Weather Vane Proper Operation

Try putting it outside. That should help a lot. Of course, then you'll have to go outdoors to check the wind direction, which seems to defeat the purpose.

I just look out the window at my flag.

The steel rod on which it sits:

If you point it, will it hit a plate inside the tube? If yes, this action should help reduce friction quite a bit.

It looks like more of a yard ornament than a wind indicator, if that is the "stick in the ground" base on the table. Unless it's above the ground 20, or so, feet that's all it will be.

This "instrument" no doubt has a wind threshold below which it will not turn. Is it 5MPH, 10 or 20? How sensitive do you want it to be.

Surely you can find a precision bearing (skateboard) that you can adapt if you choose.

I do like it as a decoration.

Yes it comes with a ground mount rod, but that doesn't mean you have to use it....I'm considering where to mount it....I do have a flagpole...also an obsolete tv antennae on the roof....I'll need to be able to remove it in case of hurricane...I'm also considering repainting it, and also considering sealing it with some clear coat por15 I have....no hurry, could take a while for everything to gel....right now I'm considering all the different ideas I can gather....I'm thinking 5 mph is a good minimum speed to target....and perhaps 60 mph max....

I'm considering getting one for the top of my flagpole. There's a gold ball on top now. I had a whirly gig in the front yard but it got wrecked by a haboob.

Why would you re-paint it? Re-painting a "work of art" without the creator's permission is frowned upon in the art world. Clear coat, maybe. But patina is attained by natural weathering of the original surface finish. "Clear coat" will turn yellow after awhile anyway.

I like the wind cups.

I have an acquaintance who make artsy stuff. He makes quite a few of the Rooster sort-of 3D items SolarEagle has - fullforms, larger than life forms, whirligigs... all sorts of 'Urban Farm' decorations.

He really doesn't care if the weathervane doesn't spin or the anemometer isn't balanced quite right. His stuff is distinctly appearance over function.

I do think that pointing the pivot will allow it to rotate a little freeer more freely.

Voting with you, I think these are clever and appealing decorations - but, Doorman's Chick is hooked on rooster items, so that makes me hooked on rooster stuff too.

If the center of drag is behind the pivot point, it should work OK. You could maybe make it more responsive if you filed the top of the rod to a point to reduce friction.

You actually want 'some' friction/resistance so the Vane will "point" toward the predominant wind source direction and NOT respond to shifting breezy eddies and swirls.

Or, turn the thing upside-down and drop the ball in.

GA!

Yeah..that too.

I assumed that the rod with pivot was the bit that had to be driven into the ground, so considered that would not be so easy to do with the vane already on said rod, but there appears to be a separate section between the ground stake and the vane that would allow your suggestion to work better than mine with the grease.

Have ordered some 3/16" Delrin ball bearings to try....

I wonder if Yamdankee might offer a penny of his thoughts on how to secure this ball inside the end of a tube.

Nice idea, put a ball in there!

Why bother with a ball bearing when a healthy splat of thick grease will do the job?

If the wind is "light-to-variable", then why is the direction of travel of significant interest?

I just like to have things that work properly...

We have another subjective problem here. Things will work properly according to whom; the designer/artist/engineer, the marketer, the consumer or the neighbor. Also, were the criteria for proper functionality ever codified?

When and if I mount this proud bird outside, I want to be prepared with materials and various possible solutions to correct any perceived deficiencies in performance that make me dissatisfied with it's performance....

It's yard art. It only has to satisfy the consumer, unless you have an HOA.

Then, everybody on the block, and the HOA will have an opinion.

Grease tends to dry out over time and then the effect becomes the opposite of what was intended....I want a low maintenance solution,...if needed...

I did make the stipulation that the grease was there only to retain the ball in place until such time as the upper portion of the fitment were to be installed.

I would assume that a diligent operator would apply only sufficient to achieve that purpose with any surplus being removed so that it did not inaugurate an impediment.

It would be expected that no grease would remain on the upper surfaces of said bearing on which that magnificent bird is destined to roost, thus enabling him to circumvolve freely to keep his amply plumed derriere pointed resolutely towards either tempest or zephyr with no concerns of being hampered in his endeavours by desiccating lubricants.

Actually, "his amply plumed derriere" will be pointed opposite the tempest or zephyr, assuming the zephyr has sufficient force to turn the magnificent beast.

So, you're saying that the rooster will follow the meteorological convention of indicating the direction from whence the wind cometh?

Aye!

You are right. I was assuming (you know what that makes me) that the beak would point in the direction that the wind is blowing.

Never having had a cockerel weathervane, I was unaware of their specific function.

Simple perusal of the design should have informed me of my error.

Consider me suitably chastised.

Darn! I just ate my last wet noodle, so I can't whip you! Oh well, we ALL make mistakes...

Not meant to chastise, but to understand.

Growing up on the farm, I always was instinctively aware of the direction from which the wind blew. Something which sailors should always know too.

A west wind blew out of the west.

I've never given a second thought to a weather vane, so the question was valid. Do they point into the wind, or away?

I think I have just had an epiphany, but you can answer if you want to.

