Viscosity maintenance

A device for measuring relative viscosity, comprising:

• a fluid reservoir,
• a stirrer rotatably mounted within said fluid reservoir, said stirrer having first and second arms extending from a center of rotation of said stirrer, one of said arms being more bendable than the other of said arms, each arm including a magnet mounted at an end of said arm,
• two sensors mounted in said device for detecting when said magnets pass said sensors when said stirrer rotates,
• a timer that provides the time lapsed between passage of one of said members past one of said sensors and passage of the other of said members past the other of said sensors, said time lapsed being related to a viscosity of a fluid when the fluid is included in said fluid reservoir.

A viscosity maintenance device, comprising:

• a fluid reservoir,
• a stirrer movably mounted within said fluid reservoir, said stirrer including two members, one of said members being more bendable than the other of said members,
• a sensing system that detects a differential bend between said members when said stirrer moves, said differential bend being related to a viscosity of a fluid when the fluid is included in said fluid reservoir
• a solvent reservoir, and
• a controller for controlling addition of a solvent within said solvent reservoir to a fluid within said fluid reservoir.

A method of maintaining viscosity

• placing a fluid in a fluid reservoir,
• moving a stirrer mounted within said fluid reservoir, said stirrer including first and second members, one of said members being more bendable than the other of said members,
• detecting a differential bend between said members when said stirrer moves, said differential bend being related to a viscosity of a fluid when the fluid is included in said fluid reservoir, and
• controlling the addition of a solvent from a solvent reservoir to a fluid within said fluid reservoir.