Laser Level

[Ryler]

Not in need of any here. Have a Hilti, a Bosch and a Topcon.

 

[dang32]

i just st treated myself to the dewalt and tripod as well. it be a bit of a faff setting it up but I think it’s awesome

 

[opps]

a long plastic tube and some water - if it is only something you are going to use once or twice a year than why go to the expense of a laser level, they are no more accurate than gravity on water.

When building my garage about 20 years ago I purchased a water level. It was unvented and at £20 a complete PITA and waste of money. I resorted to using long straight(ish)bit of timber and a spirit level.

Being unvented, the air would move to one end and prevent the water from finding a true level.

 

[Munroast]

When building my garage about 20 years ago I purchased a water level. It was unvented and at £20 a complete PITA and waste of money. I resorted to using long straight(ish)bit of timber and a spirit level.

Being unvented, the air would move to one end and prevent the water from finding a true level.

the one I have used with great success is vented at both ends, you have to make sure the air bubbles are out of the tube which is time consuming, but the accuracy is as good as it gets. For a one off job it is a very cost effective solution, if I needed one on a weekly basis I would invest in something more user friendly

 

[Stivino]

When building my garage about 20 years ago I purchased a water level. It was unvented and at £20 a complete PITA and waste of money. I resorted to using long straight(ish)bit of timber and a spirit level.

Being unvented, the air would move to one end and prevent the water from finding a true level.

Water always finds a true level.
As long as the air is out, you won't get a more accurate or simpler level.

 

[opps]

Water always finds a true level.
As long as the air is out, you won't get a more accurate or simpler level.

Given that mine was un-vented it was far from simple to use. In principle I would have need to get the two vials level then open the caps on the top of each vile and let the water settle which is kinda self defeating.

That said, I assume that the vented versions can be used by one person on their own.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

That said, I assume that the vented versions can be used by one person on their own.

Yes, providing you have some way to secure both vials to the walls. TBH whilst reasonable quality ones (e.g Stanley Nivachoc) were quite affordable and very accurate, they could be a bit of a faff to use single handed and they were ever so slow to use, as well as potentially messy. That's why there probably isn't a single tradesman out there in the UK today still using them, and why the only quality model now generally available is the Stsbils one. All the other ones around seem to be cheap, shoddy Chinese tat. Lasers, on the other hand are smaller, less messy and far faster to use, not to mention being able to direct read (water levels often needed an offset stick to get the required true level) - albeit slightly less accurate and more prone to reading errors of a few millimetres

 

[lostinthelight]

This pic was taken in 2015 of a single handed water level I made about 25 years ago . I have since replaced the 5 litre container with a pump up sprayer which gets rid of air bubbles quickly . My Son borrowed it to lay drains and do the foundations on a barn conversion a couple of years ago and ive not seen it since...good job ive got the laser

 

[Jupiter01]

Thanks for all the responses.
On Dewalt DW088K, can someone please help me with the following:

1. how does this perform in a well lit room or outdoors? What effect does this have on the range?

2. If I wanted to use this for the potholes (for spotlights on ceilings), I think I need to face the laser to the wall where it will then travel up the wall and across the ceiling. If the wall is 2.4m high, approximately how far across the ceiling would this project?

Thanks for your help

 

[Deleted member 174758]

It's a red line laser and they don't work well in bright light situations. Much better in subdued light situations. Bright lights always overwhelm laser lines TBH. See pic below to see the levels of lighting we work in for optimal results (that's a 3 axis green laser)

If you have the back against a wall the vertical laser light from those projects almost vertically upwards to a about horizontal (from memory). A problem may be that the other line only projects horizontally across the room, so all you will see on the ceiling is a single line. Dont know if that's an issue

 

[Jupiter01]

How far across the ceiling will the vertical line project? If my room is 10 metres long and I want a line to mark our pot holes for spotlights, will the laser extend this far?

 

[Ryler]

will the laser extend this far?

It should do.
My bosch line laser shot the laser 200 feet. Not that I needed that distance.

 

[Jupiter01]

One further question please: with the dewalt dw088k does it have the lock feature when transporting the device? Apparently this gives it longevity?

 

[Ryler]

Doesn't look like it has a lock. Just watched a utube video on this level.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

....will the laser extend this far?

Yes. Never come across a trade rated laser that does less than 40 metres. I was working near our dry liners this afternoon. They were using the green version of the laser you mentioned. Easily projected from one side of an apartment space to the other (about 20 metres) with no issues. Red version projects same distance as the green, the only caveat being that you may need subdued light to see the line on the red one - shouldn't be a problem at this time of year, it's high summer when you can have issues

The DW088 has no lock on it. AFAIK all the smaller Bosch and Leica lasers do. Yes it does make a difference to longevity if you are a tradesman forever moving from place to place on site or bouncing around the countryside in a van, but for DIY use I doubt that it would be an issue. Trade tools tend to live a harsher life than those used domestically