bolts for permanent in-ground mounting. HOBO weather station tripod kits are stocked in two-metre and three-metre heights for professional and research installations.
A roof tripod is the fourth option and gives the best wind exposure, but it needs safe access and secure fixing. If you are not confident working at height, use an installer — a station is not worth a fall.
How high should the anemometer go?
The meteorological standard for wind measurement is ten metres above open ground, which is not realistic at most houses. The practical rule is to get the anemometer at least a metre or two above the highest point of the roof, and as far as possible from chimneys, dormers, trees and neighbouring buildings.
The reason is turbulence rather than wind strength. Air flowing over a building breaks into eddies on the downwind side, and an anemometer sitting in that disturbed layer will read low and erratically no matter how good the sensor is. Height is the only fix. If a fully compliant position is impossible, that is fine — just be consistent, so your own readings remain comparable with each other over time.
Radiation shields
A radiation shield is a stack of white plates that lets air circulate around a temperature sensor while blocking direct and reflected sunlight. Without one, an outdoor temperature sensor in sunshine can read three to five degrees above true air temperature.
The Davis passive radiation shield for temperature sensors uses natural airflow between its plates and is the standard solution. It removes most of the error, though on a hot and completely still day a passive shield can still read slightly high. Fan-aspirated shields draw air through continuously and remove nearly all of it; those are supplied as part of complete Davis stations rather than separately, and you will find them on the Davis special deals and Davis Instruments pages.
The Davis universal shelter is the option to look at where you need to house a sensor or logger that did not come with its own enclosure.
Rain gauge siting
Rain gauges are the one sensor where height works against you. A gauge should sit level, roughly at waist height, in open ground, at a distance of at least twice the height of any nearby obstruction. Mounted on the same pole as the anemometer, high above a roof, it will under-catch in wind because raindrops are carried past the funnel rather than into it.
If you have to compromise, compromise on the rain gauge position rather than the anemometer, and keep it away from gutters, overhanging branches and anything that could drip into the funnel. See rain gauges for standalone instruments.
Cable, wireless and access
Wireless sensors save you cable runs but need line of sight and battery access. Before committing to a high mounting point, work out how you will reach the sensor again to change batteries — most people underestimate how often that matters, particularly in winter when alkaline cells fail in the cold. Lithium cells are worth the extra cost in any sensor you cannot easily reach.
Cabled installations avoid the battery problem entirely and suit the Davis Vantage Pro2, which separates the anemometer from the main sensor suite with cable as standard. Route cable so water runs away from entry points, not into them, and leave a drip loop before any hole through a wall.
Fittings and stock
Several items on this page, including the Davis tripods, the universal shelter and the passive radiation shield, are configured to order or held on variable stock. Call 01243 558280 for current availability and pricing, or if you would like us to check that a pole and bracket combination fits the station you already own.
Related ranges
For the stations themselves, see home weather stations or the professional weather station range. For Davis hardware specifically, see Davis Instruments and the Davis WeatherLink range. For sensors, brackets, batteries and replacement parts, see sensors, spares and accessories.