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Weather glass vs barometer

Updated: October 2026

You have two amazon.co.uk listings open, both called barometers. One is a numbered dial. The other is a cast-iron frame with a glass spout of coloured water. A weather glass vs barometer choice is a choice between two instruments that shops file under the same word. On the [barometers comparison](/hub/climate-measuring/barometers) they sit in one set because buyers search for both, though they do not answer the same question. One gives a figure you can check against the Met Office. The other is a glass you keep filled and watch. Listings were checked on 19 October 2026. There is no laboratory test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have two amazon.co.uk listings open, both called barometers. One is a numbered dial. The other is a cast-iron frame with a glass spout of coloured water.

Our top picks

Esschert Esschert Design crystal barometer with cast-iron stand, TH31

Best overall

Esschert Esschert Design crystal barometer with cast-iron stand, TH31
9.2/10about £28.14
View offer
Youshiko Youshiko traditional barometer, mahogany wood surround

Rank 2

Youshiko Youshiko traditional barometer, mahogany wood surround
8.8/10about £49.99
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Generic Classic analogue 3-in-1 barometer, thermometer and hygrometer, aged bronze

Alternative

Generic Classic analogue 3-in-1 barometer, thermometer and hygrometer, aged bronze
7.8/10about £35.99
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On this page
  1. 1.Two different instruments
  2. 2.What you can read off each
  3. 3.The Esschert as sold
  4. 4.Which to buy

Two different instruments

An aneroid uses a sealed metal capsule with most of the air removed. Outside pressure flexes the metal, and a linkage moves a needle across millibars or hectopascals. There is no liquid in the mechanism. The Youshiko is that kind of dial, with a numbered millibar scale and a tool in the box. A set pointer is not stated on that listing. A weather glass, sometimes sold as a Goethe barometer or thunder glass, works on trapped air and water. When outside pressure falls, the trapped air pushes water up the spout. The trapped air also expands when the room warms, so the line moves with temperature even when pressure has hardly changed. A FitzRoy storm glass is a sealed tube of camphor crystals, shut off from the air, so it does not measure pressure. The Esschert is the open water glass. Do not follow a storm-glass crystal recipe if you are filling it.

What you can read off each

On an aneroid you read a number. 1013 mb and 1013 hPa are the same mark, so you can compare it with Met Office sea-level pressure and then watch the rise or fall. A set pointer, where the listing includes one, marks the last reading. The Youshiko file does not state that hand. Setting the dial is a short job with the rear screw, on how to set a barometer. A weather glass has no screw and no hectopascal scale. Esschert buyers report the water climbing as pressure falls. Others say it ran opposite to the card. Both can be honest, because warming the room expands the trapped air. You cannot subtract that effect, and you will not know how many millibars the line represents.
Esschert Esschert Design crystal barometer with cast-iron stand, TH31

Testsieger

Esschert Esschert Design crystal barometer with cast-iron stand, TH31
9.2/10about £28.14
View offer

The Esschert as sold

The Esschert, B00BAWQIH6, was about £28.14 with 4.6 from 1,492 ratings, about 13.9 × 12 × 27.7 cm and about 918 g. The spec says indoor. A battery line conflicts with a product that has no electrics. The review volume does not mean 1,492 people checked the water against a calibrated barometer. Several buyers needed a syringe, and the coloured dye keeps the line visible. Algae means you rinse and refill. Hooks were missing for some, and the glass will not forgive a drop on a tiled floor. Where it should hang sits on where to hang a barometer. A garden hook exposes thin glass to frost, wind, and a fall.

Which to buy

Buy the aneroid if you will compare a reading with the Met Office. In this set that is the Youshiko if you want the wood dial: a numbered millibar scale, a rear adjustment, and 67 reviews. That count is not a laboratory trial, and a household capsule can still stick after a knock in the post. Buy the Esschert if the point is the glass. You accept water, algae, and a piece that can crack. Skip it when you need to know whether pressure has fallen by a meaningful amount. Skip the dial if you will never set a needle and you only wanted water in a spout. A number you can check means the aneroid. The glass means the Esschert, without pretending it is calibrated.

Common questions

Is the Esschert a barometer?
It is sold as one, and the air-and-water arrangement can respond to pressure, so the name is not empty. It is not the same instrument as an aneroid. You get a water line in a spout, not a hectopascal you can compare with the Met Office. Treat it as a weather glass that behaves like a rough barometer, and keep the word calibrated for a dial you can set to a published pressure.
Is it a FitzRoy storm glass?
No. A FitzRoy storm glass is sealed and grows camphor crystals, and it is effectively shut off from air pressure. The Esschert is an open glass you fill with water and dye so the level can move in the spout. The two share a nickname online, and they are different objects. A crystal recipe is not the filling instruction for this listing.
Why does the water move when the room warms up?
The air trapped above the water expands as it warms, and that expansion pushes water along the spout. Pressure does not have to change for the line to rise. A sunny afternoon or a radiator nearby can lift it on its own. A higher water line is not, by itself, a storm warning you should trust over the Met Office forecast.
Can you set it to the Met Office number?
You cannot. There is no millibar scale and no rear screw on the glass. An aneroid is the instrument you turn until the needle matches the Met Office sea-level pressure for your area. The glass stays a relative display. You can watch the line from one day to the next, and you still will not know the number that line stands for.
When is an aneroid the better buy?
It is the better buy when you want a trend you will compare with the Met Office. The Youshiko is the wood dial here with a numbered millibar scale and a rear adjustment. A set pointer is not stated on that page. It is the worse buy if the cast-iron glass is the whole reason you are shopping, because a round dial will not look like a Goethe glass.

Related pages

Best barometer UK

Barometers

Barometer buying guide: type, scale, screw, reviews

Where to hang a barometer: hall, heat, and draught

How to set a barometer using the Met Office figure

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings used for this comparison. Prices and review counts were taken on 19 October 2026.

  1. Royal Meteorological Society — Set your barometer (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Met Office — How we measure atmospheric pressure (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Met Office — High and low pressure (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK — Controls on mercury (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. WMO pressure chapter — exposure, not a retail accuracy claim (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Physics Education — The weather glass (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. amazon.co.uk Best Sellers — Barometers (retrieved 19 October 2026)