PFB203W bracket rain effectiveness?

Sugarkryptonite · Jun 6, 2019

Hi guys

Was hoping any of you could give input on the PFB203W bracket for Dahua dome cams. When it's raining, do the cameras still get water on them? In particular models like 2231 starlight varifocal.

Thanks

looney2ns · Jun 6, 2019

Sugarkryptonite said:
Hi guys

Was hoping any of you could give input on the PFB203W bracket for Dahua dome cams. When it's raining, do the cameras still get water on them? In particular models like 2231 starlight varifocal.

Thanks

Yes the camera will still get wet. If you have done a proper connection waterproofing job, and caulked properly, the cam should be fine.

marigo · Jun 6, 2019

I am also curious about this bracket. It states that it is weatherproof, but I think camera's will get wet. In the most perfect scenario the rain will drop on top of the bracket. But when there is some wind the rain will get on the lens of the camera and give a blurry effect.

The best place for a camera is a dry place where you have no issues with rain.

Sugarkryptonite · Jun 6, 2019

Thanks! And you're right marigo, water spots on the lens is what I'm worried about, messing with the picture.

Unfortunately my cams will be mounted outside to a tree or post, so not under a soffit etc. Any recommendations for mounts to protect better in those situations?

MakeItRain · Jun 6, 2019

I have this mount along with a pole bracket. I've got a HDW4831EM on it. No problems with it at all. AFAIK, water can enter this chamber bracket but not enough to accumulate. The backplate is completely open and mounts to whatever base plate you're mounting to. Water would just drain downward and won't fill up. You'll stick your cable glands into this housing and it will somewhat be "floating" inside. So any chance of water is not going to come from accumulating in the bracket, but rather water that is running down the cable to the gland. Since my cables go upward from the ground, I do not have this problem.

I also used Coax-seal on it. When you use coax-seal on the entire gland connector housing, you'll have to remove the rear bracket to shove the gland in and then bolt the rear bracket back up. It's a bit annoying but that's the only way to get it to fit.

marigo · Jun 6, 2019

I guess that a turret is the best camera to fit to this bracket when you have to install this in an open field.
A dome camera will get dirty and you have to clean it once a while.

I see some companies that have dome camera's which are in the rain and I just wonder how the image looks after some period of time.
Don't think it is very clear. Especially at night view.

MakeItRain · Jun 6, 2019

Water can get on outer clear lens of dome, turrent, bullet and even PTZ. Especially with municipalities like ours that uses hard water with tons of chlorination. Water does not discriminate. A couple times a year, I take a ladder and go up there and wipe down the outer lens of all cameras.

The worst kind of water I've seen is those irrigation water that the city uses that they say do not drink. When you park your car on the street and the sprinklers go off, that water tends to stick onto your paint and if left to bake in the sun too long, will etch in paint and result in water spots that are difficult to remove without professional buffing.

Sugarkryptonite · Jun 6, 2019

MakeItRain said:
Water can get on outer clear lens of dome, turrent, bullet and even PTZ. Especially with municipalities like ours that uses hard water with tons of chlorination. Water does not discriminate. A couple times a year, I take a ladder and go up there and wipe down the outer lens of all cameras.

The worst kind of water I've seen is those irrigation water that the city uses that they say do not drink. When you park your car on the street and the sprinklers go off, that water tends to stick onto your paint and if left to bake in the sun too long, will etch in paint and result in water spots that are difficult to remove without professional buffing.

Thanks! So how do you go about choosing between dome/turret/etc yourself? I was set on dome but I don't really know why. Turret version of the same model looks good too. Same field of view. 2231 model I'm talking about anyway.

MakeItRain · Jun 6, 2019

You choose it base on the application. Vast majority of the people on this forum will say go for turrets and I tend to agree. They look better and more vandal-proof.

But I'm sort of the exception. I use bullets because they have slightly better optics and sensor for about the same money. Most of the higher end cameras, HFW-8232E Ultra starlights, and 1/1.8" 8MP always comes in bullets. (Recently, dahua introduced 1/1.8" 4MP in turrets. But the reviews by looney2ns show the night time still not up to par)

I chase Megapixels because where I live, I have a lot of light outside. Non of my cameras ever go to b/w mode even at night, so the illumination values are a bit pointless for me.

Sugarkryptonite · Jun 6, 2019

MakeItRain said:
You choose it base on the application. Vast majority of the people on this forum will say go for turrets and I tend to agree. They look better and more vandal-proof.

But I'm sort of the exception. I use bullets because they have slightly better optics and sensor for about the same money. Most of the higher end cameras, HFW-8232E Ultra starlights, and 1/1.8" 8MP always comes in bullets. (Recently, dahua introduced 1/1.8" 4MP in turrets. But the reviews by looney2ns show the night time still not up to par)

I chase Megapixels because where I live, I have a lot of light outside. Non of my cameras ever go to b/w mode even at night, so the illumination values are a bit pointless for me.

Thanks. Still not really sure which one to get, though. I'm choosing between IPC-HDW2231R-ZS Starlight turret vs IPC-HFW2231T-ZS 2MP Starlight bullet. As far as I can tell from the specs, they are identical except for the form factor. Which one would you choose to mount on trees/poles in a campground? Just from what I see, if I get the turret, I will need to buy some sort of mount to limit the amount of water that will get on the lens, whereas with the bullet it might not be as bad and can be mounted directly to a tree or pole with a junction box behind it.

MakeItRain · Jun 6, 2019

Here's how mine is mounted on a pole. I had to purchase two additional brackets, which I'm not too happy about, but it is quality.

fenderman · Jun 6, 2019

Sugarkryptonite said:
Thanks. Still not really sure which one to get, though. I'm choosing between IPC-HDW2231R-ZS Starlight turret vs IPC-HFW2231T-ZS 2MP Starlight bullet. As far as I can tell from the specs, they are identical except for the form factor. Which one would you choose to mount on trees/poles in a campground? Just from what I see, if I get the turret, I will need to buy some sort of mount to limit the amount of water that will get on the lens, whereas with the bullet it might not be as bad and can be mounted directly to a tree or pole with a junction box behind it.

you dont need to do anything to limit the water getting on the lens, it will just drip off...

reverend · Jun 7, 2019

If you're really worried about water what about applying some Rain-X or similar to help it roll off the lens even longer?

I've installed plenty of cams with this mount which have been up for around two years if not longer - one of the mounts has bubbled a bit where it's started rusting but no issues as you can't actually see it.

Camera wise it's always a good idea to give the glass a good wipe down every so often, I usually do a health check of all cams every few months and clean the lens with something like Invisible Glass or Autoglym Fast Glass as they are easy to get a good clean finish on either glass or plastic.

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PFB203W bracket rain effectiveness?

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