Barometers???

[sailingpup]

'm looking at getting a new barometer and clock for my boat and have been looking at Wempe, Weems & Plath, Chelsea. Does anyone have any opinions? I'm looking at a decent quality $200-400 range.
I found a Wempe barometer stuffed into a drawer after we bought the boat, so I'm wondering if I should send it out and have it serviced. Is the Wempe worth having serviced, and does anyone know who could do this; in Canada, USA is ok too, prefer not sending it back to Germany.
R

[conachair]

Originally Posted by sailingpup

'm looking at getting a new barometer and clock for my boat and have been looking at Wempe, Weems & Plath, Chelsea. Does anyone have any opinions? I'm looking at a decent quality $200-400 range.
I found a Wempe barometer stuffed into a drawer after we bought the boat, so I'm wondering if I should send it out and have it serviced. Is the Wempe worth having serviced, and does anyone know who could do this; in Canada, USA is ok too, prefer not sending it back to Germany.
R

An electronic one for not much more than a 10th of the cost has provided me with perfect service for the past 6 years round the Atlantic, 24h history very useful. Not as pretty as a Wempe but better at the job.

[Dockhead]

+1

I have a cheap electronic barograph which does the business. Those pretty mechanical barometers are pretty useless unless you log the readings over time, and why would you bother if you can buy a barograph for $100?

For traditional decorative purposes, I do have a WWII vintage U.S. Navy surplus Chelsea ship's clock. It's pretty accurate and therefore can be used for its original purpose, although a cheap quartz clock would be better.

[donradcliffe]

Don't waste your money on the pretty brass things. The insides are crap and they are for decoration only. Get a cheap plastic digital one.

[colemj]

Weems and Plath is crap and highly over-rated. We have had two of them. They are plated brass that corrode and peel after a short time. Even on the most expensive models, the insides are cheap toy mechanisms.

Get an electronic weather station for half the price and enjoy a recording barometer, indoor and outdoor humidity and temperature readings, windspeed and a clock and calendar - all on a single display that takes up less room than the big brass crap. And a lot of them provide a wireless link to a computer running more advanced weather and recording software that uses the data.

Mark

[GordMay]

La Crosse offer numerous electronic weather stations, at reasonable prices
➥ Products by La Crosse Technology - Tomorrow's Weather Today

At home, I have an “Acu-Rite” #02010-RX, with indoor/outdoor temperature and humidity, barometric pressure & history, self-setting clock and calendar, and forecast of morning, noon & night (4-hour, 4 to 8-hour and 8 to 12-hour) weather conditions (North America) .
➥ AcuRite Professional Digital Weather Center with Forecast / Temperature / Humidity 02010

[Paul L]

If you are looking for a real westher instrument, then the recording digital ones are better. Take a look at the NASA Meteoman, decent price. If you want a nice looking brass clock and baro pair, then look for a decent price as they arent that different inside.

[zeehag]

mine is one of the above mentioned ones--tells trends which is the important thing--exact is for the meteorologists. ye will do fine with any of the ones ye can find in matched pairs with clock--you arent writing weather, you are trending it.

[gjordan]

I had an old wind up Barograph and loved it . At this point in time I would buy an electronic Barograph since they are so much better.____Grant.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

Don't waste your money on the pretty brass things. The insides are crap and they are for decoration only. Get a cheap plastic digital one.

Yep. For under two hundred bucks I have a casio wrist watch that:

- is solar powered
- has a compass
- has sunrise/sunset
- has a barometer with 24 hour history
- is built like a tank
- has a gazillion other functions


One thing I love is that the 24 barometer history is right on the front screen above the time and next to the date. Whenever I glance on my watch, there's the barometric graph.

[Eric50]

I must say that all above opinion are fully shared, meteoman is onboard for the reading and monitoring, beside brass one(s) for the decoration.

A good mix between electronic recording display of the pressure and the traditionnal "marine" look is the barograph with paper chart on a turning drum, very nice but needs some room and the chart has to be change once a week.

Some are also to be rewind with a key time to time, most of the recent ones are working with an "AA" battery.

The electronics ones have interesting features as a sounding alarm in case of critical drop of atmospheric pressure, change in the scales for an easier reading...

Cheers.

[MarkSF]

My Garmin 78 handheld GPS also has a barometer, and will track the pressure over time.

For the boat, I bought a used, made in West Germany, one on Ebay. It's at least 40 years old and going strong. Cost me less than a new Weems and Plath, which are now made in China.

[ErBrown]

Thanks folks,

This is the little stuff I find so useful about this group. I've been wrestling with which 'quality' brass baromoeter and clock set to go with for our boat. I really like the looks and am a big believer in logging pressure but this thread is changing my mind. At home we have an electronic weather station that is super useful but I was afraid it wouldn't hold up in a marine environment. Of course the longevity is still a concern for me.

I realize this is an old thread and would be curious to hear how many of you still stand behind the cheaper electronic weather stations. Do they hold up and are they dependable enough to be the only option for extended cruising?

Thanks,
EB

[FamilyVan]

I use a brass barometer at home and on the boat. Why introduce electricity to the mix, my brass ones give me all the info I know how to use.

Sent from my XP7700 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[rognvald]

There is much confusion among sailors concerning barometers. It is true that the electronic digital barometers are more accurate than mechanical barometers. However, if one uses a barometer in their log entries(which I do), you are looking more for broad trends rather than specific numbers that change sequentially. Manufacturers of mechanical barometers will tell you that the descriptions of fair, rain, change etc; are meaningless and that it is the prevailing movement of the needle, up or down, that signals the change of weather. I have considered purchasing a digital barometer on several occasions but the urge quickly passes when envisioning my weathered brass barometer mounted on a varnished teak panel invoking memories of past cruises, people, places and things. How could I ever retire such a memory maker? Good luck and good sailing.