Following Ron's thread above regarding screens I know it often crops up
about cheaper alternatives. As a reasonable alternative to a professional
Stevenson's screen I have constructed one which may be suitable for amateur
enthusiasts who do not require the rigor of an official site. It is based
around plastic louvres from Screwfix which cost just over a pound each.
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/15818/...mm-Louvre-Vent
Each side has a double one, i.e two back to back. They are effectively
mounted in a wooden frame of a size of your own choosing, a roof made from a
white kitchen unit door with the usual slatted top and bottom. Mine has an
internal volume just under the size of the official half screen. So far it
has been producing max temps about 0.5C above nearest official station
during spells of strong March sunshine in a sunny location in a sheltered
garden. I may add solar aspiration to try and reduce the temp a bit. It cost
about £15 to build including some of the wood that has been stuck in my shed
for a few years "in case it came in handy one day" (See, Mrs C, I told you
it shouldn't be thrown out!)
You can see some pictures of it he- www.laindonweather.co.uk in the
photogallery link.

Dave

On Wed, 1 Apr 2009 at 00:34:56, Dave Cornwell
wrote in uk.sci.weather :

Following Ron's thread above regarding screens I know it often crops up
about cheaper alternatives. As a reasonable alternative to a professional
Stevenson's screen I have constructed one which may be suitable for amateur
enthusiasts who do not require the rigor of an official site. It is based
around plastic louvres from Screwfix which cost just over a pound each.
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/15818/...g/Manrose-Squa
re-White-229mm-Louvre-Vent

I've thought about constructing my own screen too, but haven't found
suitable louvred panels, until now...

Each side has a double one, i.e two back to back.

Why double?

You can see some pictures of it he- www.laindonweather.co.uk in the
photogallery link.

Nice!
--
Paul Hyett, Cheltenham (change 'invalid83261' to 'blueyonder' to email me)

On Wed, 01 Apr 2009 07:09:42 GMT, Paul Hyett wrote:

Each side has a double one, i.e two back to back.

Why double?

To stop any direct radiation from entering. A single louvre has a direct
path between the slats. Two louvres, back to back with the outer edges of
each down doesn't have a direct path. Can't decide if the surfaces of the
void need to be treated in some way to stop reflections. You don't want
matt black as that will heat up, gloss white will allow reflections. Matt
white?

--
Cheers
Dave.

in 49184 20090401 003456 "Dave Cornwell" wrote:

You can see some pictures of it he- www.laindonweather.co.uk in the
photogallery link.

Nice website, Dave, but your sunrise and sunset figures look a bit out.

"Bob Martin" wrote in message
...
in 49184 20090401 003456 "Dave Cornwell"
wrote:

You can see some pictures of it he- www.laindonweather.co.uk in the
photogallery link.

Nice website, Dave, but your sunrise and sunset figures look a bit out.
-------------------
Thank you for spotting that Bob, I hadn't noticed. An update of Steve Loft's
fabulous Cumulus software that is used on the site should sort it out.
Dave

On Wed, 1 Apr 2009 00:34:56 +0100, Dave Cornwell wrote:

It is based around plastic louvres from Screwfix which cost just over a
pound each.

Good bit of lateral thinking there. Some what easier than the up turned
and white painted plant pot holders that is stuiable for small sensors.

The wood will still need maintenace I wonder if you can get square or
rectangular section uPVC but how would you join it to make the frame.
Small self tappers and uPVC sealant would hold the louvre panels on.

How is the roof constructed? Just slats under the cupboard door or another
pair of louvre units?

You can see some pictures of it he- www.laindonweather.co.uk in the
photogallery link.

Number 4 is missing and there isn't a pretty 404 page either:

The requested URL /images2/DCStevenson4.html was not found on this
server.

Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use
an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

--
Cheers
Dave.

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
ll.net...
On Wed, 1 Apr 2009 00:34:56 +0100, Dave Cornwell wrote:

It is based around plastic louvres from Screwfix which cost just over a
pound each.

Good bit of lateral thinking there. Some what easier than the up turned
and white painted plant pot holders that is stuiable for small sensors.

The wood will still need maintenace I wonder if you can get square or
rectangular section uPVC but how would you join it to make the frame.
Small self tappers and uPVC sealant would hold the louvre panels on.

How is the roof constructed? Just slats under the cupboard door or another
pair of louvre units?

You can see some pictures of it he- www.laindonweather.co.uk in the
photogallery link.

Number 4 is missing and there isn't a pretty 404 page either:

The requested URL /images2/DCStevenson4.html was not found on this
server.

Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use
an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

--
Cheers
Dave.
-----------------
Yes Dave, the roof is actually traditional slats under the sloping roof. Ron
pointed out that the roof is sloping the wrong way! - it should be away from
the door to stop the observer getting wet - not too much of a problem for me
as it is an AWS (mostly).
Sorry about any errors - I threw the pictures in quickly late last night and
thought I'd deleted all the html - I'm a bit of a beginner with this web
site stuff so do make a few mistakes.

Dave

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
ll.net...
On Wed, 1 Apr 2009 00:34:56 +0100, Dave Cornwell wrote:

It is based around plastic louvres from Screwfix which cost just over a
pound each.

Good bit of lateral thinking there. Some what easier than the up turned
and white painted plant pot holders that is stuiable for small sensors.

The wood will still need maintenace I wonder if you can get square or
rectangular section uPVC but how would you join it to make the frame.
Small self tappers and uPVC sealant would hold the louvre panels on.

How is the roof constructed? Just slats under the cupboard door or another
pair of louvre units?

You can see some pictures of it he- www.laindonweather.co.uk in the
photogallery link.

Number 4 is missing and there isn't a pretty 404 page either:

The requested URL /images2/DCStevenson4.html was not found on this
server.

Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use
an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

--
Cheers
Dave.
----------------------------
P.S. - I forgot to say the floor is made of the flyscreen that comes with
the louvres! They also sell the louvres in half that size as rectangles so
screens could be configured to a variety of dimensions. (My other half
didn't seem too impressed with the idea of a larger one. No comments please,
Lawrence ;-) )

I've looked at the gallery again and I can't see a Stevensons picture4?

Cheers,
Dave