PowerPod Rain Protection - A test study

Post Reply
spangelsaregreat
Posts: 139
Joined: Sun Aug 13, 2017 2:53 pm

PowerPod Rain Protection - A test study

Post by spangelsaregreat »

Hi

As someone who lives in area where rain is fairly common the limitation of the PowerPod in the rain has always been an issue. I was hopeful that the addition of the Pitot tube in the V3 I use would help but it did not seem to make a difference. I always (from V1 to V3 PP) seen to get about 20 minutes use in constant rain before the wind port got blocked.

Or so I thought...

Then I saw this thread http://velocompforum.com/viewtopic.php? ... f2db7bd141 where Silas showed how a bit of DIY could maybe solve the problem. He seemed to identify that the rain issue may not be the wind port but the pressure port. Silas posted some feedback that it was successful but has not done a follow up.

So I thought I would share my experience. This will be a running thread which I will keep updated over the next month's use (hoping unusually for rain rather than the very dry weather we have recently had here in Scotland).

I have added pictures of my mod using Sugru but it is pretty much the same as Silas' one.

First ride today which was supposed to be rain all day. However, it was on very wet roads but the rain went off as I set out. I started off with a quick calibration ride to make sure the mod was factored in the equation. Power was fine and consistent throughout the ride with no issues. However, my experience on riding on wet roads (no mudguards) but not raining is that it rarely affects the operation of the PowerPod. I noted however, that the pressure port on my Garmin 810 did block after about 20 minutes into the ride so the wheel spray was having some effect but not on the PowerPod.

So a good general test ride with the mod not affecting how the PowerPod works. Will post later this week once I get some rides in actual rain (its forecast for most of the week).

Unfortunately I am having issues with my PowerPod connecting to my PC so can't post Issac files. I will try to get this sorted.
Attachments
20220904_164656.jpg
20220904_164656.jpg (48.43 KiB) Viewed 1878 times
20220904_164659.jpg
20220904_164659.jpg (48.89 KiB) Viewed 1878 times
spangelsaregreat
Posts: 139
Joined: Sun Aug 13, 2017 2:53 pm

Re: PowerPod Rain Protection - A test study

Post by spangelsaregreat »

Sods law that since I started this thread all my road rides have been dry but finally got some rain today.

Two commutes.

The ride to work was on very wet roads after overnight rain and light rain falling. Ride time 40 minutes. Typically this type of condition would be a 50 50 whether the PP would get blocked. No issues on the ride with good consistent power throughout.

The ride home was again on very wet roads with intermittent heavy showers, some prolonged. Ride time 1 hour. This would definitely would have led to a blocked PP but happy to say power was good throughout.

So a promising start so far. Looking like a mixed day tomorrow, probably dry on the way in but wet on the way home.
spangelsaregreat
Posts: 139
Joined: Sun Aug 13, 2017 2:53 pm

Re: PowerPod Rain Protection - A test study

Post by spangelsaregreat »

Very wet ride to work today. Heavy rain for the whole ride with some riding into a block headwind. Ride was about 40 minutes and no issues with the power.

So initial rides all see to show that the mod does fix the issue with rain stopping the PowerPod working. It would be interesting to have John look at the ride files to just confirm the mod does not affect the actual day to day working of the PowerPod. Unfortunately I have not been able to resolve my issues with the PowerPod connecting to my PC so can't check it on Issac or post any ride files. May need to bite the bullet and send it back for it to be checked over (I think it is something going wrong with the micro usb port).

Going to keep riding it meantime as I still need to do a ride over two hours in the rain to fully check that the mod has fully solved the rain issue.

Will keep you posted.
spangelsaregreat
Posts: 139
Joined: Sun Aug 13, 2017 2:53 pm

Re: PowerPod Rain Protection - A test study

Post by spangelsaregreat »

Final test ride, 1 and half hours in very heavy rain. Unfortunately mod does not stop the issue. After an hour the PowerPod became blocked.

So observations are the mod probably does have an effect in increasing the time before the device stops working by about half an hour. My guess is without the mod the pressure sensor probably blocks first but even with the mod after time the wind sensor also gets blocked.

A bit of a shame but it does mean for most of my commuting it should mean the Powerpod does not stop working.

Regards
Velocomp
Velocomp CEO
Posts: 7793
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2008 8:43 am

Re: PowerPod Rain Protection - A test study

Post by Velocomp »

Riding for 2 hours in a hard rain is indeed a severe test...

If you should happen to do this again, after the ride look carefully at the pitot tube, and also the ambient pressure port beneath. It will be interesting to see which, or both, ports clogged.

Also, please post the ride file from today's ride.
John Hamann
spangelsaregreat
Posts: 139
Joined: Sun Aug 13, 2017 2:53 pm

Re: PowerPod Rain Protection - A test study

Post by spangelsaregreat »

John

Will do. Unfortunately my PowerPod refuses to sync with my PC so can't show the Issac files unfortunately.

Regards
Post Reply