I'll confirm this when I mount my, just ordered, rooster (with wind cups) atop my flag pole.

I don't see what all the fuss is about here. The tail feathers of the bird (rooster?) silhouette have a larger area than the head and beak end. Thus this bird will always face into the wind. If the bearing point of this vane sticks too much then cleaning up whatever corrosion or debris exists. I don't like the idea of using grease on something difficult to service that you want to last a long time.

If you really wanted to over-engineer this problem one could measure the kinematic values of rotational friction, stiction and moment of inertia of this rooster and arrow. Then approximate the difference in the area of each side of rotation. Then locate that kinematics textbook you have on the shelf and identify the minimum wind speed needed for rotational motion, anticipated error versus wind velocity and any other attributes you might want to know.

Here's a great paint scheme....

None of your photos is directly normal to the plane of the bird, so it is difficult to tell if the centroid is behind the axis (which it must be to function correctly), but I believe it is.

I like the idea of the Delrin ball. If there is room, I'd add a Teflon sleeve (commonly used in electronics) to the bottom of the support rod. But my concern is that there is nothing other than the weight of the bird to hold it down. A sudden gust of wind could easily make the bird go flying. There ought to be a flange at the bottom of the support sleeve, with some kind of a removable hook mounted on the ball underneath to prevent it from lifting more than a tiny bit. One possibility would be to add a plastic or brass washer, hopefully with its hole drilled just slightly undersize for a press fit, and epoxied in place.

This I think is a valid concern, a sudden gust of wind and this might turn into a flying chicken...So need some ideas on that....remember it must be quickly removable...

Side view...

Found this....

Would take some alteration, but a sound design...

https://www.westcoastweathervanes.com/instructions-for-installing-your-weathervane-on-a-galvanized-pipe-or-wooden-post/

Modify those hooks (2 definitely better than 1) so they mount on the ball beneath the sleeve, and you have exactly what I had in mind. You just saved me from having to make a drawing...

I've already ordered a collar that will fit on the rod...

With this I can add a metal piece secured inside the clamp, and attached to the rod....then I have another collar with a set screw that will mount on the small tube above...then I can fashion a metal piece that will fork around the collar while attached to the lower collar....

A groove in the shaft and three slots in the outer tube and one of these:

That's a good idea...but would require some rather precise work....but I will consider it...

If you have an angle grinder, or even a Dremel tool, with a .045 cut-off wheel, it's a piece of cake. I assume the shaft is solid, so simply grinding a slot around it deep enough so that the clip doesn't drag and three small slots in the outer sleeve and you're done.

It sounds simple when I say it. I know.

OK, with that better photo, I had to find out...

This is hardly perfect, and I didn't remove a hollow on each side, but it should be better than an eyeball estimate. I'm assuming that the torque exerted by the wind will be approximately proportional to the surface area multiplied by the centroid distance from the axis.

This is clearly more of an art object than an accurate indicator of wind direction but the rear does have ≈50% more torque than the front, so it should indicate correctly whenever the wind is strong enough to overcome friction.

So the secret is in that the tail extends further from the axis than the breast and head thereby increasing the leverage...

Right. Since there is thickness to the bird, those values say only a little about weight balance. I presume there is extra metal in the front end to more-or-less balance the unit around the axis, as far as weight is concerned.

At this point, I say keep the bird inside and put a couple of telltails on a stick outside in the yard.

This presumes the piece actually weathervanes, something still not in evidence.

Dang, I thought you wanted to add one of these bearings

Based on your photo, the base support rod is pointed. The moving part of the weathervane should be reasonably balanced and the side loading on the tube should be minimal. The best bearing arrangement for this setup is dry and unlubricated as any oil or grease will just add viscous drag and gum things up. Some dry Teflon spray on the base rod might not be a bad idea, but you want to avoid viscosity. You will find that normal air turbulence will vibrate the vane enough that it will avoid most stick-slide in the bearing arrangement and readily move to indicate oncoming air direction.

Si non confectus, non reficiat

Quo modo eum quivero satius

Update: Delrin ball bearings arrived....inserted one and sprayed with silicone....works great...still waiting for collars...

Depending on which side of the pond you live on. a right cock-up is either a good or bad thing. Let's hope you don't.. or do.. not being English it sounds wrong either way.

Well either way I've had my fair share, you've got to take chances in life...

Ahhh.. too true.

You don't need a weathervane to know which way the wind blows.

Do as you wish, but if it were mine, I would NOT use any liquid lubrication.

Anything you put in there will trap abrasive dust/dirt/grit and eventually cause undue wear of the ball surface.

Not as pretty as yours but nice yard art none the less.

The wind cups give some indication of speed.

I have not installed the R,W,N,S arms yet, and probably wont.Keep it simple.

Where does (or would) the "R" arm point?

To the Right, I suppose...

Even with 30 minutes to edit, I can't get it right.

In my front yard, east is to the right.

Nice vane! I like weather vanes but most of them are just ordinary decor elements. There is a lot of effective means to know wind direction, speed, and other weather factors. I prefer using a weather clock widget app as described in the article I've attached. It's just enough to know everything about the weather, including wind parameters.