Warning: New wind gauge on site gave a false reading last week in Dallas

We were setting a 15-ton HVAC unit on a roof, and the digital gauge on my crane said 18 mph, but the flag on the building was whipping hard. I stopped the lift, and a spotter with an old handheld meter clocked it at 28. Has anyone else had issues with the newer sensors not catching gusts right?

4 comments

4 Comments

max_brown3mo ago

18 mph while the flag is whipping hard is crazy.

phoenix_bailey3mo agoMost Upvoted

Man, you're not kidding. We had a digital unit give us a false low reading once, and the flag was screaming. Totally agree with @blair_nguyen about placement. We started having our spotter hold the digital meter up at boom-tip height for a minute before the pick, just like an old analog one. The difference was sometimes 5-10 mph.

caseythompson1mo agoProlific Poster

Yeah, that placement thing is huge. Makes you wonder if the sensor should just be a separate unit the spotter holds, not even attached to the crane at all.

blair_nguyen3mo ago

That flag whipping is the real gauge... it's saved us more than once. Something I've noticed is the new digital ones are often mounted too low or too sheltered on the crane itself. They're reading the wind in a pocket, not the open air where the load will be. The old handheld meter works because the spotter holds it up where it matters. Maybe the tech isn't bad, but the placement is wrong.