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needle valve is opened and the balloon begins to inflate. As the balloon reaches the correct size the inflation nozzle will begin to lift. At this point the needle valve is closed along with the regulator valve and cylinder valve. The string is then used to tie off the balloon neck to ensure that no gas can escape.
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The balloons and associated equipment are usually stored in a cabinet mounted on a wall close to the gas cylinders. The cabinet has three doors one of which opens down and to it the filler stand is attached. At the top of the filler stand is an L-shaped pipe with two rings, a small one on the bottom
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balloon commonly measuring 76 mm (3 in) across prior to inflation, inflated to ~40 cm (~15.75 in) diameter. After inflation the balloon is taken outside and released. By timing the balloon from release until it enters the cloud a ceiling height can be obtained. When correctly inflated
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At the bottom of the pipe is a weight that, when the precise amount of gas has been added, will lift to indicate the balloon is full. A rubber hose is attached to this pipe and passes through the filler stand twice. The first hole is larger than the tube to permit movement, while the second is used
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was used to track the balloon in order to determine the speed and direction of winds aloft. The principle behind the ceiling balloon is that timing of a balloon with a known ascent rate (how fast it climbs) from its release until it disappears into the clouds can be used to calculate the height of
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The balloon is attached to the inflation nozzle and a piece of string is wound around the neck. After donning safety glasses and hearing protection a check is made to ensure the needle valve is fully closed. The main valve on the cylinder is then opened, followed by the regulator valve. Next, the
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may slow the ascent of the balloon, giving a falsely high ceiling and high winds and poor visibility may cause the balloon to appear to enter the cloud before it actually does. As the balloon rises at a rate of 140 m/min (460 ft/min) it will take over five minutes for the balloon to reach
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is used. However, during twilight it may be impossible to use the ceiling projector and then a pibal (pilot balloon) light may be used. This is a simple flashlight bulb attached to a battery. To charge the battery it is immersed in water for three minutes and then tied to the balloon prior to
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that is attached to the gas cylinder. This valve has two pressure gauges attached. One showing the total pressure remaining in the gas cylinder and the second showing the amount of gas flowing through the tubing. Typically the cylinder, which is made of steel and weighs about 140 lb
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the balloon will rise at rate of 140 m/min (460 ft/min). The bases of clouds are very rarely flat and solid, so the ceiling height is not when the balloon disappears but when the colour begins to fade. The balloon can also be used to measure the vertical visibility into a layer of
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700 m (2300 ft). Beyond this height the ability to follow the balloon, even with binoculars, is poor, as even the slightest movement of the eye off the balloon will almost certainly ensure that it vanishes.
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Caution must be used during inflation due to the occasional faulty balloon and its rupture. If the person inflating the balloon is not wearing goggles or hearing protectors then eye or ear damage can result.
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nozzle. The rings stop the tube from dropping through the stand or rising too far when the balloon is inflated. The top ring has several grooves cut into it, to help grip the balloon which is fitted to it.
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The ceiling balloon is a reliable, safe and simple way to get an indication of the height of clouds. However, it does suffer from some disadvantages that the observer must be aware of.
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213:(65 kg). It contains the equivalent of about 200 ft (5.7 m) of gas at standard pressure, stored at a pressure of 2000 psi (14
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Environment Canada - Atmospheric
Environment Services, Technical Manual (TM07-01-01) Ceiling Balloon Equipment 76 mm (3 in).
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On the opposite side of the cabinet is space to store balloons, string and pibal lights. The gas used to fill the balloon is
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228:. Because of its low cost ceiling balloons are often filled with hydrogen gas, but sometimes helium is used.
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that controls the amount of gas flowing to the balloon. A second tube will then run from the valve to a
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217:) and will inflate approximately 120 balloons (according to a nominal diameter of 45 cm).
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Regulator valve and pressure gauges attached to helium cylinder
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during daylight hours. In the past, and sometimes today, a
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At night when it is not practical to use a balloon the
287:"Pilot Weather Balloon (Pibal) Optical Theodolites"
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597:Meteorological instrumentation and equipment
340:meteorological equipment and instrumentation
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293:. California State University, Long Beach
66:Learn how and when to remove this message
291:Martin Brenner's Pilot Balloon Resources
183:inflation. These are rarely used today.
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29:This article includes a list of general
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192:and a larger one on the top called the
126:to determine the height of the base of
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150:is a small, usually red, (fluted)
35:it lacks sufficient corresponding
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256:Timeline of hydrogen technologies
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82:A fully inflated ceiling balloon
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285:Brenner, Martin (2009-11-25).
204:From there the tube runs to a
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201:to hold the tubing in place.
98:Close up of the filler stand
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138:the bottom of the clouds.
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90:A ceiling balloon cabinet
421:Ice accretion indicator
261:Theodolite § Pibal
50:more precise citations.
592:Balloons (aeronautics)
461:Present weather sensor
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386:Dark adaptor goggles
251:Observation balloon
431:Lightning detector
131:above ground level
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521:Thermo-hygrograph
511:Sunshine recorder
376:Ceiling projector
187:Technical details
180:ceiling projector
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561:Whole sky camera
506:Stevenson screen
411:Heat flux sensor
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446:Pan evaporation
371:Ceiling balloon
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210:regulator valve
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556:Weather vane
546:Weather buoy
436:Nephelometer
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338:Earth-based
295:. Retrieved
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206:needle valve
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161:blowing snow
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526:Thermometer
516:Tethersonde
496:Solarimeter
486:Snow pillow
451:Pyranometer
396:Disdrometer
215:megapascals
48:introducing
586:Categories
531:Tide gauge
476:Snow gauge
471:Rain gauge
466:Radiosonde
441:Nephoscope
416:Hygrometer
406:Field mill
381:Ceilometer
351:Anemometer
297:2014-07-25
267:References
146:A ceiling
135:theodolite
56:April 2012
31:references
481:Snowboard
401:Dropsonde
366:Barometer
361:Barograph
356:Atmometer
194:inflation
571:Windsock
240:See also
226:hydrogen
170:and wet
391:Dewcell
148:balloon
44:improve
222:helium
152:rubber
128:clouds
33:, but
491:SODAR
426:Lidar
120:pibal
172:snow
168:Rain
224:or
159:or
157:fog
118:or
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110:A
331:e
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317:v
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63:(
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