"thescullster" wrote in message
...
Hi all

I have come by an old barometer - something like the item shown here
http://www.hemswell-antiques.com/ant...ter-33028.html
(although not quite of the quality).
Now I know that these devices measure atmospheric pressure, but I am not
clear on how much this will be affected by the instrument location.

Does a heat source like a radiator change atmospheric pressure?
Can I mount this on a wall above a radiator and expect it to work?

From my memory of the barometer, the needle doesn't appear to move much in
operation. Is this because it was previously in a centrally heated house,
or is there likely to be something wrong here?

Location will not affect the baro, but it will affect the thermometer and
possibly the wood.
Don't know much of aneroids, prefer mercury.
As regards movement of the needle.
Set baro in desired position. Align the cursor with the hand. Repeat at 10am
every day of course.
Note the movement of the hand over a 24hr period.
If the swing is 30 deg or more- Sun hat if up, raincoat, hat & wellies if
it's down. Do you have a dinghy?
Just keep an eye on it for a few days. I suspect most aneroid baros would
not be repairable. TBH, they're not worth it.
I think the seller of the item you show is utterly and completely off
trolley. Delete the first number, divide the remainder by two and you might
be in the real world.
hth Nick.