In this paper a database of sessile drop evaporation on a heated surface under gravity conditions is presented. For this an experimental setup is presented. It includes the part which allows evaporating the drop under controlled conditions and the data acquisition system. The drop is deposited on a heated surface maintained at constant temperature. Two systems were studied: water PTFE (non wetting couple) in which the wetting angle is higher than &pgr;/2 and water‐aluminum (wetting couple) in which the wetting angle is less than &pgr;/2. Two types of measurements are implemented: the first one is an optical method which enables measurements of drop geometrical parameters and consequently the drop evaporation rate. The second one corresponds to a thermal fluxmeter. This later allows the determination of the heat flux and drop temperature. The evaporation rate as well as the geometrical parameters (contact angle, wetting diameter) are determined for several operating conditions: wall temperature and drop size for the two systems considered. For the evaporation rate two different behaviors are found according to drop wetting. The experimental results are discussed and analyzed. © 2004 American Institute of Physics