Lysimeter

• Simple to use
• Can connect up to 32 load cells
• Readings automatically taken at user-defined intervals
• No need for the operator to be present for each recording
• Recording made easy with purpose designed Data-Maid™ software

At the heart of the Lysimeter are a series of digital load cell sensors. Any number of load cells can be used up to a maximum of 32. Connect these together to take a continuous series of measurements over any given time period chosen by the researcher.

Take readings in time intervals ranging from 1 second to a number of days. Monitor the effects of changing influences such as temperature or humidity using Griffith Elder’s customised Data-Maid™ software.

With Griffith Elder’s Data-Maid™ software the operator input is minimal. The researcher selects the number of load cells, the length of time to monitor weight changes, and the time interval between readings. Our Weightel™ digital load cell technology also enables the Lysimeter to collect the desired data without an operator present. Together with our Data-Maid™ software, the Griffith Elder Lysimeter provides an accurate, invaluable tool for educational and research facilities.

The first Griffith Elder Lysimeters were first developed in 2003 to aid with an experiment at Cranfield University, in the United kingdom. The experiment studied the physiology of five willow coppice hybrids relating to their water use. The 400kg Lysimeters continuously measured the plants weight changes. This included logging the information every 20 minutes and then reporting it with the Data-Maid™ software program.

“The Data-Maid™ software was very handy to help program the logging intervals of the load cells and to store a large amount of data. The data was logged as mass in kg, with a precision of 0.02kg. The information collected allowed us to quantify precisely the water consumed by the plants and to visualise the evolution of water consumption rate as water stress evolves.”

“Finally new fields of study are open as a new generation of weighing lysimeter emerged through the development of efficient and reliable load cells and software by Griffith Elder.” Cranfield University, 2003.

The Griffith Elder Data-Maid™ software is a simple program that records the data collected from the load cells. It records the changes in weights of the plant systems over a period of time according to the setup chosen by the operator.

The operator selects the parameters for the report, deciding which information to display. Records can be taken of changes in weight distribution over a number of load cells, or of weight changes from individual load cells. Additionally, take records of environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity simultaneously. This therefore makes the analysis of weight changes under these conditions easy to monitor and display.

Data-Maid™ is compatible with all spreadsheets. For further data analysis, information is easily capable of exporting to other programs.