How to Make a Water Alarm Clock

Regular alarm clocks are commonplace, but they have a flaw--everyone turns them off or hits snooze. Water alarm clocks use the energy provided by evaporation to run, so they don't have the conventional snooze button and they don't need any batteries. You can make one for yourself with just a few pieces of equipment and parts you can buy at any hardware store.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 2 strips of wood approximately 1/4 inch thick
• small hand saw
• drill
• large plastic bowl
• 5 push buttons (pins)
• 8 strips of electrical wire
• small digital alarm clock
• large piece of plywood approximately 24"x16"
• piece of nylon
• hot glue
• hot glue gun

Preparation

1. Cut one of the small pieces of wood into square tiles with the hand saw.

2. Determine the size of the push pins and drill small holes into the wood tiles that will accommodate the pins.

3. Drill a small hole in the bottom of the large bowl.

Construction

4. Insert 4 of the push pins into the pieces of tiled wood.

5. Open the alarm clock and locate the control that shuts the alarm off.

6. Connect the end of an electrical wire to one of the push pins; repeat for all the wires and pins.

7. Connect the opposite end of the wire on the push pins to the control that shuts off the alarm.

8. Connect the remaining four wires to the 4 push pins and thread the opposite end of the wires through the hole in the plastic bowl.

9. Connect the wires to another push pin.

10. Secure the push pin connected to the wires to the bowl with nylon and the hot glue. The wiring now should run from the bowl to the push pins and then to the alarm clock.

11. Hot glue the second small piece of wood to the large piece of plywood in the back.

12. Hot glue the individual wood tiles to the plywood in front of the bowl so that you can touch more than one push button at the same time.

13. Position the bowl so it rests on the second small piece of wood (this gives room to the wires) and fill the bowl with water.

14. Set the alarm.

Tips & Warnings

• This alarm clock works by the push pin connection in the bowl sensing the pressure and evaporation energy from the water. You can turn the alarm off by emptying the bowl and drying the pin or by pushing the pin in the bowl.

Resources

• Video of how to make a water alarm clock