Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

How to set a barometer

Updated: October 2026

You have hung a new aneroid in the hall, checked the forecast, and the needle sits nowhere near the Met Office figure for your town. The capsule left the factory set for another height and another afternoon, so the hand is not a reading you can trust yet. This page shows how to set a barometer to the latest sea-level pressure, which screw moves the working needle, and when a still hand is a fault. The dials in the [barometers comparison](/hub/climate-measuring/barometers) need that match before a trend means anything. The steps follow Met Office and Royal Meteorological Society guidance, not a laboratory test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have hung a new aneroid in the hall, checked the forecast, and the needle sits nowhere near the Met Office figure for your town.

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
View offer
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
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.The number you are aiming at
  2. 2.Set the screw, then the pointer
  3. 3.If the needle will not move
  4. 4.When it is a fault

The number you are aiming at

Copy the latest Met Office observation for your town, reduced to mean sea level, in hectopascals. Prefer a calm day. Wind across a vent skews even a professional sensor. The figure 1013 hPa is the standard atmosphere, about 29.92 inches, and it is not today’s weather. Pressure falls by about 1 hPa for every 10 metres of height, so match the published sea-level number rather than inventing a correction. A station a few miles away can still leave you 1 or 2 hPa out. If the dial is marked in inches, divide hectopascals by 33.86. A reported 1008 hPa is about 29.77 inches. Household aneroids usually live between about 950 and 1050 hPa.

Set the screw, then the pointer

Set the barometer only after the spot is chosen, in the orientation it will keep. Radiator heat is a placement problem on the hallway hanging guide. The adjustment screw usually sits in the centre of the back. A Youshiko listing includes a small tool. A generic bronze dial often does not, so a jeweller’s screwdriver that fits is safer than a kitchen knife. Turn it a little while you watch the active needle. The knob in the glass moves the set pointer, a bookmark, not the calibration. If the knob and the rear screw seem to fight, stop. Ignore Rain, Change, and Fair. After the set, tap the case once and leave it. If you and the Met Office both saw an 8 hPa fall over the next days, the set is doing its job, even if you sit 1 hPa high.
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

If the needle will not move

Tap the case, at the side or the lower rim, with a fingertip. Do not tap the glass. Bevelled glass cracks. A small turn of the rear screw should move an aneroid hand. If the screw turns freely and the needle stays put, stop. Forcing it will not wake a failed capsule. Do not turn a mercury adjustment, lay a stick flat, or open the column. There is no safe home method for a spill. A weather glass has no rear screw either. Filling it sits on the aneroid or weather glass page. A needle that moves when you tap, then follows the weather, was sticky. A needle that never leaves one mark while the Met Office swings by 15 hPa is not.

When it is a fault

A new aneroid whose hand never moves is not doing what you paid for. Section 22 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives a short-term right to reject goods that do not conform to the contract, generally for 30 days from the day after delivery. Keep the packaging, note the date you first tried the screw, and tell the seller inside that window. The amazon.co.uk returns screen can differ, so check the order. If the instrument is years old, the same dead hand is a repair. A screw that spins while the hand stays still is the stop signal.

Common questions

Where do you read the pressure for your town?
Search your town on the Met Office weather pages and use the latest observation in hectopascals, not the textbook figure of 1013 hPa. Prefer a calm day and the reporting point closest in distance and height. If two nearby stations differ by a hectopascal or two, pick the closer one and look again after a quieter spell. The forecast is context. The observation is the number you copy onto the dial.
Why tap the barometer, and where?
Tap the wooden or metal case lightly, at the side or the lower rim, so a pivot that stuck in the box can settle. The glass is the wrong place, especially when it is bevelled, because a knock can crack it. One fingertip tap after you turn the screw is enough. If the hand then jumps, it had been dragging, and the new position is the one to compare with the observation.
How long before you decide the setting is wrong?
Give it a few days, and at least one real change in the weather, before you call the first set a failure. If the Met Office falls by about 10 hPa and your needle falls by a similar amount, the set was close enough, even when it stays 1 hPa high. If the needle has not moved across that change, return to the screw test. Another small turn every morning will not repair a hand that never travels.
What if the screw does not move the needle?
Stop as soon as the screw turns and the hand stays still. A harder twist can spoil the slot, and it will not wake a failed capsule. On a new dial, tell the seller within the 30-day right to reject under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and check the amazon.co.uk order for that purchase. On an older dial, ask a restorer whether the capsule has failed. Do not open the movement on the kitchen table.
Should you set a weather glass the same way?
No. A weather glass has no capsule and no rear screw, so there is nothing to turn to 1013 hPa or to 29.92 inches. You read the water level as a rough tendency. If you want a number you can match to a Met Office observation, an aneroid dial is the instrument this set is for.

Related pages

Barometer buying guide

Best barometer UK

Barometers

Weather glass vs barometer: a number or a water line

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

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)