What are tipping bucket rain gauges?

A tipping bucket rain gauge is one of the most standard sensor used for weather station applications. It is consists of a funnel that collects and channels the precipitation into a small seesaw-like container. After a pre-set amount of precipitation falls, the lever tips, dumping the collected water and sending an electrical signal.

Tipping bucket rain gauge function

The function of the tipping bucket rain gauge sensor is generally divided into the rain port part and the metering part. The instrument collects rain through the rain-bearing part, enters the tipping bucket in the measuring part for measurement, and outputs a measurable physical quantity signal.
The standard tipping bucket rain gauges on the weather station have an inner diameter of φ200mm for the rain-bearing opening, and the edge of the rain-bearing opening is blade-shaped, and the blade angle should be within the range of 40°~45°. Use anti-shock stainless steel material to prevent long-term use and deformation. The inner wall is smooth and free of blisters. Defects such as burrs, bruises, and leakage. The depth of the inner wall of the rain-bearing vent should not be less than 100mm to ensure that the rainwater entering the rain-bearing vent will not splash out.

If you have questions about buying a rain gauge, you can consult our professional technicians How Does A Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge Work?
The error caused by the tipping bucket measurement is the tipping bucket measurement error, and the error is calculated according to the formula below, and the test condition is indoor manual dripping.

Tipping bucket rain gauge calculations

How to calibrate tipping bucket rain gauge?

In order to facilitate customer operation and reduce customer troubles during installation and use. Renke’s engineers designed the rain gauge calibration method to be very simple and easy to operate. After you receive the rain gauges, first unscrew the three screws at the bottom of the device, remove the stainless steel outer cylinder, and cut off the cable tie that secures the tipping bucket (as the picture shows). When the dome nut is kept in an unlocked state, just use two hands to adjust the height of the nut in the red circle to make the bubble in the horizontal bubble centered, then lock the dome nut (as the picture shows), check again, and Adjust whether the bubble of the horizontal bubble on the tipping bucket bracket is in the middle position. Then install the outer cylinder, the calibration of the rain gauge is completed.