Automated Low Investment Cost Evaporometer (ALICE)

Evaporation is an important part of the hydrological circle. This paper reviews the approaches and brings a new and fresh approach to evaporation research. This paper discusses materials and methods we used to develop an evaporometer, which measures evaporation from the water surface like a drop in water level. This device has 1 mm measuring precision. Stainless steel is used as a measuring electrode material. The device uses 3D printing in combination with low-cost open-source electronics and a hand-etched circuit board.  A 3D printed jig is used when assembling the device, this ensures that the contact electrodes are set precisely. Another 3D printed jig is used to create the etched circuit board, which holds all the electronic devices. The device uses the low-cost open-source Arduino Uno electronics.

A 3D model of 3D printed parts in .stl format can be downloaded here
An Arduino code can be accessed here


Additional materials can be found in following sources:

Circuit Board Etching Solution
3D Printer
3D Printer Multi Material Upgrade
Conductive PLA Filament

For more information, don't hesitate to contact adam.tejkl@fsv.cvut.cz