Anemometer Not Spinning

[Herbseesmoore]

have volunteered to go up the mast for a fellow sailor here in Sullivan Bay.

What is the #1 reason an anemometer stops spinning, worn out, (must replace), needs lubricate, (any recommendations),

thought it might be helpful to know b4 going up what the thoughts/opinions might be.

Thanks

[daddle]

I was going to say worn out from spinning. But in Anacortes? Is there wind there?

[Vasco]

Depends on the make. I've seen them stuck because of spider webs! Take it off, take it apart, lube if possible.

[Jim Cate]

G'Day Herb,

I have had success simply inverting the unit and spraying Inox (Australian spray lube, very low viscosity) around the shaft exit and manually spinning the vanes for a while.

Lacking Inox, I would think that any spray lube (NOT wd-40, which has poor lube qualities) ... ie, Silicone based lubes would likely work as well. The important thing is the low viscosity which helps it get into the area where the little ball bearing lives.

Good luck.

Cheers,
Jim

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by daddle

I was going to say worn out from spinning. But in Anacortes? Is there wind there?

Heh,

The first time I visited Skyline Marina (before I was an experienced boater) I wondered why so many boats had so many BIG and extra dock lines.
After asking a guy on the dock about it, he said "In winter, we get lots of wind storms over 60 knots."

Since then, I've been in Anacortes when it's blowing stink, with FOG.
That put the old myth to bed for me that you can't have wind and fog at the same time.

[hummingway]

In the Degnan Bay we have a lot of Purple Martens. They're a lot of fun to watch. They'll sometimes land on wind vanes which can be quite challenging when the wind is shifting! After one had taken a ride on mine I noticed it was stuck and took a good puff from mother nature to free it again. I guessed a poorly placed bird dropping was to blame.

[speciald@ocens.]

I've had both spider webs and bird poop stop the spin. Clean and spray with a non-sticky lub like Sailcote.

[Herbseesmoore]

thanks for the input. went up and removed and while I waited, owner cleaned and lubed, works fine now and a new friend is made. Then another couple needed a dangling antennae attended to so I went up again, more new friends. And so it goes, time for my mast job and discovered the antennae had a funky fitting and would not go with the L bracket, mission scrubbed, beers all around, let the tall tales fly. It was a good day in the Broughtons.

[hummingway]

You're all the way up in the Broughtons Herb? Nice.